About This Keyboard
Serbian is a South Slavic language spoken by approximately 12 million people as a native language, primarily in Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, and North Macedonia, with significant diaspora communities in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, the United States, and Australia. A distinctive feature of Serbian is its digraphia — it is one of the few languages in the world that uses two alphabets with equal official status: the Cyrillic script (Serbian Cyrillic) and the Latin script (Latinica). The two scripts are in a strict one-to-one correspondence, meaning every Cyrillic letter has exactly one Latin equivalent.
The Serbian Latin alphabet, officially called Latinica, was developed by the 19th-century linguist Vuk Stefanović Karadžić alongside the Cyrillic alphabet, following the principle 'write as you speak, read as it is written'. The Latin variant includes three special digraphs — lj, nj (representing single sounds) and dž — plus three diacritical characters: č, š, and ž. These diacritics represent sounds not found in English and are essential for correct spelling.
In practice, the Latin script is increasingly used in digital communication, advertising, and younger generations' everyday writing in Serbia, while Cyrillic remains dominant in official government documents, education, and formal literature. Both scripts are considered correct and interchangeable.
How to use this keyboard — 5 tips:
1. Diacritics: The three diacritical letters č, š, and ž are available directly on the on-screen keyboard. Click them or use the key mappings shown in the layout.
2. Digraphs: Type 'lj' for lj, 'nj' for nj, 'dž' for dž — these are treated as single letters in the Serbian alphabet.
3. Uppercase diacritics: Use Shift + diacritic for uppercase versions: Č, Š, Ž (and Lj, Nj, Dž for digraphs).
4. Switch to Cyrillic: Use the layout dropdown to switch between the Serbian Latin and Serbian Cyrillic keyboard anytime.
5. Compatible with Bosnian and Croatian: The Serbian Latin keyboard is also suitable for typing Bosnian (which shares all the same characters), and largely compatible with Croatian (which additionally uses ć and đ).
Common Serbian phrases (Latin script):
• Zdravo — Hello
• Hvala — Thank you
• Molim — Please / You're welcome
• Kako si? — How are you? (informal)
• Dobro jutro — Good morning
• Laku noć — Good night
• Ne razumem — I don't understand
• Gde je...? — Where is...?
• Koliko košta? — How much does it cost?
• Volim te — I love you