Smanji

Smanji is the imperative form of the verb smanjiti in Bosnian, Croatian, Serbian, and Montenegrin. It translates roughly as “reduce,” “lower,” or “shrink,” and is used to tell someone to make something smaller or to decrease a value, amount, or degree. The sense can apply to tangible things like volume or size, as well as to more abstract measures such as costs, risks, or intensity.

Etymology and grammar: The verb smanjiti is formed with the prefix s- added to the root manjiti, which comes from the root manj- meaning “less.” The imperative forms include smanji (singular) and smanjite (plural). The infinitive is smanjiti, and related forms include smanjio/smanjila (past participles) and smanjivalib (various conjugations to indicate completed action). In common usage, smanji is typically seen in direct commands or requests.

Usage and examples: Smanji glasnoću. (Turn down the volume.) Smanji porez? (Should we reduce taxes?) Smanji veličinu fajla prije slanja. (Reduce the file size before sending.) In computing and UI language, smanji is often used for actions such as minimizing a window, with phrases like smanji prozor meaning “minimize the window.” While smanjiti is the standard term for “to reduce,” many speakers also encounter or borrow minimizirati in modern contexts.

See also: smanjivanje, smanjenje, minimizirati.