English study hides a distinction that Serbian normally makes. Студирати means pursue university or other higher education: it identifies enrollment, a degree program, or a field. Учити describes the actual activity of studying or learning material, at university or anywhere else. They can describe the same person's life, but they are not aspectual partners.
Principal forms
| Form | студирати | учити (imperfective) / научити (perfective result) |
|---|---|---|
| present | студирам, студираш, студира, студирамо, студирате, студирају | учим, учиш, учи, учимо, учите, уче |
| l-participle | студирао / студирала | учио / учила; научио / научила |
| imperative | студирај, студирајмо, студирајте | учи, учимо, учите; научи, научимо, научите |
| future I, 1st singular | студираћу / ја ћу студирати | учићу / ја ћу учити; научићу / ја ћу научити |
| negative present | не студирам | не учим; не научим |
Despite infinitive -ирати, студирати has the a-class present студирам — студирају. Учити has the i-class pair учим — уче. Learn the present anchors along with the infinitives.
Студирам архитектуру у Београду, а ове године највише учим математику.
I study architecture in Belgrade, and this year I'm studying mathematics most of all.
Моја сестра је студирала право, али сада ради у издавачкој кући.
My sister studied law, but now she works at a publishing house.
Degree program and field: студирати + accusative
The subject studied is normally a direct accusative object: студирати право, медицину, историју, машинство. No preposition corresponds to English study.
Лука студира медицину и жели да се бави педијатријом.
Luka studies medicine and wants to work in pediatrics.
Шта студирате и на којој сте години?
What do you study, and what year are you in? (plural or polite)
An accusative clitic can refer back to a named discipline, although repeating or omitting the subject is often stylistically smoother.
Изабрала је архитектуру и сада је студира у Новом Саду.
She chose architecture and now studies it in Novi Sad.
Serbian may omit the object when “be a university student” is enough.
Још студира, али већ ради пола радног времена.
She is still at university, but she already works part-time.
Institution and location
Use на + locative for a faculty or university as an institution and у + locative for a city or country. The two phrases can occur together.
Студира на Електротехничком факултету у Београду.
He studies at the School of Electrical Engineering in Belgrade.
Годину дана сам студирала у Прагу преко програма размене.
I studied in Prague for a year through an exchange program. (female speaker)
English uses at for both institution and city in some varieties. Serbian case choice follows the noun's spatial/institutional frame: на факултету, but у Прагу.
Actual studying and exam preparation: учити
When someone sits down with notes, reads a chapter, memorizes terms, or prepares for an exam, use учити. The material may be accusative; the exam goal uses за + accusative.
Вечерас учим за испит из статистике, па не могу да изађем.
I'm studying for the statistics exam tonight, so I can't go out.
На факултету студира биологију, а тренутно учи називе биљних врста.
She studies biology at university and is currently learning the names of plant species.
Учили смо у библиотеци док нас нису замолили да изађемо.
We studied in the library until they asked us to leave.
The учити / научити reference covers the additional “teach someone” frame. Студирати does not mean teach: a professor предаје, while students студирају and уче.
Different aspectual networks
Ordinary студирати is imperfective: university study is conceived as an extended activity or status. There is no everyday perfective partner meaning merely “have studied.” Completion is normally expressed lexically with завршити факултет / студије or дипломирати.
Завршио је студије у року и дипломирао прошлог јуна.
He completed his studies on time and graduated last June.
Одстудирати packages a defined portion of study, such as a semester, year, or entire program, often emphasizing getting that span completed. It adds this bounded-interval meaning and is not a neutral replacement for every past студирати.
Одстудирала је један семестар у Италији, а затим се вратила у Србију.
She completed one semester of study in Italy and then returned to Serbia.
By contrast, учити — научити contrasts a learning process with an acquired result. Научити does not mean graduate or complete enrollment.
Студирао је јапански четири године, али га није научио довољно добро за превођење.
He studied Japanese for four years, but did not learn it well enough for translation.
The sentence can truthfully combine extended study with an unachieved learning result. This is why shared English study/learn glosses do not prove pairhood.
Other meanings of English study
For systematic scholarly examination, Serbian often uses проучавати / проучити or изучавати (academic). Looking closely at a document may instead be проучити or прегледати. Студирати should not be expanded to every English use of study.
Истраживачице проучавају утицај суше на пољопривреду.
The researchers are studying the effect of drought on agriculture. (academic)
Пажљиво сам проучио уговор пре него што сам га потписао.
I studied the contract carefully before signing it. (male speaker)
Neither sentence describes university enrollment.
Се and impersonal university talk
Personal студирати is not reflexive. Студира се can be impersonal, meaning “people study / one studies,” while a field may support a passive-like interpretation.
Кад се студира у иностранству, свакодневни живот постаје део учења.
When one studies abroad, everyday life becomes part of the learning process.
The verb is third-person singular because the clause is impersonal. Do not add се to ordinary Студирам медицину.
Micro-dialogue
„Шта студираш?“ — „Фармацију. Сада учим за последњи испит.“ — „Кад завршаваш студије?“ — „Ако све положим, дипломираћу у јуну.“
‘What do you study?’ — ‘Pharmacy. I'm studying for my final exam now.’ — ‘When do you finish your degree?’ — ‘If I pass everything, I'll graduate in June.’
The exchange assigns enrollment to студирати, immediate preparation to учити, program completion to завршити, and graduation to дипломирати.
Common Mistakes
❌ Студирам за испит цело вече.
Incorrect for an exam-preparation session — use учити; студирати names higher-education enrollment or a degree field.
✅ Учим за испит цело вече.
I'm studying for the exam all evening.
❌ Студирам у Правном факултету већ четири године.
Incorrect institutional preposition — a faculty takes на + locative in this frame.
✅ Студирам на Правном факултету већ четири године.
I've been studying at the Faculty of Law for four years.
❌ Професор студира студенте органску хемију.
Incorrect — студирати does not have the teacher frame; use предавати or учити.
✅ Професор предаје студентима органску хемију.
The professor teaches the students organic chemistry.
❌ Студирам се економију у Нишу.
Incorrect — personal студирати is transitive and not reflexive.
✅ Студирам економију у Нишу.
I study economics in Niš.
Practice Tasks
Task 1: Split English study
Translate statements about studying physics as a degree, studying for tomorrow's physics exam, and academically studying a physical phenomenon. Use студирати, учити, and проучавати once each.
Task 2: Describe a university timeline
Use студирати for an ongoing degree, одстудирати for one completed exchange semester, завршити студије for program completion, and дипломирати for graduation.
Key Takeaways
- Студирати names higher-education enrollment or a field; учити names the learning activity or material.
- The main frames are студирати нешто, на факултету, and у граду/земљи.
- Студирати has a-class forms студирам — студирају; учити has i-class учим — уче.
- Completion is normally завршити студије or дипломирати; одстудирати bounds a study period and adds lexical meaning.
- Personal студирати has no се; студира се is an impersonal construction.
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Start learning Serbian →Related Topics
- učiti / naučiti (to learn / study)A2 — Studying vs mastering.
- Present Tense: -a- VerbsA1 — The largest, most regular present conjugation.
- Present Tense: -i- VerbsA1 — The -im conjugation for many -iti and -jeti verbs.
- Accusative: The Direct ObjectA1 — The accusative as the default object of transitive verbs.
- Aspectual Pairs versus Related VerbsB1 — A focused guide to aspectual pairs versus related verbs in Serbian.