Obavezna

Obavezna is an adjective used in Bosnian, Croatian, and Serbian to denote something that is mandatory or obligatory. It describes rules, requirements, courses, documents, and conditions that must be observed or fulfilled. The form agrees with the noun it modifies; feminine singular is obavezna, masculine singular is obavezan, and neuter singular is obavezno. In plural, adjectives follow standard Slavic agreement patterns.

Grammar and usage: The adjective inflects for gender and number like other adjectives in these languages. For example, obavezan zadatak means a mandatory task, obavezna literatura refers to a required piece of literature, and obavezni uslovi denotes mandatory conditions. The adverbial form obavezno denotes doing something in a mandatory or obligatory manner, as in Obavezno poštuj pravila.

Etymology: The word derives from the noun obaveza (obligation), with the sense of a binding requirement. The concept is expressed by related terms across South Slavic languages and is widely used in legal, administrative, educational, and everyday contexts to indicate compliance is required.

See also: obaveza, obavezan, obavezno, obavezanost (obligatoriness). In practice, obavezna commonly pairs with feminine nouns, while the masculine and neuter forms align with their respective nouns. Synonyms and near-synonyms include obvezan (in some dialects), nužno (necessary/compulsory in broader sense), and obligatorni (more formal or technical).