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Learn Hardcore Serbian: Voda je dobra. - The water is good.

Hardcore Serbian
/Lesson 1
/Voda je dobra.

Voda je dobra.

The water is good.

Breakdown of Voda je dobra.

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Questions & Answers about Voda je dobra.

Why is it dobra and not dobar?

Because voda is a feminine singular noun, and the adjective has to agree with it in gender and number.

masculine: dobar
feminine: dobra
neuter: dobro

So:

Voda je dobra. = The water is good.

If the noun were masculine, you would use dobar, for example Sok je dobar.

What gender is voda?

Voda is feminine.

A useful clue is that many Serbian nouns ending in -a are feminine, although there are exceptions. Since voda is feminine, anything describing it must also use feminine forms, such as dobra.

What does je mean here?

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

So in this sentence:

voda = water
je = is
dobra = good

Together: Voda je dobra. = The water is good.

Can je be left out in Serbian?

In a normal present-tense statement like this, no—you usually keep it.

So the standard sentence is:

Voda je dobra.

Leaving out je would sound incomplete in standard Serbian.

However, in some casual styles, headlines, poetry, or very informal speech, parts of sentences may be omitted, but that is not the normal pattern learners should copy here.

Why is the word order Voda je dobra? Could it be different?

Yes, Serbian word order is more flexible than English, although Voda je dobra is the most neutral and natural order.

You may also hear:

Dobra je voda.
Voda dobra je. — much less neutral, more marked or poetic

The version Voda je dobra is best for a beginner because it is the plain, default way to say it.

Is voda in the nominative case here?

Yes. Voda is in the nominative singular because it is the subject of the sentence.

This is the basic dictionary form of the noun:

nominative singular: voda

Since the sentence means Water is good / The water is good, voda is the thing being talked about, so nominative is used.

Does Voda je dobra mean Water is good or The water is good?

It can mean either, depending on context.

Serbian does not have articles like a or the, so a sentence like Voda je dobra can be understood as:

Water is good
The water is good

Context tells you which meaning is intended.

Why isn’t there a word for the in this sentence?

Because Serbian has no articles.

English uses:

the water
a good drink

Serbian usually does not use separate words for a/an or the. Instead, meaning comes from context.

So Voda je dobra is perfectly complete without an article.

How do I pronounce Voda je dobra?

A simple English-friendly approximation is:

VOH-dah yeh DOH-brah

A few pronunciation notes:

v sounds like English v
o is a clear o, like in more but shorter and cleaner
j in Serbian sounds like English y
r in dobra is rolled or tapped lightly

So je is pronounced like yeh, not like English jee.

Is dobra only an adjective, or can it mean something else?

Here it is an adjective meaning good, in the feminine singular form.

Its basic forms are:

dobar = masculine
dobra = feminine
dobro = neuter

In this sentence it agrees with voda, so it must be dobra.

Could I also say Voda je ukusna instead?

Yes, but it means something slightly different.

Voda je dobra. = The water is good.
Voda je ukusna. = The water is tasty.

Dobra is more general. It can mean good in quality, pleasant, acceptable, healthy, or simply good overall. Ukusna is specifically about taste.

What is the dictionary form of dobra?

The dictionary form is usually given as the masculine singular:

dobar = good

From that, other forms are made to match the noun:

dobar muž = a good man
dobra voda = good water
dobro vino = good wine

So dobra is the feminine form, but you would usually look up dobar in a dictionary.

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