Prijateljica je lepa.

The female friend is beautiful.

Breakdown of Prijateljica je lepa.

• biti: to be
• prijateljica: female friend
• lep: beautiful

Questions & Answers about Prijateljica je lepa.

What does prijateljica mean exactly? Does it just mean friend?

Prijateljica means female friend.

Serbian often shows the person’s gender directly in the noun:

• prijatelj = a male friend
• prijateljica = a female friend

So in this sentence, the speaker is specifically talking about a woman or girl who is a friend.

A native English speaker may find this unusual because English usually just says friend unless gender needs to be specified.

Why is it prijateljica, not prijatelj?

Because the sentence is about a feminine noun, and prijateljica is the feminine form.

A very common Serbian pattern is:

• masculine noun: prijatelj
• feminine noun: prijateljica

The ending -ica is a common way to form feminine nouns in Serbian.

So:

• Prijatelj je lep. = The male friend is handsome / beautiful.
• Prijateljica je lepa. = The female friend is beautiful.

What does je mean?

Je means is.

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

So:

• ja sam = I am
• = you are