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Learn Hardcore Serbian: Ne verujem u duhove. - I do not believe in ghosts.

Hardcore Serbian
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/Ne verujem u duhove.

Ne verujem u duhove.

Word

Ne verujem u duhove.

Meaning

I do not believe in ghosts.

Part of speech

sentence

Pronunciation

Course

Hardcore Serbian

Lesson

Enrolling in a professional course

Breakdown of Ne verujem u duhove.

to believe or trust

a ghost; spirit

Questions & Answers about Ne verujem u duhove.

Why is it duhove and not duhovi?

Because after u in this sentence, Serbian uses the accusative case, and the accusative plural of duh (ghost/spirit) is duhove.

duhovi = nominative plural = ghosts as the subject
duhove = accusative plural = ghosts as the object after u in verovati u

So:

Duhovi postoje. = Ghosts exist.
Ne verujem u duhove. = I don’t believe in ghosts.

Why is the preposition u used here?

In Serbian, verovati u + accusative means to believe in something in the sense of believing that it exists or believing in an idea, power, system, etc.

So:

verovati u Boga = to believe in God
verovati u ljubav = to believe in love
verovati u duhove = to believe in ghosts

Without u, verovati often means to believe someone or to trust what someone says, and that usually works differently grammatically.

What is the difference between verovati and verovati u?

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This is a very important distinction:

verovati nekome = to believe someone / trust someone
verovati u nešto = to believe in something

Examples:

Verujem ti. = I believe you.
Ne verujem mu. = I don’t believe him.
Verujem u čuda. = I believe in miracles.
Ne verujem u duhove. = I don’t believe in ghosts.

So in your sentence, the meaning is not I don’t believe the ghosts, but I don’t believe in ghosts.

What form is verujem?

Verujem is the 1st person singular present tense of verovati, so it means I believe.

A few present-tense forms are:

ja verujem = I believe
ti veruješ = you believe
on/ona/ono veruje = he/she/it believes
mi verujemo = we believe
vi verujete = you believe
oni/one/ona veruju = they believe

With ne, it becomes:

ne verujem = I do not believe

Why is there no word for I? Can I say Ja ne verujem u duhove?

Yes, you can say Ja ne verujem u duhove, but Serbian often drops the subject pronoun because the verb ending already shows who the subject is.

Verujem already tells you the subject is I
so Ja is often unnecessary

Compare:

Ne verujem u duhove. = neutral, natural
Ja ne verujem u duhove. = I don’t believe in ghosts (extra emphasis on I)

Serbian uses pronouns more for contrast, emphasis, or clarity than English does.

How does negation work in ne verujem?

Serbian usually forms negation by putting ne before the verb:

verujem = I believe
ne verujem = I do not believe

In writing, ne is usually written separately from the verb.

Examples:

Znam. = I know.
Ne znam. = I don’t know.
Mogu. = I can.
Ne mogu. = I can’t.

So Ne verujem is the normal way to say I don’t believe.

Is the word order fixed? Could I say it differently?

The most neutral word order is:

Ne verujem u duhove.

But Serbian word order is fairly flexible, and changing it can change the emphasis.

For example:

Ja ne verujem u duhove. = emphasis on I
U duhove ne verujem. = emphasis on in ghosts
Duhovima ne verujem. = this would mean something different, more like I don’t believe ghosts / I don’t trust ghosts, not I don’t believe in ghosts

So yes, word order can change, but the original sentence is the most natural basic version.

What is the dictionary form of duhove?

The dictionary form is duh.

Here are some useful forms:

duh = ghost/spirit
duhovi = ghosts (nominative plural)
duhove = ghosts (accusative plural)

So in vocabulary lists, you would usually learn the word as duh.

Can duh mean both ghost and spirit?

Yes. Duh can mean ghost, spirit, and in some contexts even mind or essence, depending on the situation.

In this sentence, because of the context verovati u duhove, the natural meaning is ghosts.

So:

Ne verujem u duhove. most naturally means I don’t believe in ghosts.

How is this sentence pronounced?

A simple pronunciation guide is:

Ne verujem u duhove
neh VEH-roo-yehm oo DOO-hoh-veh

A few notes:

j in Serbian is pronounced like English y
u is like oo in food
h is clearly pronounced
Serbian spelling is very phonetic, so words are usually pronounced much as they are written

So verujem sounds roughly like VEH-roo-yem, not like English j in jam.

Would this sentence ever mean I don’t believe the ghosts?

No, not in normal Serbian.

Ne verujem u duhove specifically means I don’t believe in ghosts because of the pattern verovati u + accusative.

If you wanted to say I don’t believe the ghosts, you would need a different structure, for example one using verovati with a person-like object in the dative:

Ne verujem duhovima. = I don’t believe the ghosts / I don’t trust the ghosts

So the preposition u makes a big difference here.

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