# Serbian (BCS): Džabe, bečka



## българин

What do these 2 words mean, I can't find them in a dictionary. 
becka
dzabe


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## Athaulf

българин said:


> What do these 2 words mean, I can't find them in a dictionary.
> becka
> dzabe



_Džabe_ is a colloquial word of Turkish origin that means, depending on the context, _for free_ or _for no useful purpose_. 

_Bečka_ is the feminine form of the adjective _bečki_, which means _Viennese_ (i.e. related to Vienna, Austria).


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## ienne

_Džabe_ is also used when you wish to say that something is or was done _in vain_ .


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## Duya

...and, "bečka", on its own, most commonly refers to the wiener schnitzel (bečka šnicla).


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## ienne

Yes, in Croatian it would be_ bečki_ _odrezak_ (masculinum). We say odrezak as well, not only šnicla. They are synonymous.


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## Chazzwozzer

Athaulf said:


> _Džabe_ is a colloquial word of Turkish origin that means, depending on the context, _for free_ or _for no useful purpose_.


What Turkish word does _džabe _derive from?


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## ienne

_Džaba_, my dictionary says so


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## Athaulf

Chazzwozzer said:


> What Turkish word does _džabe _derive from?



I believe it comes from the Turkish _caba_ (in fact, in some places people actually say _džaba_, with an _a_ at the end). Note that the digraph _dž _in the Croatian/Serbian alphabet is pronounced the same way as _c_ in Turkish or _j_ in English.


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## Chazzwozzer

Could _džaba_, in any context, mean *"free of charge"* and *"extra, additional"*? If yes, can you please provide some example sentences?


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## ienne

Yes, it can. 
1) Ništa nije džabe. Nothing is free of charge. Everything costs money. 
2) Džabe ti je telefonirati. It is futile, of no use to telephone (because let's say, nobody is home)
I do not think I am familiar with the_ extra, additional _context in this sense so I cannot provide it.


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## Athaulf

Yes, _džabe_/_džaba _doesn't have exactly the same meanings in modern Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian and Turkish; its meaning has drifted (or perhaps been preserved in an archaic form?) among South Slavs. You can use it as a literal translation for the English expressions _"for free"_ or _"free of charge"_ -- if I'm not mistaken, it can have this meaning in modern Turkish. Its other meanings, however, have diverged. We use it to say that something is pointless, futile, or done for no useful reason; it doesn't have its other modern Turkish meaning (_extra_, _additional_). You can see examples of both meanings in the post above.

Note however that this word is nowadays officially considered as a part of folkish substandard speech, even though it's immensely popular in everyday speech in Bosnia and Serbia (and to some extent also in Croatia). 

Interestingly, we also have the word _badava_, which obviously comes from the Turkish _bedava_. It has exactly the same meanings as _džabe_.


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## ienne

Athaulf, haven't heard this word ever since the late 1980s maybe, and that in movies (not the Croatian ones) only...


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## Athaulf

ienne said:


> Athaulf, haven't heard this word ever since the late 1980s maybe, and that in movies (not the Croatian ones) only...



The word _badava_? I've heard it in Croatia quite a few times, and Google confirms that it's very much alive in modern Croatian.


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## ienne

No, not that one. The one that is the subject of this thread.


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## Athaulf

ienne said:


> No, not that one. The one that is the subject of this thread.



That one seems to be alive too -- both in the form džabe and džaba. Admittedly, in most of Croatia, it's used more often in a joking/sarcastic way.


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## ienne

Yes, could be. In a joking way. With the accentuated DŽ especially. That's how I imagine it is being used. Or how I vaguely remember.

I never heard džabA though. Only in Star Wars IV, V, VI.


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## Chazzwozzer

Thanks for your answers!


Athaulf said:


> You can use it as a literal translation for the English expressions _"for free"_ or _"free of charge"_ -- if I'm not mistaken, it can have this meaning in modern Turkish.


Yes, but the most usual word would be _bedava_.


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## ienne

In Croatian I can hear _badava_ a lot. It means for_ free_, _free of charge_.


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## Kriviq

ienne said:


> In Croatian I can hear _badava_ a lot. It means for_ free_, _free of charge_.



In Bulgarian it`s been transformed to бадева.


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