# BCS: upotrebljavati vs koristiti



## polskajason

How would you explain the difference of when these are used?

Polish has two words: uzywac and korzystac, which are similar, but the rules that apply for their use don't seem to apply to their analogues in BCS.


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## Duya

I thought hard about the difference in connotation, but cannot find any; I googled (I guess google.rs will give preference for domestic sites) for "koristi" and "upotrebljava", and in each sentence I could replace one with the other, so they seem to be 100% synonymous, or close to it. _Koristiti_is more often used, I suppose for brevity.


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## yael*

No rule here, I am afraid. I agree, they are almost 100% synonims. maybe there is a slight difference as in english: _upotrebljavati _would be _to utilize _and _koristiti - to use_. And like in English the latter is used more often.
On the other hand, the root words (_upotreba _i _korist_) have completely different meanings.


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## VelikiMag

While in most cases you can use both words interchangeably, some differences do exist. Being that there are no rules, I will try to explain how I understand it.

In general terms, _upotrebljavati_ is when you use some specific, usually material things or items, and _koristiti_ can be applied to some abstract things as well. That is also why it is used more often. But there are some exceptions I believe.

Now I'll try to be a bit more specific. _Upotrebljavati _is a continuous verb form, its perfect counterpart is _upotrebiti_, which means _to use once_. Therefore, _upotrebljavati _means using something many times, i.e. every time the action is completed and you repeat it over and over. On the other hand, _koristiti_ can mean both action which is completed but occured many times, and action which occured only once but lasted for prolonged period of time.

Perfect forms _upotrebiti_ and _iskoristiti_ are not complete synonyms. The latter indicates that something is used to its end and there isn't any of it left. In other words, you can "_upotrebiti_" one thing many times, but you can "_iskoristiti_" one thing only once.

Two examples that first came to my mind where one can use only _upotrebiti_ and not _iskoristiti_ are: _upotrebiti oružje (use a weapon)_ and _upotrebiti silu (use force)_. However, both continuous forms can be used here.

Examples where only _koristiti_ can be used include those where it doesn't necessarily mean "to use", but also "to benefit" from something, etc.
_Koristiti priliku (use an opportunity)__, koristiti mogućnost (use a possibility), koristiti sreću (use one's luck), koristiti nečiju slabost/dobrotu/velikodušnost (use someone's weakness/kindness/generosity), koristiti beneficije (use benefits), _etc.

Among other things, you can also use people (usually for your own goals). In that case, you can only say _koristiti_. Or _iskorištavati_, but not _upotrebljavati_.


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## yael*

VelikiMag said:


> Two examples that first came to my mind where one can use only _upotrebiti_ and not _iskoristiti_ are: _upotrebiti oružje (use a weapon)_ and _upotrebiti silu (use force)_. However, both continuous forms can be used here.


I agree, in this case you can use both, but _upotrebiti_ is more appropriate. I will always opt for _upotrebiti silu_, while _koristiti silu_ just doesn't sound good.


> Examples where only _koristiti_ can be used include those where it doesn't necessarily mean "to use", but also "to benefit" from something, etc.
> _Koristiti priliku (use an opportunity)__, koristiti mogućnost (use a possibility), koristiti sreću (use one's luck), koristiti nečiju slabost/dobrotu/velikodušnost (use someone's weakness/kindness/generosity), koristiti beneficije (use benefits), _etc.


And here, as well. We would definitely use _koristiti_ and not _upotrebiti/upotrebljavati_. I find it really very similar to the choice you would make in English between _use_ and _utilize (_or Italian_ usare vs. utilizzare)_. _Don't use utilize, use use_...


> Among other things, you can also use people (usually for your own goals). In that case, you can only say _koristiti_. Or _iskorištavati_, but not _upotrebljavati_.


As above.


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## polskajason

Hvala vam svima.

I'm guessing from yael's post that iskoristivati/iskoristiti can mean "exploit" too. You can exploit things with a more or less neutral meaning, while exploiting people really almost always sounds sinister.


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## yael*

Nema na čemu. 

Exploit, yes, it is a bit too strong. Though you can translate it with upotrebiti in some contexts. But, maybe, you would translate _exploit_ actually as _iskoristiti_... exploit with a sinister meaning would be: _izrabiti/izrabljivati _or_ potlačiti_. 
_Upotrebiti_, as VelikiMag pointed out, is more specific, more, so to say, technical, while _koristiti_ has broader meaning. 

I guess we generally use upotrebiti when we have a tool, so it would also correspond to _employ_, as well. 
The noun _upotreba_ is used a lot. For instance, you will say: _Uputstva za upotrebu_ (Instructions for use), _brijač za jednokratnu upotrebu_ (disposable rasor), _upotreba glagola _(verb usage), etc. Or adjective: _upotrebna vrednost_ (service property/value). 

But _user_ is _korisnik_, _customer service_ is _korisnički servis_... 

In other languages I speak utilize is younger word than use. And I believe it is so in BCS, as well.


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## polskajason

yael* said:


> Nema na čemu.
> 
> Exploit, yes, it is a bit too strong. Though you can translate it with upotrebiti in some contexts. But, maybe, you would translate _exploit_ actually as _iskoristiti_... exploit with a sinister meaning would be: _izrabiti/izrabljivati _or_ potlačiti_.
> _Upotrebiti_, as VelikiMag pointed out, is more specific, more, so to say, technical, while _koristiti_ has broader meaning.
> 
> I guess we generally use upotrebiti when we have a tool, so it would also correspond to _employ_, as well.
> The noun _upotreba_ is used a lot. For instance, you will say: _Uputstva za upotrebu_ (Instructions for use), _brijač za jednokratnu upotrebu_ (disposable rasor), _upotreba glagola _(verb usage), etc. Or adjective: _upotrebna vrednost_ (service property/value).
> 
> But _user_ is _korisnik_, _customer service_ is _korisnički servis_...
> 
> In other languages I speak utilize is younger word than use. And I believe it is so in BCS, as well.



Thank you. I think of utilize as being a very official-sounding word, not the kind of word that's ever used in normal, everyday parlance. Is that the case for upotrebljavati?


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## yael*

polskajason said:


> Thank you. I think of utilize as being a very official-sounding word, not the kind of word that's ever used in normal, everyday parlance. Is that the case for upotrebljavati?


Well, not that much official-sounding, but still less used than koristiti. I guess mostly because, as pointed out before, it's rarely applied to abstract things. It's a just a bit more technical. But you can still hear it quite often.


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## Istriano

upotrijebi mozak = use your brain(s)


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## Brainiac

Istriano said:


> upotrijebi mozak = use your brain(s)



 Also: upotrebi glavu, upotrebi ruke....

koristiti se (nečim/nekim) - To derive benefit from sth/sb

koristiti istu prostoriju - to use the same room (= to share the room)


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## itreius

Are the words _rabiti_, _uporabiti_ and _uporaba_ used in the Serbian register?


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## Brainiac

itreius said:


> Are the words _rabiti_, _uporabiti_ and _uporaba_ used in the Serbian register?



No, there's no rabiti.
uporabiti = upotrebiti
uporaba = upotreba

(I guess...)


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