молим и хвала
molim i hvala
The English phrase "please and thank you" is translated into Serbian as молим и хвала (molim i hvala).
While English speakers often use "please and thank you" as a single idiomatic unit to express politeness, in Serbian, these are typically treated as two distinct functional words used at different stages of an interaction.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is a combination of молим (please/I pray), и (and) and хвала (thanks/thank you).
How does it change in a sentence?
The word молим is the first-person singular present indicative of the verb молити (to pray/to beg), literally meaning "I pray" or "I beg". The word хвала is a noun meaning "thanks" or "praise".
How do you pronounce it?
molim i hvala
Did you know?
- The word молим is used not only for 'please' but also as the standard response when someone says 'thank you', functioning like the English 'you are welcome'.
- In Serbian, it is common to combine хвала with the word лепо to say хвала лепо, which literally means 'thanks beautifully'.
- In some contexts, молим can be used as a way to express disbelief or indignation, similar to saying 'I beg your pardon!' in English.
Examples in context
- Хвала Вам на вашој помоћиThank you for your help.
Example conversation
Marija is reminding Stefan to be polite to a waiter.
- MarijaСтефане, буди прилично.Stefan, be polite.
- StefanШта треба да урадим?What do I need to do?
- MarijaРеци молим и хвала конобару.Say please and thank you to the waiter.
- StefanУ реду, разумем.Alright, I understand.
