Why English Uses 10 Words and Serbian Uses 1
One of the first things I noticed when I started learning Serbian was how few words people use to say something.
Where in English we might say:
👉 “I am eating lunch now.”
In Serbian, you just say:
👉 “Ručam.”
That’s it. One word. Full sentence. Done.
One word, so much meaning
The verb form in Serbian already contains the subject (I), the action (am eating), and even the time (now – implied by context).
English Serbian
I am eating lunch now. Ručam
I was talking to him Pričala sam s njim
I don’t want to go Neću da idem
For someone like me – a native English speaker and a translator – this was both beautiful and frustrating. Beautiful, because it’s efficient. Frustrating, because when I translate into English… the word count explodes!
English loves structure
Why is English so wordy?
Because in English, we need to spell everything out:
✅ The subject (I)
✅ The tense (am eating, was talking)
✅ Any extra words for politeness or tone (just, actually, now)
Plus, English often adds “politeness padding”:
“I’m just having lunch now.”
“I was kind of talking to him earlier.”
We hate leaving too much unsaid.
Serbian loves efficiency
In Serbian, everything gets packed into the verb. There’s no need for extra words unless you want to emphasise something.
English Serbian
I will call you later Zvaću te kasnije
I don’t have time Nemam vremena
We are waiting for you Čekamo te
And this makes conversations faster, snappier, and (sometimes) a little more direct than English speakers are used to.
Why this matters for learners (and translators!)
If you’re learning English from Serbian, don’t be surprised if everything feels longer.
English needs words like:
“I would like…”
“I am going to…”
“Do you want to…”
Meanwhile, if you’re translating from Serbian to English (like I do in my work), the challenge is keeping the translation natural without making it too wordy or robotic.
Final thought: Neither is better, just different
Serbian says more with less.
English says less with more words.
Two languages. Two styles. Both beautiful in their own way.
If you’re learning English or need help translating between Serbian and English, get in touch with me at Balkan Translations. I specialise in making sure nothing important gets lost between the lines—whether that’s one word or ten.