Questions & Answers about Sviđa mi se ovaj sto.
Why does Serbian use Sviđa mi se... instead of something that literally means I like...?
Because the Serbian verb sviđati se / svideti se works more like to be pleasing to or to appeal to.
So:
- Sviđa mi se ovaj sto.
literally feels like:
- This table is pleasing to me
- or This table appeals to me
That is why the structure looks different from English. In Serbian, the thing you like is the grammatical subject, and the person who likes it is put in the dative case.
This is one of the most common ways to say I like... in Serbian.
What does mi mean here?
Mi means to me.
It is the short dative form of ja (I).
So in this sentence:
- mi = to me
- ovaj sto = this table
That fits the idea This table is pleasing to me.
Other examples:
- Sviđa ti se = you like
- Sviđa mu se = he likes / it pleases him
- Sviđa nam se = we like
What is se doing here?