Europe’s leading publisher of locally produced city guide
ESSENTIAL CITY GUIDES
Slovenia
Country Info
Free Download
Basics of the Slovene Language
Slovene is a Southern Slavic language with a 25-letter alphabet. It is closely related to Serbian and Croatian, and also shares many words with other Slavic languages. Although some words and letter combinations may appear unpronounceable at first glance, Slovene is actually a fairly phonetic language with very few irregularities - although the letters L and V can do some strange things depending on their position in a word. Luckily, most Slovenes speak either English, Italian or German embarrassingly well, so chances are you won't have to worry about any communication problems. However, as with most countries, attempting to use a little bit of the local language can go a long way towards winning over your hosts. Even the odd 'hvala' and 'prosim' won't go unnoticed.Pronunciation
c - as in pizza
e - as in egg
g - as in go
j - like y in yogurt
č - like c in cello
š - like sh in ship
ž - like s in pleasure
Basics
Do you speak English? - Govorite angleško (Goh-voh- REE-teh Ahn-GLESH-ko) ?
I don't understand - Ne razumem (Nuh ra-ZOO-mehm)
Where is the toilet? WC? - Kje je stranišče (Key-yay strahn-EESH-chay) ? WC (Vay-tsay)?
Good Morning - Dobro Jutro (DOH-broh YOO- troh)
Good Day - Dober Dan (DOH-behr Dahn)
Good Night - Lahko noč (Lah-koh noh-ch)
Yes - Ja (Yah)
No - Ne (Nay)
Hello - Živjo (Jeeve-yoh)
Thank you - Hvala (HVAL-a)
Please - Prosim (PRO-seem)
Excuse me/Sorry – Oprostite (Oh-PROS-tee-tay)
Pardon me (asking for help) – Prosim (pro-SEEM)
My name is....- Jaz sem (Yahz sem) ...
I am from... - Jaz sem iz (Yahz sem iz)...
Days
Monday - ponedeljek (POH-nuh-dehl-yek)
Tuesday - torek (TOR-ek)
Wednesday - sreda (Sray-dah)
Thursday - četrtek (chuh-TUR-tuck)
Friday - petek (peh-tuck)
Saturday - sobota (soh-BOH-tah)
Sunday - nedelja (nuh-DEHL-yah)
Questions
Who? - Kdo?(K-doh)
What? - Kaj?(Kai)
Where? - Kje ? (Key-yay)
When? - Kdaj (K-dai)
How much does it cost? - Koliko stane (KOH-lee-koh STAH-neh)?
Places
Croatia - Hrvaška (Hurr-VASH-ka)
England - Anglija (Ahn-glee-yah)
Germany - Nemčija (Nem-CHEE-yah)
Hungary - Madžarska (Mad-jar-skah)
Ireland - Irska (Ear-skah)
Netherlands - Nizozemska (NEE-zo-zem-skah)
Scotland - Škotska (Shkot-skah)
Venice - Benetke (Behn-et-keh)
Vienna - Dunaj (Doo-nigh)
Post
One foreign stamp, please - Eno znamko za tujino, prosim (Eh-no z-nahm-koh zah too-YEE-noh pro- SEEM)
For postcard - Za razglednico (Zah raz-GLEHD-neet-so)
For letter - Za pismo (Zah pees-moh)
Signs
Open - odprto (Ohd-PURT-oh)
Closed - zaprto (Zah- PURT-oh)
Entrance - vhod (oo-hod)
Exit - izhod (eez-hod)
Push – rini (ree-nee)
Pull – vleci (oo-LETS-ee)
Travelling
Bus - avtobus (OW-toh-booze)
Train - vlak (v-LOCK)
I am looking for.... - Iščem (EESH-chem) ...
One ticket, please - Eno vstopnico, prosim (Eh-noh oo-stop-NEETZ-oh pro- SEEM)
Times
Now - zdaj (z-dai)
Later - kasneje (kaz-NAY-yeh)
Today - danes (dahn-es)
Tomorrow - jutri (yoo-tree)
Yesterday - včeraj (oo-cheh-ray)
In the morning - zjutraj (z-YOO-try)
In the afternoon - popoldne (poh-POLD-neh)
In the evening - zvečer (z-veh-chehr)
At night - ponoči (poh-NOH-chee)
Restaurant Talk
Menu, please - Meni, prosim (MEH-ni pro-SEEM)
Bill, please - Račun, prosim (Rah-CHOON pro- SEEM)
Do you have vegetarian food? - Imate vegetarijansko hrano (EE-mah-tay veh-geh-tay-ree-ahn-sko h-rah-noh)?
Bar Talk
One coffee, please - Eno kavo prosim (EH-noh KAH-voh pro-SEEM)
One beer, please - (Name of beer), prosim (pro-SEEM)
Cheers! - Na zdravje (Nah zuh-DRAW-wee-ay)!
Slovene Courses
If you're serious about learning Slovene - whether you're extended stay in Slovenia is due to work, or you find a beautiful Slavic girl - attending a language course is always good for enriching your experience, and usually a lot of fun.
The Centre for Slovene as a foreign language offers a good range of courses, including an intensive summer school and free-of-charge mini course (June-September: every Wednesday, 17:00-18:30), ideal for visitors to get a few essential expressions.