Koji ti se sviđa, ovaj ili onaj?

In Serbian, sviđati se is a very common way to say to be pleasing to someone, which is how Serbian usually expresses to like.

So:

• Sviđa mi se = I like it
  Literally: It is pleasing to me

That is why the person who likes something is not the grammatical subject in Serbian. The thing being liked is the subject.

By contrast, voleti usually means to love or to like very much, and it is often stronger.

• Koji ti se sviđa? = Which one do you like?
• Koji voliš? can be possible in some contexts, but it sounds different and often stronger or less neutral.

For everyday choosing between items, sviđati se is the most natural choice.

Ti here means to you, not you as a direct object.

That is because sviđati se takes the person in the dative case:

• meni se sviđa = I like it
• tebi se sviđa = you like it
• njemu se sviđa = he likes it

The short dative form of tebi is ti.

So:

• Koji ti se sviđa? = Which one is pleasing to you?

Te would be accusative, and that is not what this verb needs.

Se is part of the verb expression sviđati se. You usually learn it as a unit:

• sviđati se = to be pleasing, to appeal
• svideti se = perfective version, often for completed events or first impressions

In this sentence, se is not optional. You normally do not say Koji ti sviđa.

So the structure is:

• something + dative person + se + sviđa

Example:

• Ovaj mi se sviđa. = I like this one.

Koji means which one here.

It agrees in gender, number, and case with the thing being asked about. In this sentence, koji is masculine singular nominative, matching ovaj and onaj.

So the pattern is:

• Koji...? for masculine singular
• Koja...? for feminine singular
• Koje...? for neuter singular
• Koji...? for plural masculine
• Koje...? for plural feminine/neuter

Examples:

• Koja ti se sviđa, ova ili ona haljina? = Which one do you like, this dress or that dress?
• Koje ti se sviđa, ovo ili ono? = Which one do you like, this one or that one?

Because Serbian can use demonstratives as pronouns, just like English this one and that one.

So:

• ovaj = this one
• onaj = that one

The noun is understood from context.

For example, if you are looking at two shirts, you can simply say:

• Koji ti se sviđa, ovaj ili onaj?

You do not have to repeat shirt if both speakers already know what they are talking about.

They are demonstratives showing distance:

• ovaj = this, usually something near the speaker
• onaj = that, usually something farther away

In this sentence:

• ovaj ili onaj = this one or that one

Serbian also has a three-way system in some uses:

• ovaj = near me
• taj = near you / already mentioned / that
• onaj = over there, farther away

But in many simple contrasts, especially when pointing, ovaj and onaj are enough.

Yes, Serbian word order is fairly flexible, but this version is very natural.

Koji ti se sviđa? is the standard, neutral order.

You may also hear:

• Koji se ti sviđa? — much less natural
• Koji sviđa ti se? — not natural in normal speech

The short pronoun ti and the particle se are clitics, and clitics in Serbian tend to go near the beginning of the sentence, usually in the second position area. That is why ti se comes right after Koji.

So Koji ti se sviđa? sounds normal and correct.

The comma separates the main question from the two explicit options:

• Koji ti se sviđa, ovaj ili onaj?

This is similar to English:

• Which one do you like, this one or that one?

The comma helps show that the second part is specifying the choices. In speech, there is usually a small pause there.

The forms must agree with the gender of the thing being discussed.

For feminine singular:

• Koja ti se sviđa, ova ili ona?

For neuter singular:

• Koje ti se sviđa, ovo ili ono?

For example:

• Koja ti se sviđa, ova ili ona suknja? = Which one do you like, this skirt or that one?
• Koje ti se sviđa, ovo ili ono mesto? = Which one do you like, this place or that one?

So the important idea is agreement:

• koji / ovaj / onaj for masculine
• koja / ova / ona for feminine
• koje / ovo / ono for neuter

Yes. Dopadati se is another verb that means something like to appeal to or to be liked.

So:

• Koji ti se sviđa?
• Koji ti se dopada?

Both are correct. In many situations, sviđati se is more common in everyday speech, but dopadati se is also perfectly natural.

Their grammar is the same:

• person in dative
• se included
• thing liked as grammatical subject

A very useful pattern is:

• Koji/Koja/Koje + dative pronoun + se sviđa?

Examples:

• Koji ti se sviđa? = Which one do you like?
• Koja vam se sviđa? = Which one do you like? to plural/formal you
• Koje mu se sviđa? = Which one does he like?

And for answers:

• Sviđa mi se ovaj. = I like this one.
• Više mi se sviđa onaj. = I like that one more.

If you remember sviđati se + dative, you will understand and build many useful Serbian sentences.

It is informal, because it uses ti.

If you want to be polite or speak to more than one person, use vam:

• Koji vam se sviđa, ovaj ili onaj?

So:

• ti = informal singular to you
• vam = formal singular or plural to you

Everything else stays the same.