Planine i rijeke
Lesson goals
Vocabulary
- Name planina, rijeka, jezero, šuma, and priroda in present lines.
- Place Una, Neretva, Bjelašnica, and Jahorina on the nature map.
Grammar
- Describe height with visoko and nisko as chunks.
- Use veći and manji in light comparison phrases.
Culture
- Connect emerald Una water and Neretva canyon stories.
- Notice 1984 Olympic mountains Jahorina and Bjelašnica.
Watch the companion video
Watch when you can, then come back for words, dialogue, and practice on this page.
Beba Selimović - Bosno moja. A Bosnian song supports today's nature-themed listening.
Rivers and Olympic peaks across the map
Bosnia and Herzegovina packs a lot of dramatic scenery into a small map. The Una River runs emerald green through the northwest, while the Neretva carves a deep canyon farther south. Bjelašnica rises near Sarajevo with rocky ridges that hosted the men's Olympic ski events in 1984. Jahorina, over in Republika Srpska, is still a busy winter resort and hosted the women's Olympic skiing that same year. Ana spreads postcards of rivers and peaks across the café table, and you can use them to practice naming what you see.
Lesson vocabulary
Tap a word to hear it. Use Loop and slower speed when you want to shadow.
Grammar
Nature nouns in short present lines
Planina, rijeka, jezero, and šuma name the landscape around you. Pair each noun with ovo je or vidim in a present-tense line.
- Ovo je planina.: This is a mountain.
- Vidim rijeku.: I see a river.
- Šuma je zelena.: The forest is green.
Visoko and nisko as place lines
Visoko means high and nisko means low. Use them to describe mountains and river valleys without a full comparative chart.
- Planina je visoko.: The mountain is high.
- Rijeka teče nisko.: The river runs low.
- Bjelašnica je visoka.: Bjelašnica is high.
Veći and manji as light comparison phrases
Veći means bigger and manji means smaller. Use them as fixed chunks with rijeka or planina rather than opening a full adjective table.
- Una je veća rijeka.: Una is a bigger river.
- Potok je manji.: The stream is smaller.
- Jezero je manje od mora.: The lake is smaller than the sea.
Say again
Warm up with four lines you already know.
- Šta radiš danas?: What do you do today?
- Volim da šetam.: I like to walk.
- Vidim džamiju.: I see a mosque.
- Kakvo je vrijeme?: How is the weather?
Lesson A. Name mountains and rivers
Start with planina, rijeka, jezero, and šuma. Say Ovo je planina and Vidim rijeku while you look at a map or postcard. Add Una and Neretva as place names you can pronounce with confidence. Ana and Emir compare northwest rivers with southern canyons. Keep every description in the present tense, and stick to one feature per short line so it stays easy to say.
- Point at a map while you say ovo je.
- Keep one nature noun per short sentence.
- Stay in present tense for every description.
Match the nature words
Match each Bosnian nature word with its English meaning.
Lesson B. Compare height and size
Add visoko, nisko, veći, and manji as comparison chunks. Say Bjelašnica je visoka and Una je veća rijeka without opening a full grammar grid. Mention Jahorina, a ski name you will hear often in winter travel stories. Amira pours coffee while Mrvica bats at a pinecone near a nature photo. Mix priroda and voda when you describe why you like a walk. End with one line that names a place you want to visit this year.
- Use veći and manji as fixed chunks with rijeka.
- Say Bjelašnica and Jahorina aloud several times.
- Add volim prirodu when you name a favorite place.
Priroda na stolu
Ana and Emir spread nature postcards at the café while Amira listens and Mrvica plays with a pinecone.
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.
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 for This is a mountain.
Hint: Use Ovo je planina.
Write the Bosnian for I see a river.
Hint: Begin with Vidim.
Write the Bosnian for The forest is green.
Hint: Use Šuma je zelena.
Write the Bosnian for Bjelašnica is high.
Hint: Use Bjelašnica je visoka.
Write the Bosnian for Una is a bigger river.
Hint: Use Una je veća rijeka.
Write the Bosnian word for lake.
Hint: It begins with jez.
Write the Bosnian for I love nature.
Hint: Use Volim prirodu.
Fun facts
Una runs emerald in the northwest
The Una River is famous for green water and waterfalls near Bihać. It is often the first river name travelers learn when they plan a nature trip in Bosnia. Ana's postcard keeps the river on the lesson table.
Neretva cuts a southern canyon
The Neretva flows through a dramatic canyon toward the Adriatic region. It connects mountain stories with southern travel dreams. Learning its name helps you talk about more of the map than just Sarajevo or Mostar.
1984 Olympics left two ski stories
Sarajevo hosted the 1984 Winter Olympics on nearby mountains. Jahorina and Bjelašnica still appear in winter travel talk today. Knowing both names gives you an easy way to talk about the mountains and that Olympic history at once.
Veći and manji stay light in Book 1
Book 1 treats veći and manji as sayable comparison chunks rather than a full adjective system. Pair them with rijeka or jezero in one short line, and you are ready to compare things without a grammar chart.
Čuj Bosnu with Bosno moja for nature feeling
A Bosnian song gives you a listening anchor for today's river and mountain talk.
Song · Beba Selimović · Bosnian landscape mood · focus ~45-90 seconds
Watch & listen
Beba Selimović on YouTube (YouTube Terms of Service (embed))
Listen for a landscape mood without translating every lyric.
Press play on the video above. After you have listened, show the gist question.
Bosnia today
Jahorina booms while Bjelašnica and Igman Olympic sites lag
The 1984 Winter Olympics left Bosnia and Herzegovina with ski venues that later fell on different sides of the postwar entity line. Jahorina hosted the women's alpine events and now sits in Republika Srpska, where investment rebuilt its lifts, hotels, and winter season. Bjelašnica and Igman hosted the men's events on what became Federation territory, and both took heavier wartime damage along with slower recovery funding. Three decades later, one Olympic mountain draws steady ski tourism while its neighboring host slopes still wait for the same kind of investment.
Wikipedia article about Jahorina
Practice game
True or false about nature day
Decide whether each sentence matches the lesson.
Una is a river in northwest Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Veći means smaller.
Jahorina hosted women's Olympic skiing in 1984.
Neretva is only a lake name.
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
- Beba Selimović - Bosno moja. A Bosnian song supports today's nature-themed listening.
- Next lesson. Lesson 25 visits the doctor after Mrvica and a pinecone.
- How to speak Bosnian channel. Browse more speaker models after nature vocabulary.
Lesson quiz
Or open the full-page quiz: Lesson 24 quiz
Lesson 24 section quiz
1. What does planina mean?
2. Which river is famous for green water in the northwest?
3. What does veći mean as a light comparison chunk?
4. What civic gap does the Olympic ski comparison describe?
5. What civic gap does the lesson describe?
6. What does šuma mean?
7. Which line says I love nature?
8. What does nisko mean?
9. Which river appears with a deep canyon?
