serbe
/sɛʁb/masculine
The French word for Serbian is serbe.
serbe can be used as a noun to refer to the standardized variety of Serbo-Croatian. It also functions as an adjective meaning pertaining to Serbia and Serbians or the Serbian language.
Meaning: the standardized variety of Serbo-Croatian (noun)
Which one should you use?
When you want to refer to a Serbian person as a noun, you must use the capitalized form un Serbe. In contrast, the adjective and the name of the language (le serbe) are written in lowercase.
Related words
How does it change in a sentence?
When referring to the language, serbe is used as a masculine noun preceded by the definite article le. As an adjective, serbe is invariable in gender, so it has the same form for both masculine and feminine nouns.
How do you pronounce it?
/sɛʁb/
What mistakes should you avoid?
English speakers often mistakenly capitalize serbe when using it as an adjective or a noun, but in French, adjectives of nationality are not capitalized.
Did you know?
- French has a specific linguistic term called le serbo-croate to describe the pluricentric language that encompasses le serbe.
- In French, if you describe a woman as Serbian, you say une femme serbe and do not add an 'e' to the end of serbe to make it feminine.
- In French, the distinction between a person and an attribute is marked only by a capital letter. Writing un Serbe refers to the person, while writing le serbe refers to the language or an adjective.
Examples in context
- C'est un nom serbe.It's a Serbian name.This sentence is useful for demonstrating the use of serbe as an adjective.Tatoeba #7998332 by Micsmithel, translation #5927075 by mailohilohi
- Je veux apprendre le serbe.I want to learn Serbian.This sentence is useful for demonstrating the use of serbe as a noun referring to the language.Tatoeba #13740329 by Rovo, translation #9548570 by LinaTamazight
- Tom veut apprendre le serbe.Tom wants to learn Serbian.Tatoeba #9549667 by felix63, translation #9548576 by LinaTamazight
- Je parle serbeI speak Serbian
- Je suis d'origine serbeI am of Serbian origin
- Je voudrais apprendre le serbeI would like to learn Serbian
- J'aime la culture serbeI love Serbian culture
- 5 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Lucas and Chloé are discussing Lucas's linguistic studies.
- LucasEst-ce que tu étudies le serbe ?Are you studying Serbian?
- ChloéOui, je commence le serbe ce semestre.Yes, I am starting Serbian this semester.
- LucasC'est difficile, le serbe ?Is Serbian difficult?
- ChloéUn peu, mais c'est passionnant.A little, but it's exciting.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “serbian” translations and entries serbe, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
