An interesting way to immerse into the Slovenian culture and interact with locals is to learn their slangs. It’s fun and it totally gives a break from the difficult Slovene grammar 😉 And the most amazing part of it? You probably already know some of them!
*Keep in mind that I live near Tržič, which is close to the Austrian border, therefore, many of the slangs are influenced by German. I’ve also used Tržiški slovar, edited by Tereza Gosar and Jožica Koder, as reference.
Ajnpren / Ampren
means prežganje (roux). For those who are familiar with cooking, roux is a way to thicken sauce, soup or stew by adding flour to melted fat. Sometimes, chopped čebula (onion) is added in too.
Špajza
means shramba (storeroom, pantry). Interestingly, it has the same meaning in Kajkavian – a northern Croatian dialect, but it origins from the Austrian-German word Speise (food).
Oštarija
means gostilna (inn, pub). It comes from the Italian word osteria, which also means tavern or pub. So, don’t be surprised if you encounter various restaurants in Slovenia with “oštarija” in their name!
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 Slovene po domače,
Anna.
Anna in Slovenia 