Vući nekoga za nos
Literally to pull someone by the nose
Means to deceive or fool someone, lead them on
Example Prestani da me vučeš za nos i reci mi istinu.
An idiom is a phrase you cannot translate word for word. Here are 15 of the most common Serbian idioms, each with its literal translation, real meaning, and an example sentence, so you know what natives actually mean.
Common Serbian idioms are everyday expressions whose meaning cannot be guessed from the individual words. For example, Vući nekoga za nos literally means "to pull someone by the nose" but is used to mean to deceive or fool someone, lead them on. This free tool lists 15 real Serbian idioms, each with its literal translation, meaning, and an example sentence.
All 15 Serbian idioms, with meanings and examples.
Guess the meaning, then tap a card to check.
Idiom list verified as of July 2026.
Vući nekoga za nos
Literally to pull someone by the nose
Means to deceive or fool someone, lead them on
Example Prestani da me vučeš za nos i reci mi istinu.
Pao mi je kamen sa srca
Literally a stone fell off my heart
Means to feel a great sense of relief
Example Kada sam čuo rezultate, pao mi je kamen sa srca.
Praviti se Englez
Literally to make oneself an Englishman
Means to feign ignorance, pretend not to notice or understand something
Example Ne pravi se Englez, dobro znaš o čemu pričam.
Ubiti dve muve jednim udarcem
Literally to kill two flies with one blow
Means to accomplish two things with a single action, kill two birds with one stone
Example Ako svratimo do prodavnice na putu, ubićemo dve muve jednim udarcem.
Faliti mu daska u glavi
Literally a plank is missing in his head
Means to be crazy, not right in the head
Example Ponaša se tako čudno, mora da mu fali daska u glavi.
Loviti u mutnom
Literally to fish in the murky water
Means to take advantage of a confused or unclear situation for personal gain
Example Dok su svi bili zbunjeni, on je lovio u mutnom.
Sedeti na dve stolice
Literally to sit on two chairs
Means to try to please or support two opposing sides at once
Example Ne možeš sedeti na dve stolice, moraš izabrati stranu.
Biti na sedmom nebu
Literally to be on the seventh heaven
Means to be extremely happy
Example Otkad se venčala, ona je na sedmom nebu.
Praviti od muve slona
Literally to make an elephant from a fly
Means to exaggerate a minor problem, make a mountain out of a molehill
Example Smiri se, ne pravi od muve slona.
Imati putera na glavi
Literally to have butter on one's head
Means to be guilty of something, have a guilty conscience
Example On najviše priča, a baš on ima putera na glavi.
Kad na vrbi rodi grožđe
Literally when grapes grow on the willow
Means never, an event that will never happen
Example Vratiće on taj dug kad na vrbi rodi grožđe.
Baš me briga
Literally it really worries me
Means I don't care at all, couldn't care less
Example Baš me briga šta drugi misle o meni.
Preko glave mi je
Literally it is over my head
Means to be fed up with something, have had enough
Example Preko glave mi je svih ovih problema.
Kao grom iz vedra neba
Literally like thunder from a clear sky
Means completely unexpected, out of the blue
Example Njegova ostavka je došla kao grom iz vedra neba.
Nemati dlake na jeziku
Literally to have no hair on the tongue
Means to speak bluntly and frankly, not mince words
Example On nema dlake na jeziku, uvek kaže sve otvoreno.
Idioms stick when you see them in context, not on a list. Lingo7 lets you read real Serbian books with sentence-aligned translation and native-narrated audio, so you meet idioms in the wild and tap any line you do not get. Save them and review later. Free to start.
An idiom is a phrase whose meaning is fixed by convention, not built from its words. That is why a word-for-word translation fails: Vući nekoga za nos comes out as "to pull someone by the nose", which makes no sense until you know it means to deceive or fool someone, lead them on.
Learn a few at a time, not a whole list. Pick the ones you keep running into, say them out loud in a real sentence, and you will remember them far longer than by drilling flashcards.
The most reliable way to absorb idioms is to meet them in context, again and again, in things you actually read. Parallel text and audio let you catch an idiom in a real Serbian sentence and check what it means without breaking your reading. That is what reading in Lingo7 is built for.
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Some of the most common Serbian idioms are Vući nekoga za nos, Pao mi je kamen sa srca, Praviti se Englez, Ubiti dve muve jednim udarcem. Each one means something you could not guess from the words alone, which is exactly why learners have to meet them in context. This tool lists 15 of them with their meaning and an example sentence.
In Serbian, "Vući nekoga za nos" translates literally as "to pull someone by the nose", but it actually means to deceive or fool someone, lead them on. You would use it like this: Prestani da me vučeš za nos i reci mi istinu.
Idioms are non-compositional: their meaning is fixed by convention, not built from the individual words. Vući nekoga za nos translates literally as "to pull someone by the nose", yet it means to deceive or fool someone, lead them on. Translate word for word and you get nonsense, so idioms have to be learned as whole units.
The fastest way is to meet them in context and reuse them, not to memorize a list. Learn a handful at a time, notice them while reading and listening, and try them in your own sentences. Reading real Serbian with tap-to-translate, the way Lingo7 works, turns every page into idiom practice.