It honestly doesn’t matter how long you’ve been living in Serbia—whether it’s 3 months or three years—you’re going to need a hairdresser pretty soon. That’s why I felt it was essential to clear up some of the most crucial terms right from the start.

The Dialogue (Dijalog) between the hairdresser and the customer in Serbian and English

This is a dialogue that most of us actually need, and we’ll add a vocabulary list below that is bound to come in handy sooner or later.

Serbian	English
Frizer: Dobar dan! Izvolite, sedite. Šta radimo danas?	Hairdresser: Good day! Please, take a seat. What are we doing today?
Musterija: Dobar dan! Treba mi samo šišanje i feniranje, molim Vas.	Customer: Good day! I just need a haircut and a blow-dry, please.
Frizer: Važi. Kako želite da vas ošišam? Kažite mi dužinu.	Hairdresser: All right. How would you like me to cut it? Tell me the length.
Musterija: Molim Vas, nemojte puno. Samo skratite krajeve i malo mi osvežite šiške.	Customer: Please, not too much. Just trim the ends and freshen up my bangs a bit.
Frizer: Nema problema. Hoćemo li da operemo kosu?	Hairdresser: No problem. Shall we wash your hair?
Musterija: Može, ali koristite blag šampon ako imate, jer mi je koža osetljiva.	Customer: Yes, but use a mild shampoo if you have one, because my skin is sensitive.

Beyond the Basics: Hair Salon Vocabulary ✂️

A vocabulary list that will come in handy sooner or later—whether you’re looking for a change, feeling happier or sadder than before, or when you completely fall in love with someone else’s haircut:

“Don’t waste your time memorizing complicated grammar tables just for a trip to the salon. Just save these key words and phrases to your phone:”

• Šišanje – Haircut
• Feniranje – Blow-dry
• Pranje – Wash
• Skratiti – To shorten / To trim
• Samo krajeve – Just the ends / Just the trims.
• Šiške – Bangs / Fringe
• Šampon – Shampoo
• Nemojte puno – Not too much (A lifesaver phrase if you are afraid the hairdresser will cut too much off!)
• Želim da se ofarbam – I want to get my hair colored
• Želim da uradim pramenove. I want to get highlights.
• Samo koren / Samo izrastak, molim Vas. – Just the roots, please.
• Želim istu boju kao na ovoj slici – I want the same color as in this picture.
• Koliko košta šišanje, pranje i feniranje? – How much do you charge for a wash, cut, and blow-dry?
• Izvinite, možete li da je skratite još malo? – Could you cut a little bit more, please?
• Želeo/Želela bi da zadržim dužinu, ali da bude stepenasto. – I want to keep the length, but I’d like some layers.
• Može li frizura kao sa slike? – Could you make it look like this picture?
• Možete li da mi ispravite kosu? – Could you streighten my hair, please?

We’re here to help—if you can’t master Serbian just yet, at least you can stay beautiful. We are a nation that takes great pride in having great hair, which is why you’ll find hair salons on literally every corner.