Slovenian language

The official language in Slovenia is Slovenian, as determined by the Constitution of the Republic of Slovenia, which also guarantees the Italian and Hungarian minorities the right to use their respective languages and develop their cultures in the areas in which they live.

Although Slovenian is part of the South Slavic language group, it also shares many features with the West Slavic branch. Slovenian has been also influenced by the Roman, Germanic and Finno-Ugric worlds.

About 2.4 million people around the world speak Slovenian as their mother tongue.

It is a special language: the most notable is the use of dual form, the grammatical number used for two people or things in all the inflected parts of speech, which is nowadays a very rare phenomenon in linguistics. Linguists have identified forty-six clearly established dialects in Slovenian speaking area.

Useful Slovenian phrases

Greetings

Hello! Živijo!
Good Morning Dobro jutro
Good Afternoon Dober dan
Good Evening Dober večer
Good Night Lahko noč
Goodbye Nasvidenje
How are you? Kako gre?
I'm fine, thank you! Dobro, hvala!
My name is…Ime mi je…
My surname is…Pišem se…
Where are you from? Od kod si? (singular & informal) Od kod ste? (plural & formal)
What do you do? Kaj si po poklicu? (singular & informal) Kaj ste po poklicu? (plural & formal)

Hello! Živijo! Photo: Ben Pipe Photography-GettyImages/GulliverFilm&Foto
Slovenian is also a romantic language, as it has a special form (dual) for referring to two people, objects or concepts. Photo: Jim Craigmyle-GettyImages/GulliverFilm&Foto

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Bar, Restaurant, Hotel

I'd like…Jaz bi …
sparkling/still mineral water mineralno/navadno vodo
a coffee kava
a beer pivo
a tea čaj
a glass of white/red wine kozarec belega/rdečega vina
Waiter/Waitress Natakar/Natakarica
The menu, please Jedilni list, prosim
Do you accept credit cards? Ali lahko plačam s kartico?
The bill, please Račun, prosim
I'd like a room for … nights Rad bi sobo za … noči
I have reservation Imam rezervacijo
Is the breakfast included? Je zajtrk vključen?
Single/Double room Enoposteljna/Dvoposteljna soba
Half/Full board Pol/polni penzion

I'd like a glass of red wine. Jaz bi kozarec rdečega vina. Photo: FredFroese-GettyImages/GulliverFilm&Foto

Railway/Bus station, Airport

Railway station Železniška postaja
One ticket to … , please Eno karto do … , prosim
A return ticket, please Eno povratno, prosim
From which track does the train for … leave? S katerega tira gre vlak za…?
Is the train late? Ali vlak zamuja?

Bus station Avtobusna postaja
Where does the bus from … arrive? Kam pripelje avtobus iz…?

Airport Letališče
Passport Potni list
Luggage Prtljaga
Customs Carina
Departures Odhodi
Arrivals Prihodi
Reception Recepcija
Cash desk Blagajna
Ticket Karta

One ticket to Ljubljana, please. Eno karto do Ljubljane, prosim. Photo: skynesher-GettyImages/GulliverFilm&Foto

Miscellaneous

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 ena, dve, tri, štiri, pet, šest, sedem, osem, devet, deset
Map Zemljevid
Here/There Tukaj/Tam
Yes/No Ja/Ne
Cheers! Na zdravje!
Yesterday/Today/Tomorrow Včeraj/Danes/Jutri
I am… / You are… Jaz sem… / Ti si…
I'm sorry, I can't understand Slovene wery well. Oprostite, ne razumem dobro slovensko.
What time is it? Koliko je ura?
Bank Banka
Cash machine (ATM) Bankomat
Exchange Office Menjalnica
Post office Pošta
Do you sell/have … ? Ali prodajate/imate … ?
Where is/are … ? Kje je/so … ?
How much does it cost? Koliko stane?
Museum Muzej
Gallery Galerija
Cinema Kino
Church Cerkev
Excuse me! (apologising) Oprostite!
Excuse me? (asking for clarification) Kako, prosim?
Bye! Adijo!
Good Dobro
Bad Slabo
Left Levo
Right Desno
Straight ahead Naravnost