Mesto je lepo.

• mesto = place
• je = is
• lepo = beautiful / nice / lovely

So the structure is very straightforward: noun + is + adjective, just like in English.

Serbian does not have articles like English a/an and the.

So mesto can mean:

• a place
• the place
• sometimes just place, depending on context

You understand which one is meant from the situation, not from a separate article.

Because mesto is a neuter singular noun, and the adjective must agree with it.

The adjective lep changes form depending on gender:

• masculine: lep
• feminine: lepa
• neuter: lepo

Since mesto is neuter, you say lepo.

Examples:

• Grad je lep. = The town/city is beautiful.
• Kuća je lepa. = The house is beautiful.
• Mesto je lepo. = The place is beautiful.

A very common clue is the ending -o or -e in the singular nominative form. Many nouns ending in -o or -e are neuter.

So mesto is neuter, which is why both the adjective and any other agreeing words take neuter forms.

That said, endings are only a clue, not an absolute rule, so it is still best to learn each noun with its gender.

It is in the nominative singular.

In a sentence like this, the subject is normally in the nominative:

• Mesto = the subject
• je lepo = the predicate part describing it

So this is the basic dictionary form of mesto.

In standard Serbian, in the present tense, you normally do use the verb biti (to be) in sentences like this.

So:

• Mesto je lepo. = correct

Leaving out je would sound incomplete in standard Serbian.

Serbian can sometimes omit parts that are obvious from context, especially in informal speech, but for a normal full sentence like this, keep je.

Yes, Serbian word order is more flexible than English, although Mesto je lepo is the most neutral and basic order.

You may also hear:

• Lepo je mesto.

That can sound a bit more stylistic or put a little more focus on lepo. But for a beginner, Mesto je lepo is the safest default.

je is pronounced roughly like yeh.

So the whole sentence is approximately:

• MEH-stoh yeh LEH-poh

That is only an approximation for English speakers, but it is a useful start.

Not always exactly. Lepo can mean:

• beautiful
• nice
• pretty
• lovely

The best English translation depends on context.

So Mesto je lepo could be understood as:

• The place is beautiful
• The place is nice
• It’s a lovely place

Yes. Depending on context, mesto can also mean things like:

• place
• spot
• location
• seat
• sometimes even town in certain uses

In this sentence, the intended meaning is simply the one already given to the learner, but it is useful to know that Serbian nouns often have a wider range than a single English word.

Yes. In Cyrillic, it is:

Место је лепо.

Serbian uses both Latin and Cyrillic scripts, and both are standard. The sentence means the same either way.