spoznaja

1. formal realization; awareness
   Spoznaja da je pogrešio teško ga je pogodila. — The realization that he had been wrong hit him hard.
   Došla je do spoznaje da joj taj posao ne odgovara. — She came to the realization that the job wasn't right for her.
2. formal (in philosophy, science) cognition; knowledge
   Filozofi se vekovima bave granicama ljudske spoznaje. — Philosophers have studied the limits of human cognition for centuries.

In Serbia the everyday word is usually saznanje (doći do saznanja da… — to come to realize that…); spoznaja sounds bookish and is more common in philosophical and literary texts.