In general, feminine nouns in Slovene end with -a, but there are some exceptions. Feminine nouns ending with –ev use the first feminine declension. Second feminine declension – druga ženska sklanjatev, is divided into three sub-groups:
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Second Feminine Declension, short nouns
Some short nouns, such as luč (light), noč (night), sol (salt), pot (path) are feminine. There are no pattern or specific endings, so you need to learn them.
If you know the “second-second” feminine declension with ending with -en/-em/el then learning the “third-second” should be fairly easy. Pay attention to the text in color.
Here’s the table of Skloni with feminine noun ending with –en/-em/el:
| 2.2 ž. skl. | Ednina/Singular | Dvojina/Dual | Množina/Plural |
| SKLON 1 | lepa pesem | lepi pesmi | lepe pesmi |
| SKLON 2 | lepe pesmi | lepih pesmi | lepih pesmi |
| SKLON 3 | lepi pesmi | lepima pesmima | lepim pesmim |
| SKLON 4 | lepo pesem | lepi pesmi | lepe pesmi |
| SKLON 5 | lepi pesmi | lepih pesmih | lepih pesmih |
| SKLON 6 | lepo pesmijo | lepima pesmima | lepimi pesmimi |
Here’s the table of Skloni with short feminine noun :
| 2.3 ž. skl. | Ednina/Singular | Dvojina/Dual | Množina/Plural |
| SKLON 1 | hitra pot | hitri poti | hitre poti |
| SKLON 2 | hitre poti | hitrih poti | hitrih poti |
| SKLON 3 | hitri poti | hitrima potema | hitrim potem |
| SKLON 4 | hitro pot | hitri poti | hitre poti |
| SKLON 5 | hitri poti | hitrih poteh | hitrih poteh |
| SKLON 6 | hitro potjo | hitrima potema | hitrimi potmi |
❤ A simplified version of the ending:
| 2.2 ž. skl. | Ednina/Singular | Dvojina/Dual | Množina/Plural |
| SKLON 1 | -A -Ø | -I -I | -E -I |
| SKLON 2 | -E -I | -IH -I | -IH -I |
| SKLON 3 | -I -I | -IMA –IMA | -IM –IM |
| SKLON 4 | -O -Ø | -I -I | -E -I |
| SKLON 5 | -I – I | -IH -IH | -IH –IH |
| SKLON 6 | -O –IJO | -IMA –IMA | -IMI –IMI |
and
| 2.3 ž. skl. | Ednina/Singular | Dvojina/Dual | Množina/Plural |
| SKLON 1 | -A -Ø | -I -I | -E -I |
| SKLON 2 | -E -I | -IH -I | -IH -I |
| SKLON 3 | -I -I | -IMA –EMA | -IM –EM |
| SKLON 4 | -O -Ø | -I -I | -E -I |
| SKLON 5 | -I – I | -IH -IH | -IH –EH |
| SKLON 6 | -O –JO | -IMA –EMA | -IMI –MI |
If we compare the two tables:
- the dual and plural form in third and sixth case, the –I becomes –E and
- the singular and plural form in sixth case, the –I is removed.
The declension of adjectives remain the same as in “normal” declension.
There is no specific ending for short feminine nouns that are declined by the “third-second” feminine declension, so here is a short list:
dlan (palm), jed (dish, meal), klet (cellar, basement), klop (bench), kost (bone), kri (blood), moč (strength), peč (stove), pomoč (help), prst (finger), skrb (care, worry), smer (direction), smet (garbage), stran (side, page), stvar (thing), utež (weigth), vas (village)…
Feminine declensions can be quite overwhelming at first, that’s why you need to learn them step by step and always start with what you already know. If you have any questions or comments – be sure to let me know – parenthood keeps me busy but I will try to reply as soon as possible 🙂
Update – here is my Cheat sheet “Table of First and Second Feminine Declension“. More can be found under Learning Materials.
Discover more Slovene “lessons” that might interest you: Slovene Numbers & Numerals, Slovene Nouns & Pronouns, Slovene Verbs, Slovene Adjectives, Slovene Syntax, Slovenian Idioms, Slovene Adverbs.
Let’s learn,
Anna.
Anna in Slovenia 