There are many languages similar to Bosnian, including Serbian, Croatian, and Montenegrin. Also, there are other options to explore, like Bulgarian and Macedonian.
These languages are mutually intelligible for those looking to learn languages like Bosnian. They share some grammar points and vocabulary, so that they can be helpful.
Languages Similar To Bosnian – 10 Foremost Choices!
Bosnian is one of the South Slavic languages spoken in parts of Europe. It is closely related to Croatian and Serbian.
So if you know one of those languages, you may find that Bosnian is quite easy to learn. Other languages in the region, like Slovenian and Macedonian, are similar to Bosnian.
In addition, some languages close to Bosnian include Bulgarian, Russian and Polish.
So if you’re looking for a language similar to Bosnian, then any of the above languages could be a good place to start.
Also, we will explore some other options for you so you can opt for a more suitable one. Learning languages boosts your brain power and expands your horizons.
It enhances your communication skills. By giving access to cultures and experiences, it helps. Also, it shares the knowledge of languages with similar linguistic backgrounds.
Thus, without taking much time, let’s go to the point.
1. Croatian:
Croatian is the official language of Croatia. It shares many similarities with Bosnian. Some of the major similarities are in vocabulary and grammar.
For instance, words like “Jutro” (Morning) and terms, such as the possessive pronoun “moj” (my), are the same in both.
Further, the sentence “I love my mother” will be “Volim moju majku” in both languages.
Additionally, certain verb conjugations are identical or nearly identical. This denotes a verb’s change in form to agree with its grammatical function in a sentence.
Both languages follow the rules of verb conjugation as per the situation.
Finally, the languages also share similarities in their syntax structure. For example, the word order subject-verb-object is the same in both languages.
So, there are a lot of commonalities among them.
2. Serbo-Croatian:
Some people confuse it with Croatian. But it traces its roots in the Serbo-Croatian family, such as Bosnian, Croatian, and Serbian.
This language is closely related to Bosnian and shares many of the same features. First, they share similar alphabets, i.e., Latin and Cyrillic.
Second, they share similar grammatical rules like declension and verb conjugation.
Next, the languages have similarities in their pronunciation as well as vocabulary. For example, a word for “bread” is “hleb” in Bosnian and “hljeb” in Serbo-Croatian.
Further, Bosnian grammar and syntax structures are largely influenced by Serbo-Croatian. This includes sentence word order, subject-verb agreement, and gender rules.
All these rules are the same in both languages, so we can say that both are languages with many common points.
3. Slovenian:
Slovenian is another language that has some similarities with Bosnian.
Slovenian and Serbo-Croatian both belong to the South Slavic languages. So they all have many similarities in grammar, syntax, pronunciation, and vocabulary.
For example, both languages have the same verb inflections and pronouns.
Also, Slovenian has some words from the Proto-Slavic group that is still used in Bosnian. The words “stran” (way/direction) and “mesto” (city) are two examples of this.
Additionally, both languages have influenced of German, Hungarian and Italian languages.
This is evident in the vocabulary, with words such as “bog” (God) and “raditi” (to work) coming from German.
Thus, a student of Bosnian can learn Slovenian as they are very similar languages.
4. Slovak:
The Slovak language is also closely related to Bosnian. As a result, the languages share many of the same grammar rules, such as verb conjugations and word order.
Like Slovenian, Bosnian also follows grammar rules like using cases and declination. This means words change depending on their position (subject or object) in a sentence.
In terms of vocabulary, numerous words originate from Proto-Slavic languages. They are still used in both languages today.
For example, the Bosnian word for “happy” (Cretan) is from the Slovak word šťastný.
The languages also have similar aspects of pronunciation. For example, both languages tend to be heavily accented at the end of words.
For instance, the letter “a” is commonly pronounced with a long, rolling sound in both languages. So, if you want to say “hello” in Bosnian, it will be “zdravo.” (ZDRA-voh).
Therefore, if you learn one language, you will have a much easier time picking up the other.
5. Macedonian:
Macedonian and Bosnian languages have many similarities. For instance, both languages use the same Cyrillic alphabet.
Moreover, Macedonian is also a Slavic language that shares roots with Bosnian. Having similar vocabulary words, the languages also have similar pronunciations.
For example, the word for “hello” in Macedonian is “zdravo”. This is same as the Bosnian version, which is “zdravo”.
Also, the pronunciation of words is the same as both have the same soft consonants and hard vowels like č, š, and ž.
Another shared characteristic between these languages is their verb tenses. This shows both share conjugation rules.
This makes it easier for speakers of either language to understand them.
6. Montenegrin:
Montenegrin is typically spoken in the nation of Montenegro. It has a lot of similarities to Bosnian, but some locals consider it a separate language.
Montenegrin shares words, verb conjugations, and grammar rules with Croatian, Serbian and Bosnian.
For example, they all have a rule for verb conjugation(verb usage) and noun declension(noun usage).
Further, Montenegrin’s suffixes for noun and verb conjugation are the same as those of Bosnian. For example, both languages use “–mo” for the first person plural.
It also uses “č,” and “š” for certain words like those languages do.
Although both languages have their differences, but speakers of either language can still understand each other quite well.
7. Russian:
Russian is another language that is quite similar to Bosnian. For example, nouns decline according to gender and number in both languages.
For example, both distinguish between masculine, neuter, and feminine nouns.
Also, both languages have a three-way distinction in the verb forms for the past tense. This includes perfective, imperfective, and aorist forms.
Also, Russian contains many borrowed words from other languages, like Bosnian.
For instance, words like “kafe” (coffee) and “Telefon” (phone) are of Germanic origin. But they exist in these languages.
Lastly, the languages share suffixes for words, like “–te” for the second-person plural.
For example, “plakate” (means “to be crying” in Russian). Similarly, “plačite” (means “to be crying” in Bosnian) follows this rule.
8. Serbian:
Serbian is one of the languages similar to Bosnian. It is a close cousin of Bosnian as both belong to the South Slavic language group.
They share similarities in phonology (the way a word sounds), grammar, and vocabulary.
Here, both have six noun cases (grammatical categories of nouns, pronouns, and adjectives). This is very helpful when forming sentences and expressing ideas.
Serbian and Bosnian also share many cognates (words of the same origin). For example, the word “friend” in Serbian is “prijatelj” and the same word in Bosnian is “prijatelj”.
Thus, it would not be too difficult for a Bosnian native speaker to learn Serbian, and vice versa.
9. Polish:
Polish is also very similar to Bosnian in terms of grammar and vocabulary.
Both languages use gendered nouns, with masculine words ending in “-i” or “-y” and feminine nouns ending in “-a”.
Also, both languages use the same root word and an ending. For example, both have words like “Golab” (which means “pigeon” in both languages).
Polish also has many borrowed words from German and English. This can be easily seen in the Bosnian language.
Like, the Polish word “płacz” (which means “to be crying”) is similar to the Bosnian word “plačem” (also means “to be crying”).
In addition, these languages also share similarities in grammar and sentence structure.
For example, both languages have a subject-verb-object word order. Also, they use postpositions instead of prepositions. So, both are quite alike!
10. Bulgarian:
Bulgarian is another language that has many similarities to Bosnian.
For example, Bulgarian also uses the subject-verb-object word order. This order is the same as it is in Bosnian.
For example, in Bulgarian “I will go to school” would be “Az šče otidaš na učilište”, and in Bosnian it would be “Idem u školu”.
In this example, the subject comes first, followed by the verb and the object.
Further, both use similar prefixes, such as “iz” means “out of” to denote movement, place, or direction.
Additionally, both have postpositions instead of prepositions. Regarding grammar, both languages use the same verb tenses and have similar syntax.
For instance, tenses are formed by adding prefixes. Plus, the word order is subject-object-verb. Thus, learning Bulgarian can help you master the language.
Conclusion:
Do you want to learn languages similar to Bosnian? Learning another language is very healthy for your brain and has many other benefits.
So you must go for it. There is a vast list of languages that share many similarities with Bosnian. For instance, Croatian, Russian, and Bulgarian are some good options.
Moreover, Serbian, Polish, Macedonian, and Slovak also share a lot in terms of vocabulary, grammar rules, and tones.
Choose what suits your taste and needs, then start practicing. Learning languages is always challenging, but it’s worth the effort!
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