Pick something up from your desk. A rubber, a coin, a small stone. Turn it over. Now describe it - not what it is, but what it looks like. A ball? A disc? A tiny planet? This playful guessing game is one of the most natural ways to practise two things at once: descriptive vocabulary and, quietly underneath it, the accusative case again. Serbian gives you two elegant ways to say "it looks like," and they pull the noun in two different directions.
This is a genuinely enjoyable exercise. You can play it alone, with a friend, or with a child - and each round adds a little more texture to your Serbian.
The two ways to say "it looks like"
Here they are, side by side:
| Construction | Follows with | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Izgleda mi kao ... | nominative form of the noun | "It seems to me like [a ...]" |
| Liči mi na ... | accusative form of the noun | "It resembles [a ...] to me" |
They mean nearly the same thing in everyday speech, but the grammar behind them differs - and that difference is exactly the teaching moment. Let us walk through three examples.
A ball - lopta (feminine)
Meni izgleda kao neka lopta.
To me it looks like some kind of ball. (lopta - nominative, unchanged)Meni liči na neku loptu.
To me it resembles a ball. (loptu - accusative, the -a has become -u)
A scoop of ice cream - kugla sladoleda (feminine)
Izgleda mi kao kugla sladoleda.
It looks to me like a scoop of ice cream. (kugla - nominative)Liči mi na kuglu sladoleda.
It resembles a scoop of ice cream. (kuglu - accusative)
A gallery - galerija (feminine)
Izgleda mi kao galerija.
It looks to me like a gallery. (galerija - nominative)Liči mi na galeriju.
It resembles a gallery. (galeriju - accusative)
The noun is the same noun in both sentences - the same object, the same image in the speaker's mind. Only the grammatical construction changes, and with it the form of the noun. This is a beautiful little demonstration of how Serbian cases work: the preposition (or its absence) tells the noun what shape to take.
Why are there two different forms?
The key is what follows the verb. After kao (like / as), Serbian uses the nominative - the noun's plain, "dictionary" form. The kao construction is a comparison, not a direction, so no accusative is needed. After na (onto / toward), however, Serbian always uses the accusative - the noun is the target of the resemblance, and na is one of those prepositions that consistently triggers the accusative case.
So the rule is clean: kao + nominative, na + accusative. Both structures mean roughly the same thing in conversation, but they come from different grammatical instincts - and noticing the difference sharpens your feel for Serbian cases every single time you use them.
Play it yourself
Choose two objects near you right now. For each one, write or say:
- A sentence using Izgleda mi kao ... (nominative)
- The same idea using Liči mi na ... (accusative)
If your objects happen to be masculine or neuter nouns, you will notice that the two forms look identical - because masculine inanimate and neuter nouns do not change in the accusative. That is fine. In that case, try to find a feminine noun too (a lamp, a bottle, a bag) to see the -u appear in the liči na sentence.
There is no pressure to get it perfect. The point is the noticing - the moment your eye or ear catches the difference between lopta and loptu is the moment the case system stops being abstract.
Frequently asked questions
Is "liči na" the same as "izgleda kao" in everyday speech?
Very nearly, yes. Native speakers use both freely and interchangeably in most contexts. The subtle difference, if any, is that liči na implies a physical resemblance (it looks just like something), while izgleda kao can be slightly more impressionistic (it gives the impression of something). For a language learner, the practical difference is the grammar: na takes accusative, kao takes nominative. Focus on that.
Do I always use the accusative after the preposition NA?
In the sense of "toward" or "onto" - motion toward a surface or a destination - yes, na takes the accusative. When na means "on" in the sense of position or location (where something already is, not where it is going), it takes the locative case instead. Serbian prepositions are sensitive to motion vs. rest, and na is one of the clearest examples of that distinction. For now, the liči na + accusative pattern is a reliable, specific rule you can apply with confidence.
What if I describe something masculine - does the noun still change?
Masculine inanimate nouns stay the same in the accusative, so liči na krov (it resembles a roof) and izgleda kao krov look identical. The grammar is still doing its work - the accusative is present after na - it just happens to be invisible for inanimate masculine nouns. Trust the rule even when you cannot see the change.
Can children play this game too?
It is genuinely one of the best activities for younger learners and for anyone learning alongside a child. Pick unusual objects - a shell, a pine cone, a crumpled piece of paper - and take turns guessing. The sillier the description, the better the vocabulary sticks.
Warmly yours, Marina Petrovic. I love this little game because it turns the whole world into a vocabulary lesson - every shape becomes a word, and every word becomes a small adventure in cases. When you want to explore more Serbian vocabulary in context, you will find plenty of ideas here: The Serbian vocabulary hub. Come and play.