Slovene

It is fortunate for foreign visitors that the Slovenians are excellent linguists. You will find that most young people speak at least some English while the older generation will understand German. Their language bears few similarities to English and the grammar is complex, but do try to use some words – your efforts will be much appreciated. Below we have listed basic words and phrases that should help in an emergency, and others that you will frequently come across while you are walking and touring. We have also included on another page a simple guide to Slovene pronunciation.

A few useful phrases and words.

Hello, Good morning	Dober Dan
Good evening	Dober večer
Goodbye	Na svidenje
Please/you’re welcome/can I help you?	Prosim
Thank you	Hvala
Yes, No	Ja, Ne
Do you speak English?	Ali govorite angleško?
Help!	Na Pomoč!
I’m lost	Izgubil/Izgubila sem se (m/f)
How do I get to…?	Kako pridem do…?
Where is…?	Kje je…?
Straight ahead	Naravnost naprej
Turn left/right at the…	Zavijte na levo/desno pri…
Up/down	Zgoraj/spodaj
To go up/down	gor/dol
North, east, south, west	Sever, vzhod, jug, zahod
Entrance, exit	Vhod, izhod
Open, closed, diversion	Odprto, zaprto, obvoz
Hotel	Hotel
Inn, inn with accommodation	Gostilna, gostišče
Room	Soba
Toilets – men, women	Stranišče – Moški, ženske

Below are some other useful words encountered on the maps and in our text in the book, as well as on Slovenia-Walking

Slovene	English		English	Slovene
Bivak	Bivouac/hut		Alpine pasture	Planina
Cerkev	Church		At/by/near	Pri
Cesta	Road		Bivouac/hut	Bivak
Dolina	Valley		Bridge	Most
Dom	Mountain hut/hostel		Castle	Grad
Gora	Mountain		Cave	Jama
Gozd	Forest		Church	Cerkev
Grad	Castle		Corner	Kot
Hrib	Hill		Forest	Gozd
Jama	Cave		Gorge	Soteska
Jezero	Lake		Great	V. (Veliki)
Koča	Mountain hut		Hill	Hrib
Korito	Ravine		Hut (mountain)	Koča
Kot	Corner		Hostel (mountain hut)	Dom
M. (Mali)	Little		Lake	Jezero
Most	Bridge		Little	M. (Mali)
Naravni most	Rock bridge		Lower	Sp. (Spodnji)
Planina	Alpine pasture		Middle	Sr. (Srednja)
Po	On/upon/by		Mountain	Gora
Pod	Under/below		On/upon/by	Po
Pot	Path/trail		Pass/saddle/col	Sedlo
Potok	Stream		Path/trail	Pot
Pri	At/by/near		Ravine	Korito
Razglednik	Viewpoint		River	Reka
Reka	River		Road	Cesta
Sedlo	Pass/saddle/col		Rock bridge	Naravni most
Slap	Waterfall		Stream	Potok
Soteska	Gorge		Street	Ulica
Sp. (Spodnji)	Lower		Summit	Vrh
Sr. (Srednja)	Middle		Under/below	Pod
Ulica	Street		Upper	Zg. (Zgornji)
Vrh	Summit		Valley	Dolina
V. (Veliki)	Great		Viewpoint	Razglednik
Zg. (Zgornji)	Upper		Waterfall	Slap

Please, if you think we should add some other words to these lists (or spot a mistake) please leave a comment below or contact us.

Thanks to Bojan Kralj who kindly spotted and reported a few typos and suggested another entry.

Tags: language, Slovene, Slovenia, Slovenian, Slovenija