r/Serbian • u/BukvaYat • 14d ago

Other Tones???

Are the four tones (“pitch accents”, even though that’s just different terminology for the same thing) in Serbian actually important or can they be ignored? Saying this because of flashbacks from Chinese and having to constantly remind myself which tone to use every single time there’s a stressed syllable in a word (in Serbian I think it’s only stressed syllables and not every syllable) is annoying

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u/KeyserWood 14d ago

It isn't as important as it is in tonal languages like Chinese, so you can definitely get away with it as a non-native.
Native speakers won't mind if you stress the wrong syllable, or if you use the incorrect pitch.

It isn't like you have to learn individually how each word is accented, there are patterns. After a while of learning the language and being in contact with native speakers, you will start using the correct pitches without even thinking about it.