zvukovi

Zvukovi are the plural noun in Croatian, Serbian, Bosnian and Montenegrin that means "sounds" or "noises." The singular form is zvuk. The term comes from Proto-Slavic *zvukъ and is cognate with the Russian zvuk (звук), sharing a common sense of an audible phenomenon. In everyday language, zvukovi describe any auditory events, such as the hum of electricity, chatter, footsteps, music, or wind. In linguistic and technical usage, zvuk can denote a sound in phonetics or phonology, and zvukovi can refer to a set or sequence of such sounds.

Grammatically, zvuk is masculine; its plural form is zvukovi. There is no definite article in these languages, so definiteness is usually expressed with demonstratives or adjectives, for example "ti zvukovi" (these sounds) or "glasni zvukovi" (loud sounds). Common collocations include "zvukovi grada" (sounds of the city) and "zvukovi prirode" (sounds of nature).

In cultural and descriptive contexts, the term is frequently used to characterize acoustic environments, music, or noise levels. The concept is also relevant in studies of acoustics, psychoacoustics, and phonetics within the South Slavic linguistic area.