Želim da ojačam mišiće.

to want

Breakdown of Želim da ojačam mišiće.

• da: that
• mišić: a muscle
• ojačati: to strengthen

Questions & Answers about Želim da ojačam mišiće.

How do I pronounce Želim da ojačam mišiće?

A rough English-style pronunciation is:

ZHE-lim da o-YA-cham MEE-shee-che

A few key sounds:

• Ž sounds like the s in measure
• j sounds like English y
• č sounds like ch in church
• ć is a softer version of č
• Serbian spelling is very phonetic, so words are usually pronounced the way they are written

So:

• Želim ≈ ZHE-lim
• ojačam ≈ o-YA-cham
• mišiće ≈ MEE-shee-che

Why is there no word for I?

Because Serbian often leaves out subject pronouns when the verb already makes the subject clear.

Here, želim ends in -m, which shows first person singular: I want.

So:

• Želim da ojačam mišiće = I want to strengthen muscles
• Ja želim da ojačam mišiće = same meaning, but ja adds emphasis, like I want to...

What does da mean here?

In this sentence, introduces the second verb clause after .