Ући / улазити means cross a boundary into a place: enter, go in, or get in. English commonly makes the destination a direct object (enter the room), but Serbian normally names it with a directional preposition plus accusative: ући у собу. The broader system is mapped on the prefixed directional motion page.
Boundary crossed or motion in progress
Perfective ући selects the completed boundary crossing. Imperfective улазити shows entry in progress, repeated entry, or a general rule.
Чим смо ушли у двориште, пас је дотрчао до капије.
As soon as we entered the yard, the dog ran up to the gate.
Посетиоци улазе у музеј на сваких петнаест минута.
Visitors enter the museum every fifteen minutes.
The first entrance is a completed event. The second is a repeated schedule. Aspect, not the English tense alone, makes this contrast.
Irregular forms worth memorizing
Ући does not build its present or l-participle transparently from the infinitive. The imperfective present uses улази-, while the perfective present uses уђ-. Its imperfective partner is улазити, not a mechanically formed уићи.
| Person | улазити (impf.) | ући (pf.) |
|---|---|---|
| ја | улазим | уђем |
| ти | улазиш | уђеш |
| он / она / оно | улази | уђе |
| ми | улазимо | уђемо |
| ви | улазите | уђете |
| они / оне / она | улазе | уђу |
The complete l-participles are улазио, улазила, улазило; улазили, улазиле, улазила and irregular ушао, ушла, ушло; ушли, ушле, ушла. Imperatives are улази, улазимо, улазите and уђи, уђимо, уђите. Future I is улазићу, улазићеш, улазиће, улазићемо, улазићете, улазиће, but the -ћи infinitive remains separate from the clitic: ући ћу, ући ћеш, ући ће, ући ћемо, ући ћете, ући ће.
Уђи тихо јер је беба управо заспала.
Come in quietly because the baby has just fallen asleep.
Ући ћемо на споредни улаз ако главна врата буду закључана.
We will enter through the side entrance if the main doors are locked.
Perfective present normally has future, conditional, habitual, or subordinate force:
Кад уђеш у канцеларију, остави пакет на пријемном пулту.
When you enter the office, leave the package at the reception desk.
Destination: у or на plus accusative
Use у + accusative for entering the interior or bounded space of a room, building, vehicle, organization, or abstract domain.
Воз је стао, али још нико не улази у вагон.
The train has stopped, but no one is getting into the carriage yet.
With places conventionally selected by на, direction likewise takes на + accusative: на стадион, на тржиште, на састанак. The choice belongs to the noun and meaning, not to the verb alone.
Контрола почиње пре него што публика уђе на стадион.
The security check begins before the crowd enters the stadium.
For seeing a person at their home, office, or practice, ући код + genitive means go in to them:
Сачекајте у ходнику док вас лекар не позове да уђете код њега.
Wait in the hallway until the doctor calls you in.
This is not a destination inside the person; код establishes the person's premises or presence as the endpoint.
Source, route, and entrance
A full path can name three separate pieces:
| Path role | Serbian frame | Example phrase |
|---|---|---|
| source | из + genitive | из дворишта |
| route | кроз + accusative | кроз задња врата |
| destination | у / на + accusative | у кухињу / на терасу |
Из баште смо ушли у кућу кроз врата поред гараже.
We entered the house from the garden through the door beside the garage.
Serbian can also identify the access point with на + accusative in expressions such as ући на главни улаз “enter through the main entrance.” Here на presents the entry point, while у + accusative can still name the destination.
Гости су ушли у салу на источни улаз јер је западни био затворен.
The guests entered the hall through the east entrance because the west one was closed.
Literal and extended entry
The same boundary logic extends beyond physical rooms. Ући у посао can mean get into a line of work or become absorbed in the work; ући у траг means track down or discover the trail of someone or something.
Требало ми је неколико недеља да уђем у посао и научим све процедуре.
It took me several weeks to settle into the job and learn all the procedures.
Истражитељи су ушли у траг пошиљци преко броја на рачуну.
The investigators tracked down the shipment using the number on the receipt.
These are lexicalized combinations. Do not replace the preposition merely because another English translation seems possible.
Unlike some motion verbs, ући is not reflexive. Се may appear elsewhere in the sentence, but it is not part of the verb meaning “enter.”
Micro-dialogue
— Где да уђем? — Прођи поред киоска и уђи у зграду кроз стаклена врата.
— Where should I go in? — Go past the kiosk and enter the building through the glass doors.
The destination is у зграду; the route is кроз стаклена врата. Perfective imperatives guide the listener through successive completed path segments.
Common Mistakes
Copying the English direct object
❌ Ушли смо нову библиотеку пре затварања.
Incorrect — a destination after ући normally needs у plus accusative.
✅ Ушли смо у нову библиотеку пре затварања.
We entered the new library before closing time.
Using perfective for motion unfolding now
❌ Сачекај тренутак, управо уђем у такси.
Incorrect for an action in progress — use imperfective улазим.
✅ Сачекај тренутак, управо улазим у такси.
Wait a moment, I'm getting into the taxi right now.
Regularizing the l-participle
❌ Курир је ућео у погрешну зграду.
Incorrect — the masculine l-participle of ући is irregular: ушао.
✅ Курир је ушао у погрешну зграду.
The courier entered the wrong building.
Joining Future I after an infinitive in -ћи
❌ Ућићу кроз бочна врата да не ометам пробу.
Incorrect spelling — infinitives in -ћи remain separate from the future clitic: ући ћу.
✅ Ући ћу кроз бочна врата да не ометам пробу.
I will enter through the side door so that I don't interrupt the rehearsal.
Practice
Task 1: Map the path
Write one sentence containing a source with из + genitive, a destination with у + accusative, and a route with кроз + accusative. Then label each phrase as source, route, or destination.
Task 2: Choose aspect and form
Use улазити for a repeated schedule and an action happening now. Use ући for one completed entrance and in a future кад clause. Include one irregular l-participle and one Future I form.
Key Takeaways
- Ући selects the completed boundary crossing; улазити presents ongoing or repeated entry.
- Memorize уђем and ушао / ушла, plus separate Future I ући ћу.
- Destinations normally take у / на + accusative, not a bare object.
- Из + genitive marks source and кроз + accusative marks route; the verb is not reflexive.
Now practice Serbian
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Start learning Serbian →Related Topics
- Prefixed Directional Motion VerbsB1 — doci, otici, uci, izaci and their direction-encoding prefixes.
- Aspect, Prefixes, and Directional VerbsB2 — How prefixes build directional motion families and secondary imperfectives.
- Accusative for Motion and DirectionA2 — Prepositions of destination that take the accusative.
- u and na: In/On, To/IntoA2 — The two most important prepositions and their case-driven meanings.
- Motion Prepositions: kroz, niz, uz, prema, kA2 — Direction and path prepositions.