Reading a Serbian number aloud requires two decisions. First, build the number itself: 2.406 is две хиљаде четиристо шест. Then choose the form of the following noun: 2.406 динара ends in six, so динар appears as genitive plural динара. Years and dates add a further twist because they are normally ordinal expressions—“the two-thousand-and-twenty-sixth year”—not simple counts.
This page gives a practical method for large numbers, calendar years, prices, ages, and digit strings. For the morphology of each range, see Cardinals 0–10 and Cardinals 11–1000.
Build the Spoken Number in Blocks
Read from the largest unit down: thousands, hundreds, tens, ones. Serbian normally leaves out zero-valued blocks and does not require English and inside an ordinary cardinal.
| Written | Read aloud |
|---|---|
| 106 | сто шест |
| 284 | двеста осамдесет четири |
| 999 | деветсто деведесет девет |
| 1.008 | хиљаду осам |
| 2.406 | две хиљаде четиристо шест |
| 12.300 | дванаест хиљада триста |
The thousands unit behaves like a feminine noun: једна хиљада, две хиљаде, пет хиљада. In ordinary quantities, хиљаду is common for exactly 1,000: хиљаду динара. Hundreds have forms that must be learned accurately: сто, двеста, триста, четиристо, петсто, шестсто, седамсто, осамсто, деветсто.
Број 2.406 читамо: „две хиљаде четиристо шест“.
We read the number 2,406 as ‘two thousand four hundred six.’
Стан има сто шест квадрата, али само две спаваће собе.
The apartment is 106 square meters, but it has only two bedrooms.
In careful speech, pronounce each component fully. Reduced forms heard in rapid (informal) conversation do not change the standard spelling.
The Final Unit Controls the Counted Noun
After you construct a compound number, inspect its end. The value of the whole number is not enough: its final counting unit normally selects the noun form.
| Ending | Noun pattern | Example |
|---|---|---|
| 1, except 11 | singular, agreeing with један | 1.021 динар |
| 2–4, except 12–14 | paucal/count form | 242 динара |
| 0, 5–9, and 11–14 | genitive plural | 1.250 динара; 114 динара |
Карта кошта хиљаду двадесет један динар.
The ticket costs 1,021 dinars.
Поправка кошта двеста четрдесет два динара више него што смо очекивали.
The repair costs 242 dinars more than we expected.
На рачуну је остало хиљаду двеста педесет динара.
There are 1,250 dinars left in the account.
The special block 11–14 wins even though the last digit is 1–4: сто једанаест динара, not singular динар; сто дванаест динара, not the 2–4 form for another noun. This is why Serbian numeral syntax is not an ordinary plural rule.
Prices: Read the Currency, Not Just the Digits
Serbian normally writes a decimal comma. In a price such as 399,99 динара, the whole-number part names dinars and the fractional part names пара. In shops, speakers may shorten a clearly displayed price, but the full form is safest for learners.
Цена је 399,99 динара — триста деведесет девет динара и деведесет девет пара.
The price is 399.99 dinars—three hundred ninety-nine dinars and ninety-nine paras.
За две карте платила сам 2.840 динара.
I paid 2,840 dinars for two tickets.
Here 2.840 is read две хиљаде осамсто четрдесет, and zero at the end selects genitive plural динара. Currency words still follow numeral government even when digits hide the morphology.
Calendar Years Are Ordinal
A year names a position in a sequence. With expressed година, the year numeral is therefore ordinal and agrees with feminine година. After у meaning “in (a year),” Serbian commonly uses the locative phrase у ... години; in dates and many time expressions, genitive ... године is frequent.
Конференција ће бити одржана у две хиљаде двадесет шестој години.
The conference will be held in 2026.
Фирма је основана две хиљаде двадесет друге године.
The company was founded in 2022.
In the first example, двадесет шестој is feminine locative singular agreeing with години. In the second, двадесет друге is feminine genitive singular agreeing with године. Ordinary speech often omits the understood noun but keeps the ordinal ending:
Упознали смо се две хиљаде деветнаесте, а венчали две хиљаде двадесет треће.
We met in 2019 and got married in 2023.
Older years are grouped in the same way:
Мост је отворен хиљаду деветсто тридесет четврте године.
The bridge opened in 1934.
Do not copy English digit grouping and say “nineteen thirty-four” as two bare cardinals. Serbian gives the full ordinal year phrase. The detailed formation of ordinal endings belongs on the Ordinal Numbers page.
Dates Use Ordinals Too
In a full date, the day and month typically appear in the genitive without English on or of. The written full stop after the day digit marks it as ordinal.
Састанак је 24. јуна, то јест двадесет четвртог јуна.
The meeting is on June 24, that is, the twenty-fourth of June.
Рок истиче 1. октобра две хиљаде двадесет шесте године.
The deadline expires on October 1, 2026.
Read 1. октобра as првог октобра, not cardinal један октобра. The dot after an ordinal digit is meaningful Serbian punctuation.
Ages Are Cardinal Quantities
Age is not read like a calendar year. Serbian says that someone “has” a number of years, and година follows the same 1 / 2–4 / 5+ pattern as other counted nouns.
Моја ћерка има двадесет једну годину, а син двадесет две године.
My daughter is twenty-one, and my son is twenty-two.
Колега данас пуни тридесет пет година.
Our colleague turns thirty-five today.
The feminine numeral in двадесет једну годину agrees with accusative годину. English hides both gender and case here.
Counted Subjects and Predicate Agreement
Reading the numeral correctly also means choosing a natural predicate. With feminine nouns after 2–4, plural agreement is straightforward. With masculine or neuter paucal phrases, the past participle normally has -а. With 5+, neutral grammatical agreement is commonly neuter singular.
Стигле су две хиљаде двадесет три пријаве.
2,023 applications arrived.
Стигло је две хиљаде двадесет пет пријава.
2,025 applications arrived.
The one-digit difference changes both пријаве → пријава and стигле су → стигло је. Semantic plural agreement also occurs, especially with people, but the displayed pair is the reliable neutral grammatical pattern.
Numbers That Are Identifiers
Telephone numbers, codes, bus routes, and room numbers identify rather than count. They may be read digit by digit or in conventional groups, and no counted noun form is governed by the last digit.
Број телефона почиње овако: нула шест четири, двеста, триста.
The phone number begins like this: zero six four, two hundred, three hundred.
Уђите у аутобус деведесет пет и изађите код поште.
Take bus 95 and get off by the post office.
Practice Tasks
Task 1: Read a Price Fully
Read 3.124 динара and explain the noun form.
Три хиљаде сто двадесет четири динара.
3,124 dinars. Answer: the number ends in four, so динар has the 2–4 count form динара.
Task 2: Contrast a Year and an Age
Read 2021. године and 21 година in natural phrases.
Доселила се две хиљаде двадесет прве године, када је имала двадесет једну годину.
She moved here in 2021, when she was twenty-one. Answer: ordinal year, cardinal age.
Common Mistakes
Reading every following noun as an ordinary plural
❌ Улазница кошта двеста двадесет два динари.
Incorrect—222 ends in two, so the count form is динара, not nominative plural динари.
✅ Улазница кошта двеста двадесет два динара.
The ticket costs 222 dinars.
Letting the last digit override the 11–14 block
❌ До поднева су стигле сто тринаест пријаве.
Incorrect—113 ends in the 13 block, which requires genitive plural пријава and normally neuter singular predicate agreement.
✅ До поднева је стигло сто тринаест пријава.
By noon, 113 applications had arrived.
Reading a calendar year as a bare cardinal
❌ Преселили смо се две хиљаде двадесет два године.
Incorrect—calendar year modifies године ordinally: двадесет друге године.
✅ Преселили смо се две хиљаде двадесет друге године.
We moved in 2022.
Using a dot as the spoken decimal marker
❌ Цена је сто деведесет девет тачка деведесет девет динара.
Incorrect for a Serbian decimal price—the written decimal separator and spoken word are зарез, or the amount is split into dinars and paras.
✅ Цена је сто деведесет девет динара и деведесет девет пара.
The price is 199 dinars and 99 paras.
Key Takeaways
- Build a large number from thousands to ones, then let its final relevant unit control the counted noun.
- Endings 1 and 2–4 have their own patterns, but 11–14 always select genitive plural.
- Prices preserve numeral government; decimal money is naturally read as whole currency units plus fractional units.
- Calendar years and dates are ordinal expressions, while ages are cardinal quantities.
- Identifier numbers such as phone numbers and bus routes do not govern a counted noun.
Now practice Serbian
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Start learning Serbian →Related Topics
- Cardinal Numbers 0-10A1 — The basic counting numbers and which decline.
- Cardinal Numbers 11-1000A1 — Teens, tens, hundreds, and how to build compound numbers.
- Numeral Government: 1 / 2-4 / 5+A2 — The master rule for which case a counted noun takes.
- The Paucal (2-4) in DetailB1 — The dual-relic form after dva, tri, četiri.
- Ordinal NumbersA1 — First, second, third — and the period that writes them.
- Prices and BargainingA2 — Talking money at markets and shops.