Ways to say it
| Serbian | Romanization (Wiktionary) | IPA | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| седети | sèdeti | /sědeti/ /sěːdeti/ |
Cyrillic |
| сједити | sjèditi | /sjěditi/ | Cyrillic, imperfective |
| sedeti | /sědeti/ /sěːdeti/ |
Latin | |
| sjediti | /sjěditi/ | Latin, imperfective |
This verb describes the physical position of a person whose upper body is upright and whose legs are supported.
Which one should you use?
The form сједити (or sjediti) is the imperfective aspect, which is used to describe the continuous process of sitting down or the ongoing state of being seated. While седети (or sedeti) is the default, its role in aspectual pairs can vary depending on specific dialectal or grammatical nuances regarding whether the action is viewed as completed.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In Montenegro, the phrase Sjedi is commonly used instead of Sedi.
How does it change in a sentence?
The verb седети belongs to the imperfective class in many contexts, though in Serbian aspectual pairs, sedeti is often treated as the perfective form of sjediti depending on the specific grammatical nuance of the action's completion.
How do you pronounce it?
The romanization is sèdeti. The IPA is /sědeti/.
Did you know?
- In Serbian, the root сед is not only used for sitting but is also the basis for the word for 'grey' (седи), describing the color of hair.
- The Serbian word седети shares a root with the English word 'sediment' and the Latin 'sedere', as both descend from the Proto-Indo-European root *sed-.
- A person who is 'sitting' in a professional or official capacity, like a judge or a council, uses the same root сед found in the word седиште, which means 'headquarters'.
Examples in context
- Sedi, molim te.Sit, please.
- Sedi pored mene.Sit next to me.
- Sedi, ovde je udobno.Sit, it's comfortable here.
Example conversation
Ana and Stefan are looking for a place to stay in a cafe.
- AnaГде жемо седети?Where can we sit?
- StefanОној тепалији је слободно.That sofa is free.
- AnaНе желим да седети ту.I don't want to sit there.
- StefanОнда ћемо седети овде.Then we will sit here.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “sit” translations and entries седети, сједити, sedeti, sjediti, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries sedeti, седети, сједити, CC BY-SA 4.0.
