Serbo-Croatian
Etymology
From older človjek, from Proto-Slavic *čьlověkъ, *čelověkъ, from Proto-Balto-Slavic *kelawaikas.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /t͡ʃǒʋjek/, /t͡ʃôʋjek/
- Hyphenation: čo‧vjek
Noun
čòvjek or čȍvjek m anim (Cyrillic spelling чо̀вјек or чо̏вјек)
- man, person
- Jeste li vid(j)eli ovog čov(j)eka? ― Have you seen this man?
- Ti si mrtav čov(j)ek. ― You're a dead man.
- Zanemarite čov(j)eka iza zav(j)ese. ― Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain.
- human
- Ne želim biti čov(j)ek, želim biti robot! ― I don't want to be human, I want to be a robot!
- Nisi zao, samo si...čov(j)ek. ― You're not evil, you're just...human.
- person of integrity, mensch
1849, Vuk Stefanović Karadžić, Srpske narodne poslovice [Serbian Folk Proverbs][1], Beč, page 27:Боље се с чоеком побити него с рђом целивати. У Грбљу.- Bolje se s čoekom pobiti nego s rđom celivati. U Grblju.
- It is better to fight with a [proper] man than to kiss with an unworthy one. From Grbalj.
- used as an indefinite, general subject; any person in the given situation
1882, Ante Kovačić, Fiškal [The Advocate][2], Zagreb: Bulaja naklada, published 2013, →ISBN, page 28:Vrijeme i narav bijahu neopisivo sumorni. U takvim časovima čovjek biva zlovoljan, dremovan i nezadovoljan.- The weather and nature were indescribably dismal. In such moments, one becomes ill-willed, drowsy and dissatisfied.
Declension
Irregular declension, with nominative čòvjek
|
|
singular
|
plural
|
| nominative
|
čòvjek
|
ljȗdi
|
| genitive
|
čòvjeka
|
ljúdī
|
| dative
|
čòvjeku
|
ljúdima
|
| accusative
|
čòvjeka
|
ljȗde
|
| vocative
|
čȍvječe / čòvječe
|
ljȗdi
|
| locative
|
čòvjeku
|
ljúdima
|
| instrumental
|
čòvjekom
|
ljúdima
|
Irregular declension, with nominative čȍvjek
|
|
singular
|
plural
|
| nominative
|
čȍvjek
|
ljȗdi
|
| genitive
|
čovjèka
|
ljúdī
|
| dative
|
čovjèku
|
ljúdima
|
| accusative
|
čovjèka
|
ljȗde
|
| vocative
|
čȍvječe
|
ljȗdi
|
| locative
|
čovjèku
|
ljúdima
|
| instrumental
|
čovjèkom
|
ljúdima
|
Irregular declension, with nominative čȍvjek
|
|
singular
|
plural
|
| nominative
|
čȍvjek
|
ljȗdi
|
| genitive
|
čȍvjeka
|
ljúdī
|
| dative
|
čȍvjeku
|
ljúdima
|
| accusative
|
čȍvjeka
|
ljȗde
|
| vocative
|
čȍvječe
|
ljȗdi
|
| locative
|
čȍvjeku
|
ljúdima
|
| instrumental
|
čȍvjekom
|
ljúdima
|
Archaic and slang plural, with nominative čòvjek
|
|
singular
|
plural
|
| nominative
|
—
|
čòvjeci
|
| genitive
|
—
|
čȍvjēkā / čòvjēkā
|
| dative
|
—
|
čòvjecima
|
| accusative
|
—
|
čòvjeke
|
| vocative
|
—
|
čòvjeci
|
| locative
|
—
|
čòvjecima
|
| instrumental
|
—
|
čòvjecima
|
Derived terms
- Čović (last name)
- Čovo (last name)
References
- “čovjek”, in Hrvatski jezični portal [Croatian language portal] (in Serbo-Croatian), 2006–2025
- “čovjek”, in Речник српскохрватскога књижевног језика (in Serbo-Croatian), Друго фототипско издање edition, volume 6, Нови Сад, Загреб: Матица српска, Матица хрватска, 1967–1976, published 1990, page 891
- Речник српскога језика (2007, Прво издање), Нови Сад: Матица српска, page 1520
- Đuro Daničić, Matija Valjavac, Pero Budmani, editor (1884–1886), “čòvjek”, in Rječnik hrvatskoga ili srpskoga jezika[3] (in Serbo-Croatian), volume 2, Zagreb: JAZU, page 68
- Brabec, Ivan, Hraste, Mate, Živković, Sreten (1968) Gramatika hrvatskosrpskoga jezika, 8th edition, Školska knjiga, §81.B.I.2.a), page 55
- Vukušić, Stjepan, Zoričić, Ivan, Graselli-Vukušić, Marija (2007) Naglasak u hrvatskome književnom jeziku (Velika hrvatska gramatika; 4), Zagreb: Globus, →ISBN, §94, page 41
- Ibrahim Čedić, editor (2007), “čovjek”, in Rječnik bosanskog jezika, Sarajevo: Institut za jezik, →ISBN
- Kapović, Mate (2015) Povijest hrvatske akcentuacije. Fonetika [History of Croatian Accent. Phonetics][4] (in Serbo-Croatian), Zagreb: Matica hrvatska, →ISBN, page 7