Zakon je važan.

Serbian does not have articles like the or a/an.

So zakon can mean:

• law
• the law
• a law

The exact meaning depends on context. In a sentence like Zakon je važan, English often translates it as The law is important or Law is important, depending on the situation.

Je is the 3rd person singular present tense of the verb biti (to be).

So it means is.

• zakon = law
• je = is
• važan = important

This is a very common Serbian sentence pattern:

noun + je + adjective

For example:

• Grad je velik. = The city is big.
• Problem je ozbiljan. = The problem is serious.

Because važan has to agree with zakon.

Zakon is:

• masculine
• singular
• nominative

So the adjective also has to be:

• masculine
• singular
• nominative

That gives važan.

Compare:

• zakon je važan — masculine singular
• odluka je važna — feminine singular
• pravilo je važno — neuter singular

This agreement is a basic and very important feature of Serbian grammar.

Both are in the nominative here.

• zakon is the subject of the sentence, so nominative is expected.
• važan is a predicate adjective used with je, and in Serbian it also appears in nominative to match the subject.

So this is the basic dictionary-style form of both words in this sentence.

No. Serbian usually does not use a subject pronoun unless it is needed for emphasis or contrast.

So you simply say:

Zakon je važan.

You would not normally say:

On je važan
unless on is specifically referring back to something already mentioned and you want to emphasize it/he.

In Serbian, the verb form often already tells you the person and number, so extra pronouns are often unnecessary.

Yes. It is the most neutral, standard word order.

A simple Serbian statement often looks like:

subject + je + adjective

So Zakon je važan is completely natural.

However, Serbian word order is more flexible than English. You can change it for emphasis, for example:

Važan je zakon.

This can sound like It is the law that is important or put extra focus on važan or zakon, depending on context.

But for a basic learner sentence, Zakon je važan is the safest and most neutral form.

The letter ž is pronounced like the s in measure or the g in genre in English.

So važan sounds approximately like:

VAH-zhan

More carefully:

• va = like va in father
• ž = the voiced sound in measure
• an = a short ending, roughly ahn

And zakon is roughly: ZAH-kon

So the whole sentence is approximately:

ZAH-kon ye VAH-zhan

Also note:

• j in Serbian is pronounced like English y
• so je sounds like ye

Yes. Serbian uses both Latin and Cyrillic scripts.

So:

Zakon je važan.
in Cyrillic is:

Закон је важан.

Both are correct Serbian. Learners will often see both, so it is useful to recognize them early.

It can mean different but related things depending on context.

Zakon can refer to:

• law in a general sense
• a law
• a statute
• an act passed by a government

For example, in legal or political context, zakon often means a specific law or statute. In a broader context, it can mean law as a concept.

So the sentence could be understood in more than one way unless the context makes it clear.

Because this sentence uses a predicate adjective, not an adjective directly attached to the noun.

Compare the difference:

• važan zakon = an important law
  Here the adjective directly modifies the noun.

• zakon je važan = the law is important
  Here the adjective comes after the verb to be.

So Serbian works very similarly to English in this respect:

• an important law
• the law is important

The difference is just that Serbian has no article, and the forms of the adjective must agree with the noun.

In a normal, standard sentence like this, no — you should keep je.

So the correct full sentence is:

Zakon je važan.

You may sometimes see the verb omitted in:

• headlines
• notes
• very informal speech
• poetry

But as a learner, you should treat je as necessary here.

So do not learn:

• Zakon važan

Learn:

• Zakon je važan.