Ajde, pozovi me.

Ajde is a very common conversational word in Serbian. Here it means something like:

• come on
• go on
• okay then
• all right, do it

In Ajde, pozovi me, it adds encouragement or urging, so the overall feeling is Come on, call me.

It is informal and very common in everyday speech.

Both ajde and hajde are used, and they mean the same thing.

• hajde is the fuller form
• ajde is a very common shortened conversational form

In everyday speech, many speakers use ajde naturally. You will hear both across Serbian-speaking areas.

Pozovi is the imperative form, used to tell someone to do something.

It comes from the verb pozvati.

So:

• pozvati = to call / to invite
• pozovi! = call! / invite!

Here it is the 2nd person singular imperative, so it is used when speaking to one person informally.

Me is a short object pronoun, and in Serbian these short pronouns usually do not stand at the beginning on their own in a neutral sentence.

So the natural order is:

• pozovi me = call me

This is the normal, neutral way to say it.

You can sometimes change word order for emphasis, but pozovi me is the standard form a learner should use.

Me means me, but grammatically it is the accusative form of the pronoun ja (I).

So:

• ja = I
• mene / me = me

In this sentence, me is the direct object of pozovi:

• pozovi me = call me

The short form me is the usual one here.

No. Pozvati can mean several related things depending on context, including:

• to call someone
• to invite someone
• to summon someone

So pozovi me could mean:

• call me
  or
• invite me

depending on the situation.

If the meaning shown to the learner is call me, then that is the intended interpretation here, but it is good to know the verb itself is broader.

This is mainly about aspect, which is very important in Serbian verbs.

• pozvati is perfective
• zvati is imperfective

In an imperative:

• pozovi me often suggests make the call / call me once
• zovi me can sound more like call me / keep calling me / call me in general

So if you want a single completed action, pozovi me is very natural.

This perfective/imperfective contrast does not map exactly onto English, so learners often need time to get used to it.

It is informal.

There are two reasons:

1. pozovi is the singular informal imperative, used with ti
2. ajde is a casual conversational word

If you wanted to speak formally to one person or to multiple people, you would use pozovite instead:

• Molim vas, pozovite me. = Please call me.

That version is much more polite and formal.

A simple pronunciation guide for an English speaker:

• Ajde ≈ EYE-deh
• pozovi ≈ poh-ZOH-vee
• me ≈ meh

A few helpful points:

• j in Serbian is pronounced like English y
• z is like English z
• vowels are usually clear and short

So ajde is not pronounced with English j as in jam.

Not always. Ajde / hajde is very flexible.

It can be used to:

• encourage someone: Ajde! = Come on!
• suggest doing something: Ajde da idemo. = Let’s go.
• accept something: Ajde. = Okay.
• urge someone to act: Ajde, pozovi me. = Come on, call me.

So here it helps create an encouraging or urging tone, rather than functioning as the main verb.

Yes, Ajde, nazovi me is also possible and often very natural for call me, especially in the telephone sense.

A rough comparison:

• pozovi me = call me / invite me / contact me, depending on context
• nazovi me = call me, often more clearly phone me

In real usage, both can be heard. If the intended meaning is specifically a phone call, nazovi me is often very clear.