Na autobus
Lesson goals
Vocabulary
- Buy a bus ticket with karta, stanica, and price phrases.
- Name seat, window, driver, departure, and arrival words.
- Talk about a coast trip toward Neum.
Grammar
- Use Treba mi and trebaš to say what you need.
- Ask Koliko košta karta? Then choose jednosmjerna or povratna.
- Read odlazak and dolazak on a station board.
Culture
- Start from the Sarajevo bus station toward lake and coast.
- Picture Jablaničko Lake on the southbound road.
- Notice how road corridors and entity borders affect travel.
Watch the companion video
Watch when you can, then come back for words, dialogue, and practice on this page.
Learn Bosnian. Telling Time. Clock phrases help you read departure boards at the station.
From the station toward lake and coast
Sarajevo's main bus station sends coaches and minibuses toward the lakes and the coast. Ana buys a ticket while Emir shows her a postcard of Jablaničko Lake, the blue water you pass on the road south. What they really want is Neum, the short stretch of Adriatic coast that gives Bosnia and Herzegovina a seaside town. From a window seat, they picture the sea air waiting after the mountain tunnels. The departure board lists odlazak times while travelers wait nearby with coffee and bags. A few ticket phrases turn a daydream about the coast into an actual trip.
Lesson vocabulary
Tap a word to hear it. Use Loop and slower speed when you want to shadow.
Grammar
Treba mi and trebaš
Treba mi means I need, and the thing you need comes right after it. Trebaš means you need, for one person you know well. Keep the phrase together and stay in the present tense.
- Treba mi karta.: I need a ticket.
- Treba mi autobus.: I need a bus.
- Trebaš kartu, molim.: You need a ticket, please.
Ticket questions at the counter
Ask Koliko košta karta? To find the price. Add jednosmjerna or povratna before karta to choose one-way or return. Finish with molim when you speak to the clerk.
- Koliko košta karta?: How much does the ticket cost?
- Jednosmjerna karta, molim.: A one-way ticket, please.
- Povratna karta, molim.: A return ticket, please.
Station timing phrases
Use odlazak for departure and dolazak for arrival. Pair each word with a clock time you already know. These present-tense lines help you read a board without learning a new tense.
- Odlazak je uskoro.: Departure is soon.
- Dolazak je u pet sati.: Arrival is at five o'clock.
- Autobus ide do Neuma.: The bus goes to Neum.
Say again
Warm up with four lines you already know.
- Kakvo je vrijeme?: How is the weather?
- Idite pravo, molim vas.: Go straight, please.
- Hajde da idemo.: Let us go.
- Hvala!: Thank you!
Lesson A. Ticket counter phrases
Start with autobus, karta, and stanica so the station feels familiar before you even reach the doors. Add vozač, sjedalo, and prozor for concrete nouns you can point to on the ride. Practice Treba mi karta until it sounds automatic at a busy counter, then ask Koliko košta karta? And choose jednosmjerna or povratna before you pay. Ana stands at the Sarajevo counter with Emir, already picturing the lake stop near Jablanica. You don't need every case ending to buy a ticket, just these few working lines. Try each counter line a couple of times, then look at the board and name odlazak or dolazak in a full sentence.
- Keep Treba mi and the noun together as one phrase.
- Add molim when you speak to the ticket clerk.
- Choose jednosmjerna or povratna before you pay.
Match travel words
Match each Bosnian travel word with its English meaning.
Lesson B. Board and dream of Neum
Move from the counter to your seat once the ticket is in your hand. Say Imam sjedalo uz prozor when you claim a window seat for the lake view later. Reuse Molim and Hvala with the clerk, then tell a friend Trebaš kartu before the doors close. Ana wants Neum, Emir wants the lake view, and Mrvica stays home with Amira for the day. Stay in the present tense. You can buy and board today without touching past or future forms. Chain the pieces together out loud: need, price, ticket type, seat, thank you, and one calm boarding line. Run through the chain a few times until boarding feels easy.
- Reuse Hvala after you receive the ticket.
- Practice sjedalo uz prozor before you sit.
- Stay in present tense even when you talk about the coast dream.
Karta za more
Ana, Emir, and Amira buy tickets at the Sarajevo bus station while a clerk works the window.
Play the full scene once. Then tap a line to hear it. On some lines you can record yourself for a short Speak Check.
Speak Check listens to your recording and sends back short tips.
Speak Check listens to your recording and sends back short tips.
Practice
Your keyboard may not have č ć š ž đ. Tap the accent buttons under each box to insert them.
Write the Bosnian phrase for I need a ticket.
Hint: Begin with Treba mi.
Write the polite price question for a ticket.
Hint: Begin with Koliko.
Write the Bosnian for A return ticket, please.
Hint: Use povratna and molim.
Write the Bosnian for Departure is soon.
Hint: Use odlazak.
Write the Bosnian for I have a window seat.
Hint: Use sjedalo and prozor.
Write the Bosnian word for bus.
Hint: It begins with auto.
Write the Bosnian word for station.
Hint: It begins with sta.
Fun facts
Neum is the short coast
Neum is the Adriatic town that gives Bosnia and Herzegovina a coastline. The stretch is short compared with neighboring countries, but it still has beaches and good seafood. Most travelers reach it by road from inland cities. The coast dream in this lesson is a real destination, not just a postcard fantasy.
Jablanica sits on the lake road
Jablaničko Lake appears on many southbound routes from Sarajevo. The water sits in a mountain corridor and often becomes a rest stop in travelers' stories. Emir's postcard keeps the lake in view while Ana buys tickets. It's a reminder that the trip to the coast includes some inland beauty too.
Treba mi is a survival phrase
Treba mi plus a noun is one of the fastest ways to name what you need at a counter. You don't need a full conjugation table to buy a ticket. Pair it with molim and you'll sound ready for any clerk. Simple present-tense phrases like this keep Book 1 practical.
Window seats teach prozor
Sjedalo uz prozor turns furniture words into travel comfort. You already know a few short location phrases, and a window seat makes them stick. Ana picks hers for the view toward the lake and coast. Suddenly vocabulary practice comes with real scenery.
Čuj Bosnu with clock phrases for departures
A teacher models time phrases you can reuse when a bus board lists the hour.
Speaker · Lingo Hero · Clock and schedule language · focus ~45-90 seconds
Watch & listen
Lingo Hero on YouTube (YouTube Terms of Service (embed))
Listen for a time phrase you could place beside odlazak or dolazak.
Press play on the video above. After you have listened, show the gist question.
Bosnia today
Corridor Vc still leaves the country half connected
Buying a bus ticket in Bosnia and Herzegovina means traveling on a map that is still unfinished. The EU-backed Corridor Vc motorway is meant to run north to south through the country, yet only part of it is open after years of loans, delays, and political fights over routes. Other motorway projects, serving Banja Luka and the southern border approaches toward Međugorje and Croatia, have moved forward on their own separate timelines. A coach toward the coast can still pass long gaps where a modern national highway was promised and never delivered.
Bankwatch report on Corridor Vc in Bosnia and Herzegovina
Practice game
True or false on the bus
Decide whether each sentence matches the lesson.
Treba mi karta means I need a ticket.
Jednosmjerna means a return ticket.
Neum is on the Adriatic coast.
Odlazak means arrival.
Quick review
A few words from this lesson, plus ones you missed before. Flip the card, then mark how it went.
Card 1 / 5
More resources
- Learn Bosnian. Telling Time. Clock phrases help you read departure boards at the station.
- Next lesson. Lesson 17 takes Ana and Emir into a restaurant debate.
- How to speak Bosnian channel. Browse more real speaker clips after you finish the lesson.
Lesson quiz
Or open the full-page quiz: Lesson 16 quiz
Lesson 16 section quiz
1. What does karta mean at the station?
2. Which phrase means I need a ticket?
3. Which word means departure?
4. Which ticket is a return ticket?
5. What coast town do Ana and Emir dream about?
6. How do you politely ask the price?
7. Which lake appears on the route postcard?
8. What civic pressure does this bus lesson highlight?
9. Which sentence claims a window seat?
