Welcome to part four - the final chapter of our wonderful series about foreigners living in Serbia! In this episode we travel a little outside Belgrade, because one of the stories takes us to Niš - Serbia's third-largest city and, in my opinion, one of the most underrated cities in the whole of the Balkans. You are also going to encounter a Serbian idiom that is so vivid and so joyful that I guarantee you will remember it for the rest of your language-learning journey.
As always, watch the video, answer the questions, and enjoy the experience of understanding real, natural Serbian. You have come a long way from part one - take a moment to feel proud of that!
What does part 4 cover?
In this final part, we hear from more foreigners who have made Serbia their home. One of the most memorable stories comes from a person who previously lived in Vietnam, Bulgaria, and Albania before eventually settling in Niš. The video explores the reasons why people choose to come to Serbia and - crucially - why they stay. You will also meet a man married to a woman named Svetlana, and you will hear about the particular advantages that a family from Germany found when they moved to Serbia.
And then there is the idiom. Živeti bubreg u loju. We will get to that in just a moment - but listen for it carefully in the video, because the way the speaker uses it in context makes its meaning crystal clear even before you know the translation.
The questions
Six questions for this final episode. Take your notes and see how many you can answer after one or two viewings.
- Who lived in Vietnam, Bulgaria and Albania?
- Who decided to continue living in Niš?
- What are the reasons for people to come to live in Serbia?
- Who is married to Svetlana?
- What does "živeti bubreg u loju" mean?
- What are the two main advantages of living in Serbia for the family from Germany?
Question five is the one I am most excited about. Even if you can only answer this one from the entire video, you will have learned something truly memorable - and genuinely useful - today.
The idiom: "živeti bubreg u loju"
This is one of the most expressive idioms in the Serbian language, and once you hear it you will want to use it immediately. Živeti bubreg u loju literally translates as "to live a kidney in fat" - which sounds strange in English but makes immediate sense when you understand the old-fashioned image behind it: a kidney cooked in its own rich fat was a luxury meal, a sign of abundance and ease. So the idiom means to live extremely well, to live in clover, to have an easy and comfortable life.
"Oni žive bubreg u loju - imaju veliku kuću, dobru posao i srećnu porodicu."
They live like kings - they have a big house, a good job, and a happy family."Otkako su se preselili u Srbiju, žive bubreg u loju."
Ever since they moved to Serbia, they have been living the good life."Ne žalim se - živim bubreg u loju u ovom lepom gradu."
I am not complaining - I am living in clover in this beautiful city.
Notice how naturally this idiom fits into a sentence. Try making up your own sentence with it - it is great grammar practice and rather fun!
Hear it
Watch the final episode of the series below. This is the fourth and last video, so savour it!
More Serbian to listen for
Here are additional Serbian sentences connected to the themes in part four - life choices, settling in a new city, and the particular charms of Serbia outside Belgrade. Read them, listen to them in your head, and if possible say them aloud.
"Niš je divan grad pun istorije i dobre hrane."
Niš is a wonderful city full of history and good food."Oni žive bubreg u loju i veoma su zadovoljni životom u Srbiji."
They are living in clover and are very satisfied with life in Serbia."Živeo sam u više zemalja, ali odlučio sam da ostanem u Srbiji."
I lived in several countries, but I decided to stay in Serbia."Razlog zbog kojeg sam došao u Srbiju je ljubav prema ovoj kulturi."
The reason I came to Serbia is my love for this culture."Moja žena se zove Svetlana i ona je iz Beograda."
My wife is called Svetlana and she is from Belgrade."U Srbiji je život jeftiniji i opušteniji nego u Nemačkoj."
Life in Serbia is cheaper and more relaxed than in Germany."Naša porodica je presrećna što smo se preselili ovamo."
Our family is overjoyed that we moved here."Srbija ima puno toga da ponudi - prirodu, hranu, prijatelje i toplu atmosferu."
Serbia has a lot to offer - nature, food, friends, and a warm atmosphere.
A note on Niš
It is worth knowing a few things about Niš if you encountered it for the first time in this video. Niš is the third-largest city in Serbia, located in the south of the country. It is famous for the Niška tvrđava (the Niš Fortress), the Skull Tower - one of the most unusual monuments in Europe - and for Niška banja, its warm-water spa. The food culture in Niš is also celebrated throughout Serbia: when Serbs want to praise a meal, they sometimes say it tastes like something from Niš.
Some sentences to practice the name in context:
"Nikad nisam bio u Nišu, ali čuo sam da je prelepo."
I have never been to Niš, but I have heard it is beautiful."Hrana u Nišu je poznata po celoj Srbiji."
Food in Niš is famous throughout Serbia.
FAQ
Do I need to watch parts 1, 2 and 3 before watching part 4?
No - part four works perfectly as a standalone listening exercise. But if you have worked through the whole series, you will find that the voices and themes feel familiar and comforting, which makes comprehension easier. There is also a cumulative vocabulary benefit: words you heard in part one now reappear in part four, and that repetition reinforces learning.
Where exactly is Niš?
Niš is in southern Serbia, roughly 230 kilometres south of Belgrade. It sits at the confluence of the Nišava and Southern Morava rivers and has a population of around 250,000 people. It is an important cultural, industrial, and university city - not just a stopover on the road to Greece, which is how it is sometimes mistakenly treated by tourists!
Is "živeti bubreg u loju" used in everyday conversation?
Yes - Serbs use it with warmth and sometimes with a slight ironic edge. It can be used genuinely ("they truly live in clover") or humorously ("sure, they live bubreg u loju - until the car breaks down"). It is very much an alive, in-use expression, not an archaic one confined to literature.
What case is used after "živeti" in this idiom?
The idiom uses the accusative case: bubreg (kidney, accusative) and u loju (in fat - loj in the locative after the preposition u when expressing a state). It is worth noting as a complete fixed phrase rather than trying to analyze each word - that is how native speakers use it too.
Is it common for foreigners from Germany to move to Serbia?
More common than you might think! The Serbian diaspora in Germany is large, and there are also many non-Serbian Europeans who have discovered Serbia through travel or through Serbian partners and decided to settle there. The lower cost of living, the warm social culture, and the excellent food are reasons that come up time and again in conversations like the ones in this video series.
And that, my dear learners, is the end of the series! Four videos, four groups of foreigners, four windows into the experience of loving Serbia from the outside - and one unforgettable idiom to take away with you. I hope this series has given you not only vocabulary and listening practice, but also a little dose of inspiration. If all these people found a home in Serbia, imagine what the language alone can open up for you.
Keep listening, keep practicing, and remember: svaki dan je korak napred - every day is a step forward.
With warmth,
Marina Petrovic
Want to keep training your ear? Browse the full collection at More listening practice.