Bosnian→English

Translate Bosnian to English the way locals mean it.

Bosnian speakers often soften, intensify, or redirect a message with small words like ba, bolan, and ma, so a literal translation can miss whether they are joking, reassuring, or brushing something off.

Going the other way? English to Bosnian

474 local dialects

AIRTranslate on iPhone choosing between Bosnian varieties

What locals actually say

Ma hajde, ba, nemoj me zezati.

Oh, come on, you can't be serious.

Ma hajde is usually disbelief or dismissal here, not an invitation to come, while zezati means to kid, tease, or mess with someone.

Ne sikiraj se, bolan, sve će biti dobro.

Don't worry, man, everything will be fine.

Sikirati se is a colloquial way to say worry, and bolan is a familiar vocative meaning man or mate, not literally someone who is sick or in pain.

Ma nema veze, ba, vidimo se sutra.

It's all good, we'll see each other tomorrow.

Nema veze literally means there is no connection, but as an idiom it brushes off a problem, while ma and ba make the reassurance sound casual and familiar.

Jarane, možeš li mi posuditi cenera do petka?

Mate, can you lend me ten KM until Friday?

Cener is Sarajevo colloquial slang for ten convertible marks, signalling informal talk about money.

Idi pravo pa skreni kod one džamije u čaršiji.

Go straight, then turn by that mosque in the čaršija district.

Čaršija is a Turkish-origin word for an old bazaar or town centre, signalling a distinctly Bosnian urban setting.

Može jedna porcija ćevapa s lukom, ali bez somuna?

Could I get one serving of ćevapi with onions, but no somun?

Ćevapi and somun name iconic Bosnian grilled meat and round bread, signalling local food culture rather than generic fast food.

Babo mi dolazi za vikend, pa moram ranije kući.

My babo is coming for the weekend, so I have to get home early.

Babo is a familiar Bosnian word for father, signalling an intimate, family-oriented register.

Šefica nam je uvalila još jedan rok pred kraj smjene.

Our manager dumped another deadline on us right before the shift ended.

Uvaliti means to foist an unwanted task on someone, signalling casual workplace complaint and Sarajevo-style colloquial speech.

Notes like these come with every AIRTranslate translation, so you learn why locals phrase it that way as you go.

How Bosnian differs

Bosnian standard: Latin script, ijekavian; Sarajevo colloquial flavour in casual register; Turkish-origin vocabulary is natural (merhaba, čaršija).

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Localization Notes explaining why locals say it that way