Sin liči na majku.

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

So sin can mean son, the son, or even a son, depending on context. In this sentence, you understand it from the situation, not from a separate word.

Liči is the 3rd person singular present tense of the verb ličiti.

In this sentence, ličiti na + accusative means to resemble or to look like someone/something.

So:

• ličim = I resemble / I look like
• ličiš = you resemble
• liči = he/she/it resembles

That is why sin liči na majku means the son resembles the mother / looks like his mother.

Because the verb ličiti normally goes with na when you say who or what someone resembles.

The pattern is:

ličiti na + accusative

Examples:

• Ličim na oca. = I look like my father.
• Ona liči na sestru. = She looks like her sister.

So na is required here; you would not normally say just Sin liči majku.

Because after na with ličiti, Serbian uses the accusative case.

The base form is majka.
Its accusative singular form is majku.

So:

• majka = mother
• majku = mother (as the direct object / after this preposition pattern)

This is very common with feminine nouns ending in -a:

• sestra → sestru
• žena → ženu
• majka → majku

It is accusative singular.

You can tell this because:

1. the verb pattern is ličiti na + accusative
2. majka is a feminine noun ending in -a
3. feminine -a nouns usually change to -u in the accusative singular

So na majku is the expected form.

By itself, na majku literally means like mother / the mother, but in natural context it is often understood as his mother.

Serbian often leaves relationships implicit when they are obvious.

So Sin liči na majku is naturally understood as:

• The son looks like his mother

If needed, Serbian can make it more explicit, but it often does not.

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

The neutral, straightforward order is:

Sin liči na majku.

But you may also hear:

• Na majku liči sin.
• Sin na majku liči.

These versions can sound more emphatic or stylistically different. The basic meaning stays the same, though the focus may shift.

Yes. Another common way is izgledati kao.

For example:

• Sin liči na majku.
• Sin izgleda kao majka.

Both are about similarity, but ličiti na is the more direct way to say resemble. It is a very natural choice here.

Liči is pronounced approximately LEE-chee.

A few notes:

• č sounds like ch in church
• the stress is typically on the first syllable: LIči

So:

• liči ≈ LEE-chee

Approximately MY-koo.

Notes:

• maj sounds like English my
• ku sounds like koo

So:

• majku ≈ MY-koo

Because Serbian often does not need subject pronouns when the subject is already clear.

Here, the subject is explicitly stated as sin, so there is no need to add on.

• Sin liči na majku. = The son looks like his mother.
• On liči na majku. = He looks like his mother.

Both are possible, but with sin already present, on would usually be unnecessary.

No. Sin is in the nominative singular, because it is the subject of the sentence.

So the structure is:

• sin = subject, nominative
• liči = verb
• na majku = prepositional phrase with accusative

That is the basic grammar of the sentence.

Yes, it is completely natural.

Sin liči na majku. is a simple, standard Serbian sentence that a native speaker would easily say and understand. It is a good example of the pattern ličiti na + accusative.