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Learn Hardcore Serbian: Taj čovek je lekar. - That man is a doctor.

Hardcore Serbian
/Shopping for groceries
/Taj čovek je lekar.

Taj čovek je lekar.

Word

Taj čovek je lekar.

Meaning

That man is a doctor.

Part of speech

sentence

Pronunciation

Course

Hardcore Serbian

Lesson

Shopping for groceries

Breakdown of Taj čovek je lekar.

a man or human being

Questions & Answers about Taj čovek je lekar.

What does each word in Taj čovek je lekar. mean?

Word by word:

taj = that
čovek = man or sometimes person/human being, depending on context
je = is
lekar = doctor / physician

So the sentence means That man is a doctor.

Why is it taj? Does it mean that or the?

Taj is a demonstrative adjective, so its basic meaning is that.

In Serbian, there are no articles like English the or a/an, so sometimes a demonstrative like taj can feel a bit stronger than English that. It points to a specific man, usually one already known, visible, or previously mentioned.

So:

taj čovek = that man
čovek by itself could mean a man, the man, or just man, depending on context

Why is there no word for a before lekar?

Because Serbian does not use articles.

English says:

a doctor
the doctor

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Serbian usually just says:

lekar

The context tells you whether it should be understood as a doctor, the doctor, or sometimes just doctor in a general sense.

So je lekar naturally means is a doctor here.

Why is it je? Is that the verb to be?

Yes. Je is the 3rd person singular present form of biti = to be.

So:

ja sam = I am
ti si = you are
on/ona/ono je = he/she/it is

In this sentence, taj čovek is he, so Serbian uses je:

Taj čovek je lekar. = That man is a doctor.

Why is je in the middle of the sentence?

Serbian often puts short unstressed forms like je in a very early position in the sentence, often after the first phrase.

Here the first phrase is:

Taj čovek

Then comes:

je

Then:

lekar

So the sentence structure is very natural and standard:

Taj čovek je lekar.

English learners often expect a rigid subject + verb + complement pattern, and Serbian often does look like that, but with short forms like je, placement can be a little more flexible and follows clitic-position rules.

What case are the words in here?

Both nouns are in the nominative singular.

taj čovek is the subject, so nominative is expected
lekar is a predicate noun after je, and in Serbian this is also typically in the nominative

So:

taj = masculine nominative singular
čovek = masculine nominative singular
lekar = masculine nominative singular

Why is it taj čovek and not some other form of taj?

Because taj has to agree with the noun it describes.

Čovek is:

masculine
singular
nominative

So the demonstrative must also be:

masculine
singular
nominative

That gives taj.

For comparison:

taj čovek = that man masculine singular
ta žena = that woman feminine singular
to dete = that child neuter singular

Does čovek always mean man?

Not always.

Čovek can mean:

man in the sense of an adult male, depending on context
human being / person in a broader sense

In this sentence, That man is a doctor is the most natural translation. But in other contexts, čovek can be more general, like a person or a human being.

That said, if Serbian wants to be clearly gender-specific for male person, context usually helps, and čovek often works that way in everyday speech.

Why is it lekar and not doktor?

Both can refer to a doctor, but they are not always used in exactly the same way.

lekar usually means physician / medical doctor
doktor can also mean doctor, but it can additionally mean someone with a doctoral degree, depending on context

So in a basic sentence about profession, lekar is a very clear way to say doctor in the medical sense.

A Serbian speaker could also say:

Taj čovek je doktor.

That usually still means That man is a doctor, but lekar is often a bit more precise for the profession.

How do you pronounce čovek?

A rough English-friendly guide:

č sounds like ch in chocolate, but a bit firmer
o is like a pure o
v is like English v
e is like e in met
k is like English k

So čovek is roughly CHO-vek, with the first syllable sounding like cho.

Also, č and ć are different letters in Serbian. Here it is č, not ć.

How do you pronounce lekar?

A rough guide:

le = leh
kar = kar with a rolled or tapped r if possible

So it sounds roughly like LEH-kar.

The r in Serbian is typically more tapped or trilled than in English.

Can the word order be changed?

Yes, Serbian word order is more flexible than English, but different orders can sound more marked or emphasize different things.

The neutral, basic sentence is:

Taj čovek je lekar.

Other orders may be possible in certain contexts, for example for emphasis, but they are not the default way a beginner should learn it.

So for now, the best pattern to remember is:

[demonstrative + noun] + je + [profession]

Would Ovaj čovek je lekar mean something different?

Yes:

ovaj čovek = this man
taj čovek = that man

So:

Ovaj čovek je lekar. = This man is a doctor.
Taj čovek je lekar. = That man is a doctor.

The difference is the same basic near-vs-far distinction as English this and that.

I have seen čovjek and ljekar before. Are those wrong?

They are not wrong in the broader South Slavic area, but for standard Serbian in this sentence, čovek and lekar are normal.

You may also see:

čovjek
ljekar

Those forms are associated with other standard varieties or pronunciation traditions. A learner of Serbian will very commonly meet čovek and lekar, especially in standard Ekavian Serbian.

So if your model sentence is Taj čovek je lekar., that is perfectly correct Serbian.

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