Nalepnica je na kutiji.

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

So:

• nalepnica = sticker / label
• je = is
• na kutiji = on the box

In Serbian, just like in English, you usually need a form of to be in this kind of sentence:

• Nalepnica je na kutiji. = The sticker is on the box.

Because after na when it means location (on, at), Serbian uses the locative case.

The noun kutija changes in the locative singular:

• nominative: kutija
• locative: kutiji

So:

• na kutiji = on the box

Compare that with motion:

• Stavljam nalepnicu na kutiju. = I am putting the sticker onto the box.

Here na kutiju is used because it shows movement toward a destination, so it takes the accusative.

A useful shortcut:

• where? → often locative
• to where? onto what? → often accusative

Kutiji is in the locative singular.

The basic form is kutija. After the preposition na for static location, it becomes:

• na kutiji = on the box

So in this sentence:

• nalepnica = nominative singular, the subject
• je = is
• na kutiji = prepositional phrase with na
  • locative

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

So nalepnica can mean:

• a sticker
• the sticker

And kutiji can mean:

• a box
• the box

Which one is meant depends on the context.

That is why Nalepnica je na kutiji can naturally correspond to The sticker is on the box or A sticker is on a box, depending on the situation.

Yes. Serbian word order is more flexible than English word order.

The neutral order here is:

• Nalepnica je na kutiji.

But you could also hear:

• Na kutiji je nalepnica.

Both are grammatical. The difference is usually focus or emphasis:

• Nalepnica je na kutiji. → neutral statement about the sticker
• Na kutiji je nalepnica. → emphasis on where it is

So the meaning stays basically the same, but the information focus can shift.

Here na means on.

In Serbian, na can cover several ideas depending on context, such as:

• on
• at
• sometimes to/onto with motion

In this sentence, because we are talking about position, na kutiji clearly means on the box.

Yes, nalepnica is a feminine noun.

A very common clue is the ending -a in the singular dictionary form. Many Serbian nouns ending in -a are feminine.

That also affects agreement in other contexts. For example, with adjectives you would use feminine forms:

• mala nalepnica = small sticker
• crvena nalepnica = red sticker

In this sentence, you do not directly see feminine agreement on je, because je is the same for masculine, feminine, and neuter singular.

Because it is in the nominative case, which is the usual case for the subject of a sentence.

Here the structure is:

• Nalepnica = subject
• je = verb
• na kutiji = location phrase

So the sentence is telling us something about the sticker: where it is.

A simple approximate pronunciation is:

• ku-ti-yi

More carefully:

• ku as in coo
• ti like tee
• ji with j pronounced like English y, so roughly yee

So kutiji sounds roughly like koo-TEE-yee.

And the whole sentence is approximately:

• na-LEP-nee-tsa ye na KOO-tee-yee

That said, Serbian pronunciation is quite regular, so once you learn the sound of each letter, reading becomes much easier.

Normally, in the present tense, standard Serbian keeps je here:

• Nalepnica je na kutiji.

Leaving it out would sound incomplete in standard usage.

Serbian sometimes omits forms of to be in certain styles, headlines, notes, or very informal contexts, but for a normal full sentence, learners should use je.

This is a very useful distinction:

• na kutiji = on the box
• u kutiji = in the box

So:

• Nalepnica je na kutiji. = The sticker is on the box.
• Nalepnica je u kutiji. = The sticker is in the box.

The preposition changes the spatial meaning completely, even though both can take the locative when talking about location.