Šta boli?

to hurt

Breakdown of Šta boli?

• šta: what

Questions & Answers about Šta boli?

What does šta mean here?

Šta means what. In Šta boli?, it is asking what hurts? or what is hurting?

What does boli mean?

Boli is a form of the verb boleti, which means to hurt / to ache / to cause pain.

In this sentence, boli is the 3rd person singular present tense form, so it literally means hurts.

Why is it boli and not bole?

Because the implied subject is singular.

Serbian uses:

• boli = hurts for a singular thing
• bole = hurt for plural things

Examples:

• Šta boli? = What hurts?
• Šta bole? would sound wrong here, because šta is asking about one thing in a general way.

If you were asking about multiple things, you might say:

• Šta te boli? = What hurts you?
• Koje stvari bole? = Which things hurt?

Is there an implied subject in this sentence?

Yes. The sentence is very short, but the idea is The subject is whatever body part, injury, or problem is causing pain.