lijepa
The Bosnian word for pretty is lijepa.
The word is used to describe something or someone as pleasant or attractive, especially when referring to women and children. While it translates to pretty, it is also the standard way to say beautiful in Bosnian.
Meaning: especially of women and children: pleasant, attractive (adj)
Which one should you use?
The form lijepa specifically refers to the feminine singular when used as a subject or object in the nominative and accusative cases. It is the standard word for both pretty and beautiful.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In some regions of Herzegovina, people may use the term lip/a instead of the standard lijep/a.
How does it change in a sentence?
The adjective changes based on gender and case. The masculine form is lijep and the neuter form is lijepo. The form lijepa is the feminine singular nominative/accusative, while lijepih is the feminine genitive plural form.
Did you know?
- In Bosnian, lijepo can be used sarcastically to describe a disaster or a mess. Saying lijepo smo prošli often means 'we are in a real mess' or 'that went poorly'.
- While lijepa describes a person, the neuter form lijepo is used to describe a well-behaved child or a job well done. In this context, it translates more closely to 'nicely' or 'properly' than 'pretty'.
- When someone is being overly polite or formal in a suspicious way, a Bosnian speaker might say they are being previše lijep, meaning 'too nice' or 'too pretty'.
Examples in context
- Haljina koju nosite je veoma lijepa.The dress you're wearing is very pretty.
- Ti si lepa ko slika!You're beautiful as a picture!
- Ova torta je lepa ko slika!This cake is beautiful as a picture!
- Haljina koju nosiš je lepa ko slika!The dress you're wearing is beautiful as a picture!
- Ti si tako slatka!You're so cute!
- Ta mala kućica je baš slatka!That little house is really cute!
- Ti si veoma lipa.You are very pretty.
- Ova slika je jako lipa.This picture is very pretty.
- Ovaj park je lijepan.This park is pretty.
- Ona je veoma lijepa.She is very pretty.
- Tvoja sestra je baš lijepa.Your sister is really pretty.
Example conversation
Emir and Jasmina are looking at a photo of a friend.
- JasminaPogledaj ovu sliku, ona je baš lijepa.Look at this picture, she is really pretty.
- EmirIstina, ona je uvijek bila lijepa.True, she has always been pretty.
- JasminaI ima li još lijepih fotografija?And are there any more pretty photos?
- EmirVjerovatno ima još nekih.There are probably more.
