How to type Serbian with this keyboard
Choose how you want to type with the tabs on the keyboard:
- Serbian Cyrillic: the standard layout used in Serbia. Your keys type the Cyrillic letter in that position right away: Q is љ, W is њ, X is џ. Tick Write in Latin in the tips on the keyboard to get Latin letters from the same keys (ћ becomes ć, љ becomes lj).
- Serbian Latin: the QWERTZ layout with š đ right of P and č ć ž right of L. Your own keys type normally until you click Type as if on a Serbian Latin keyboard under the keyboard. Press Esc to go back to normal typing. You can also use the buttons or Alt+C, Alt+D, Alt+S, Alt+Z for č đ š ž (press Alt+C twice for ć).
- Phonetic (Latin to Cyrillic): type Serbian in Latin letters and get Cyrillic. hvala becomes хвала, ljubav becomes љубав. See the table below.
Prefer typed codes? Turn on Quick codes and type c= for č, c== for ć, d= for đ, s= for š and z= for ž. The buttons above the keyboard also give Serbian quotes „ “ and ‚ ‘, the » « quotes used in print, the dash and the ellipsis.
Serbian keyboard layouts
Windows, Mac and Linux all include both Serbian layouts. They share the same digits and punctuation, so switching between them is easy. The small letter on each key is the English key in the same place.
On the Cyrillic layout, letters that Serbian shares with Latin mostly keep their place: а on A, с on S, д on D, т on T. The six letters without an English equivalent sit on free keys: љ on Q, њ on W, џ on X, and ш ђ ч ћ ж to the right, where the Latin layout has š đ č ć ž. The ѕ on Z is a Macedonian letter; Serbian doesn't use it.
The Serbian Latin layout is identical to the Croatian one. The blue symbols need AltGr (the right Alt key): @ is AltGr+V, € is AltGr+E, and [ ] { } are on F, G, B and N.
The Serbian alphabet in Cyrillic and Latin
Serbian has 30 letters in each script, and they match one to one. Each letter is always pronounced the same way, so you can read any Serbian word once you know them. In Cyrillic order (азбука) the letters are:
| Cyrillic | Latin | Sound | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| А а | A a | a as in father | мама (mama, mom) |
| Б б | B b | b | брат (brat, brother) |
| В в | V v | v | вода (voda, water) |
| Г г | G g | g as in go | град (grad, city) |
| Д д | D d | d | дан (dan, day) |
| Ђ ђ | Đ đ | a soft j, like j in jeep said with the tongue flat | ђак (đak, pupil) |
| Е е | E e | e as in bet | село (selo, village) |
| Ж ж | Ž ž | s as in pleasure | жена (žena, woman) |
| З з | Z z | z | зима (zima, winter) |
| И и | I i | ee as in see | име (ime, name) |
| Ј ј | J j | y as in yes | јабука (jabuka, apple) |
| К к | K k | k | кућа (kuća, house) |
| Л л | L l | l | лето (leto, summer) |
| Љ љ | Lj lj | lli as in million, one sound | љубав (ljubav, love) |
| М м | M m | m | море (more, sea) |
| Н н | N n | n | нос (nos, nose) |
| Њ њ | Nj nj | ny as in canyon, one sound | њива (njiva, field) |
| О о | O o | o as in more, but short | око (oko, eye) |
| П п | P p | p | пас (pas, dog) |
| Р р | R r | a rolled r; it can also be a vowel | рука (ruka, hand), прст (prst, finger) |
| С с | S s | s | сунце (sunce, sun) |
| Т т | T t | t | тата (tata, dad) |
| Ћ ћ | Ć ć | a soft ch, softer than č | ћерка (ćerka, daughter) |
| У у | U u | oo as in boot | улица (ulica, street) |
| Ф ф | F f | f | филм (film) |
| Х х | H h | a light ch as in Scottish loch | хлеб (hleb, bread) |
| Ц ц | C c | ts as in cats | црква (crkva, church) |
| Ч ч | Č č | ch as in church, harder than ć | чај (čaj, tea) |
| Џ џ | Dž dž | j as in jam, harder than đ | џеп (džep, pocket) |
| Ш ш | Š š | sh as in shop | школа (škola, school) |
The Latin alphabet (abeceda) has its own order: A B C Č Ć D Dž Đ E F G H I J K L Lj M N Nj O P R S Š T U V Z Ž. Lj, Nj and Dž count as single letters, so in a crossword ljubav takes five squares, not six.
Serbian Cyrillic to Latin converter
Paste Serbian text in either script and convert it. Web addresses and words with q, w, x or y are left as they are.
Cyrillic to Latin is always exact. Latin to Cyrillic joins lj, nj and dž into љ, њ and џ, which is right for nearly every word. A handful keep two separate sounds, such as injekcija (инјекција), konjunkcija (конјункција) and nadživeti (надживети), so check those by hand. Text typed without diacritics (sasa for Saša, dj for đ) can't be converted reliably: add the marks first.
Typing č, ć, đ, š and ž
Here are the five Serbian Latin letters with their Unicode codes. In Microsoft Word, type the code and press Alt+X. The Windows Alt codes work on the number pad of a US or Western European Windows setup; č, ć and đ have none there.
| Letter | Name | Unicode (Word: code, then Alt+X) | Alt code (Windows) |
|---|---|---|---|
| č Č | c with caron | 010D · 010C | |
| ć Ć | c with acute | 0107 · 0106 | |
| đ Đ | d with stroke | 0111 · 0110 | |
| š Š | s with caron | 0161 · 0160 | Alt+0154 · Alt+0138 |
| ž Ž | z with caron | 017E · 017D | Alt+0158 · Alt+0142 |
č and ć are different letters and different sounds: č (ч) is harder, as in čaj (tea), and ć (ћ) is softer, as in kuća (house). The same goes for dž (џ) and đ (ђ). Many speakers in Serbia pronounce the pairs almost alike, but the spelling always keeps them apart.
Phonetic mode: typing Cyrillic with Latin letters
In the Phonetic tab, type Serbian Latin and it turns into Cyrillic as you go. Capitals work too: Lj gives Љ. If your keyboard has no č ć đ š ž, add = after the plain letter, the same codes lexilogos uses.
| Cyrillic | Type |
|---|---|
| а б в г д е з и ј к л м н о п р с т у ф х ц | a b v g d e z i j k l m n o p r s t u f h c |
| љ | lj |
| њ | nj |
| џ | dž or dz= |
| ч | č or c= |
| ћ | ć, c== or c' |
| ђ | đ or d= |
| ш | š or s= |
| ж | ž or z= |
| нј, лј (two separate letters) | njj, ljj |
How to add a Serbian keyboard to your device
Windows
Settings → Time & language → Language & region → Add a language. Choose Serbian (Cyrillic, Serbia) or Serbian (Latin, Serbia), or both. To add the other layout later, open the language's options and use Add a keyboard. Switch with Windows+Space. Type @ on the Latin layout with AltGr+V.
Mac
System Settings → Keyboard → Text Input → Edit → + → Serbian. Add the Cyrillic layout, the Latin layout, or both. Switch with Control+Space or the input menu in the menu bar.
iPhone and iPad
Settings → General → Keyboard → Keyboards → Add New Keyboard → Serbian, then pick Cyrillic or Latin. Tap the globe key to switch. On any English keyboard you can also press and hold c, s or z for č ć š ž.
Android
In Gboard, open Settings → Languages → Add keyboard → Serbian and choose the Cyrillic or Latin version. Tap the globe key or hold the space bar to switch.
Chromebook
Settings → Device → Keyboard and inputs → Input settings → Add input methods → Serbian. Switch with Ctrl+Space.
Frequently asked questions
Is Serbian written in Cyrillic or Latin?
Both. Serbian is one of the few languages written in two alphabets. The constitution of Serbia names Cyrillic as the official script, and it's used by the government, schools and many newspapers. Latin is just as common in everyday life: on the web, in advertising, in text messages and in many publications. Every Serbian reader knows both, and a text can be converted from one to the other letter by letter.
How do I type č, ć, đ, š and ž?
On this page, click the letter buttons, hold Alt and press the letter (Alt+C gives č, Alt+C twice gives ć, Alt+D gives đ, Alt+S gives š, Alt+Z gives ž), or turn on quick codes and type c=, c==, d=, s= or z=. On your own computer, add the Serbian (Latin) keyboard: the letters are right of P and L. On a phone, press and hold c, d, s or z.
Where is @ on a Serbian keyboard?
On the Serbian Latin layout, @ is AltGr+V: hold the right Alt key (or Ctrl+Alt) and press V. On this page, click AltGr and then V, or hold Alt and press V after clicking Type as if on a Serbian Latin keyboard under the keyboard. Many people simply switch to an English layout to type email addresses.
How do I convert Serbian Cyrillic to Latin, or Latin to Cyrillic?
Paste the text into the converter on this page and press Cyrillic → Latin or Latin → Cyrillic. Serbian Cyrillic and Latin match letter for letter, so the conversion is exact, except that the Latin pairs lj, nj and dž are single letters in Cyrillic. A few words keep them as two sounds (injekcija, konjunkcija, nadživeti); fix those by hand after converting to Cyrillic.
Why are Z and Y swapped on a Serbian keyboard?
Serbian keyboards use the QWERTZ order common in Central Europe, as in Germany and Croatia. Z is a frequent letter in Serbian and Y isn't used at all, so Z sits in the easier spot. The Cyrillic layout follows the same order: з is where Y is on an English keyboard.
How is Serbian Cyrillic different from Russian?
Serbian Cyrillic has six letters Russian doesn't: ђ, ј, љ, њ, ћ and џ. It has no ё, й, щ, ъ, ы, ь, э, ю or я. Each Serbian letter stands for one sound, so words are written as they are spoken. Some lowercase italic letters (б, г, д, п, т) are also drawn differently in Serbian, which is why good fonts ask for the language to be set to Serbian.
