# Serbian (BCS): ljubim te



## mohalapua83

Hi. *I*'ve just recently started learning Serbian (my boyfriend is Serbian) and *I* would like to know what degree of affection Ljubim te means. *I* study French and Spanish and understand that there are two ways of expressing *I* love you in both langauges and there is the same in Serbian, Volim te and Ljubim te. *I* would like to understand the difference between the two a little more. Thank you. Molim te.


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## Athaulf

mohalapua83 said:


> hi. i've just recently started learning serbian (my boyfriend is serbian) and i would like to know what degree of affection Ljubim te means. i study french and spanish and understand that there are two ways of expressing i love you in both langauges and there is the same in Serbian, Volim te and Ljubim te. i would like to understand the difference between the two a little more. thank you.



I'd say that the difference here is not in the degree of affection, but rather in the everyday vs. poetic language. In everyday language, _ljubiti_ normally means _to kiss_, and using this verb with the meaning _to love_ is a mark of highly ornate and poetic style; _voljeti_ means only _to love_, and it's used much more frequently than _ljubiti_ with this meaning. Otherwise, there isn't any difference in meaning between these verbs. Both of them can cover any possible meaning of _to love_. 

Note however that this is an answer from a Croatian perspective, although I'm pretty sure that all of this holds for Serbian too. 



> Molim tevas.


When you direct a request to a group of people, or to a single person with whom you're not on familiar terms, you should use the plural 2nd person pronoun.


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## Emmanon82

Well now I`ve got a question too  Do you use the same word "voljeti" when you talk  about  love between opposite sexes and talking about love to nature, for example?
In our language there`s a difference.


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## Thomas1

I've got another question:
Does _ljubim te_ mean_ love you _or_ I like you_ (in a friendly way)? If just the first one how would you express the second one, please?


Hvala,
Tom


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## Athaulf

Emmanon82 said:


> Well now I`ve got a question too  Do you use the same word "voljeti" when you talk  about  love between opposite sexes and talking about love to nature, for example?
> In our language there`s a difference.



_Voljeti_ is a totally universal verb for expressing fondness or affection, just like the English _to love_. In fact, it's even more universal, because it also embraces most of the meanings of the English _to like_. It's normal to use it, for example, to say that you like some food or a certain kind of movies. But it's totally OK to use it for any sort of love between people too.



Thomas1 said:


> I've got another question:
> Does _ljubim te_ mean_ love you _or_ I like you_ (in a friendly way)? If just the first one how would you express the second one, please?



Well, when I hear "I like you" directed to a person of the opposite sex, I usually don't interpret it as staying within the boundaries of friendship.   The English "I like you" is best translated with an altogether different verb: _"Sviđaš mi se."_ This is a reflexive verb (_sviđati se_) that takes an indirect object in dative. Sort of like the Spanish _me gusta_, except that it's reflexive. It approximately matches the English _to like_ in (more or less) all of its meanings. 

_ Ljubiti _can mean any sort of love between people; its use is limited mainly stylistically, because it sounds very poetic (and, like other such words, it sounds pathetic if used inappropriately). For example, it's typically used as in romantic love poetry and in translations of the Bible (_"Bog je tako ljubio svijet..." = "For God so loved the world..."_).


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## mohalapua83

Hvala lepo for the response. It is very helpful.

I have another romantic question,  how would you say " i am in love with you" or "i've fallen in love with you?"


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## Athaulf

mohalapua83 said:


> Hvala lepo for the response. It is very helpful.
> 
> I have another romantic question,  how would you say " i am in love with you" or "i've fallen in love with you?"



I'd say that the closest translations are:

_"I am in love with you." = "Zaljubljena sam u tebe."
"I've fallen in love with you." = "Zaljubila sam se u tebe."
_
Note that these sentences are grammatically correct only if the speaker is female, though.


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## Duya

Actually, _ljubim te _is rather used as a greeting among intimate persons (e.g. that's how I say goodbye to my sisters and mother, esp. on the phone) than as a declaration of love (in that sense, it would sound rather archaic and/or poetic). In the former case, it would mean simply "kiss you".


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## nexy

I agree with Duya. 

Croatian: voljeti
Serbian: vo*l*eti

The verb "voleti/voljeti" means "to love" (infinitive).


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## cucciolona

voljeti = imati rad = svidjati se nesto nekome = to like
ljubiti = osjecati ljubav = to love


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## DenisBiH

cucciolona said:


> voljeti = imati rad = svidjati se nesto nekome = to like
> ljubiti = osjecati ljubav = to love



Not (entirely) true.

voljeti = "to love"; also secondary meaning "to like"/"to prefer"
ljubiti = "to kiss"; archaic/poetic "to love"

Please refer to Athaulf's posts for more details.


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