There is a very good article about numbers in Serbian. (http://www.italki.com/article/468/numbers-in-serbian#.Vc-Mqn3QgXY) However, this time I would like to explain numbers from the different point - jargon.
1 Number one - JEDAN
We don't only say JEDAN which is formal, but we say JEDINICA, or KEC. Kec is more informal although you can hear it very often. Kec is the worst grade in school, so you can hear from some kid:
Dobio sam keca u školi!
Kec is also a name for one of the playing cards - Ace.
2 Number two (DVA) DVOJKA. People who like to bet often say:
Igrao sam iz dvojke u keca. It means that someone bet that the visiting team will win at the end of the first half of a game, and domestic team will win the game at the end.
3. Number three (TRI) TROJKA
When basketball player gets three points, reporter almost as a rule says TROJKA. Croatian reporters say TRICA, and for two points - DVICA.
4 Number four (ČETIRI) ČETVORKA
5 pet - PETICA
6 šest - ŠESTICA
7 sedam - SEDMICA
8 osam - OSMICA
9 devet - DEVETKA
10 deset - DESETKA
11 jedanaest - JEDANAESTICA
12 dvanaest - DVANAESTICA
13 trinaest - TRINAESTICA
14 četrnaest - ČETRNAESTICA
15 petnaest - PETNAESTICA
16 šesnaest - ŠESNAESTICA
17 sedamnaest - SEDAMNAESTICA
18 osamnaest - OSAMNAESTICA
19 devetnaest - DEVETNAESTICA
20 dvadeset - DVADESETICA
21 dvadeset jedan - DVADESET JEDINICA (DVADESET KEC)
22 dvadeset dva - DVADESET DVOJKA
23 dvadeset tri - DVADESET TROJKA
24 dvadeset četiri - DVADESET ČETVORKA
and so on.
These jargon names people almost always use when they talk about bus lines.
However, when talk about money in Serbia people often say BANKA (10 - DESET) and SOM (100 - STO). In Bosnia 10 is CENER, and 1000 (HILJADARKA) is MILJA. 1000 in Croatia is TISUĆA, but in this case it is formal word.
You are right, but the rule also applies to jedinica, dvojka, trojka...
Dobio sam jedinicU, dvojkU, trojkU - you have to change that nouns as if they are living beings, albeit they aren't.
Cheers with šampanj(ac)!
Najlepša hvala, Vladimire!
I did not know why it is kecA because I considered it as an inanimate noun :)
Yes, I have heard "Evo banke". We have a multicultural band here in Vienna which plays often at one of the many "parties" which the city organizes during the summer in public places. I have to admit (although I sing along with them - like all the others) I have never thought about what this "banke" could be :)
Yessss! Exactly as you said.
Sedim u četvorki. Sedim u dvojki. Sedim u trojki.
However, we would rather say: u četvorki sam, u trojki sam, u dvojki sam. Or more colloquial: evo me u četvorki, evo me u trojki, evo me u dvojki.
Dalje, pre ćemo reći: „Eno je četvrorka“ nego „Vidim četvorku“, mada je i jedno i drugo ispravno.
Evo je - Here is.
Eno je - That is.
For money, it is exactly as you wrote.
Have you heard a song: Evo banke, Cigane moj, Cigane moj, sviraj mi ti...? It's a very old Serbian song.
KECA is because it is akuzativ (četvrti padež).
(Evo) kako menjamo imenicu KEC po padežima:
1. kec
2. (od) kecA
3. (ka) kecU
4. (koga, šta) kecA
5. (hej) kečE - We don't use it! But...*
6. (sa kim, čim) kecOM
7. (o kome, čemu, ili u/na) kecU
* However, when we like to make a joke and express an admiration at the same time, as was the case of Canadian actor Rob Stewart when he visited Serbia, we would use it.
Once upon a time, he acted as Nick Slaughter (we pronounce his name Nik Sloter) in TV series Tropical Heat (Tropska vrelina) and our people liked him very much. So when people saw him in person they shouted: Sloteru Niče, Srbija ti kliče! (Verb is klicati which is similar to dozivati, but not to similar).
Thank you Vladimir!
Numbers in Serbian are "an art in itself" and now I can discover there is even more to it :)
I have a few questions about the declension:
Can one say?
Sedim u četvorki / četvorci ---- šestici (buslines)
Vidim četvorku --- šesticu (buslines)
Daj mi banku / som / hiljadarku
Dobio sam keca u školi – zašto je kecA?
Hvala, takođe! Nisam želeo da napravim zabunu nekom ko se trudi da nauči. Kako se kaže: jedna navika, dve odvike. Bolje da ne znaju, nego da znaju pogrešno i pri tome još da misle da znaju.
