Želim ti sreću.

• Želim = I wish / I want. It is the 1st person singular present tense of želeti.
• ti = to you / you in the dative case.
• sreću = luck in the accusative case.

So the structure is basically:

I wish + to you + luck

which matches the English idea I wish you luck.

In Serbian, subject pronouns are often left out because the verb ending already shows who the subject is.

• želim already means I wish
• so ja is not necessary

You can say Ja želim ti sreću, but it usually sounds more emphatic, as if you are stressing I.

The neutral, natural version is simply:

Želim ti sreću.

Ti is the dative singular form of ti meaning you in an informal singular sense.

In this sentence, Serbian uses the dative for the person who receives the wish:

• želim ti sreću = I wish you luck

This is similar to other Serbian patterns where the person affected by something is in the dative.

If you are speaking to:

• one friend / one child / someone informal → ti
• several people or one person formally → vam

So:

• Želim ti sreću. = informal singular
• Želim vam sreću. = formal singular or plural

Because sreću is the accusative singular form of sreća.

The noun sreća is feminine, and feminine nouns ending in -a usually change to -u in the accusative singular:

• nominative: sreća
• accusative: sreću

Here, sreću is the direct object of želim, so the accusative is required.

A similar pattern:

• Imam knjigu. = I have a book.
• nominative: knjiga
• accusative: knjigu

It can mean both, depending on context.

• sreća = luck
• sreća = happiness

In Želim ti sreću, it means luck, not happiness.

So here it is closer to:

• I wish you luck
• Good luck to you

Context usually makes the meaning clear.

Yes, it is correct and natural, but it is a bit fuller than the very common short expression:

Srećno! = Good luck!

So:

• Srećno! = short, very common, everyday
• Želim ti sreću. = more explicit, warmer, more personal: I wish you luck

You might use Želim ti sreću when you want to sound a little more heartfelt.

Yes, Serbian word order is fairly flexible, but not every version sounds equally natural.

The most neutral order is:

Želim ti sreću.

You may also hear:

• Sreću ti želim. — more literary or emphatic
• Ti želim sreću. — possible, but less neutral
• Želim sreću ti. — generally not the normal choice

So for learners, the best default is:

Želim ti sreću.

A rough pronunciation guide:

• Ž sounds like the s in measure
• lj is a soft ly sound, somewhat like the lli in million for many English speakers
• ć is a soft ch/t sound, lighter than English ch
• č and ć are different sounds in Serbian, though beginners often mix them up

Very roughly:

ZHE-lim tee SRE-chu

A few notes:

• stress is not written
• Serbian pronunciation is generally quite phonetic: words are usually pronounced much as they are written

The dictionary form is želeti (sometimes also listed as željeti in some standards or regions, but želeti is standard in Serbian).

So:

• dictionary form: želeti = to want / to wish
• sentence form: želim = I want / I wish

Here it means wish, not simply want.

That is important, because želeti can mean different things depending on context:

• Želim kafu. = I want coffee.
• Želim ti sreću. = I wish you luck.

As written, it is informal singular because it uses ti.

If you want to say the same thing:

• to one person formally
• or to more than one person

you should use vam:

Želim vam sreću.

So the contrast is:

• ti = informal singular
• vam = formal singular or plural

Grammatically, you can say Želim sreću, but it usually feels incomplete unless the context already makes it very clear for whom the luck is being wished.

Normally, if you mean I wish you luck, Serbian includes the recipient:

Želim ti sreću.

Without ti, the sentence sounds more general:

• I wish for luck
• I wish luck
• or something context-dependent

So if you are directly addressing someone, ti is normally expected.

Yes. Želeti often takes:

• a direct object in the accusative, and/or
• a person in the dative

In this sentence:

• ti = person receiving the wish, in dative
• sreću = thing being wished, in accusative

So the pattern is:

želeti + dative person + accusative thing

Examples:

• Želim ti mir. = I wish you peace.
• Želim vam uspeh. = I wish you success.

This is a very useful pattern to remember.