Discover Slovenian Facts #003

May 29, 2023May 28, 2023 / AnnaInSlovenia / Leave a comment

Hey guys,

one of the reason why I like to write my blog, is that I am learning so much while writing 🙂 For those who doesn’t know, my blog started as a way to share news about my living in Slovenia with my friends and family in Canada. Then, I enrolled into a Slovene course and it became my “notebook”, where I would basically write down my personal understanding of the language. Post by post, it eventually grew into what it is today!

And I am grateful to you guys, who reads and learns with me!

Anyways, back to my discovery – it is real that we do learn something new everyday… and there is a lot to discover about Slovene. The other day, I was writing examples with sentence with “pre-made” phrases in Slovene and I found out that…

“Mouth” is Plural

I mean, I know that some Slovene nouns are only plural, such as vrata^s (doors), tla^s (floors), počitnice^ž (holidays), gosli^ž (violin) or sani^ž (sled).

Also those that comes in obvious “pairs”, such as očala^s (glasses) – also called naočniki^m (spectacles) and hlače^ž (pants).

And the body parts like možgani^m (brain), pljuča^s (lungs), usta^s (mouth) as well as jetra^s (liver) – I didn’t know about this one either!

So, if we decline:

	m – možgani	ž – počitnice	s – usta
1	možgani	počitnice	usta
2	možganov	počitnic	ust
3	možganom	počitnicam	ustom
4	možgane	počitnice	usta
5	možganih	počitnicah	ustih
6	možgani	počitnicami	usti

A good tool to find out the gender and grammatical numbers of any Slovene word is to use Amebis Besana – be sure to save it somewhere!

So we say Pečejo me⁴ usta¹, ko jem feferone and NOT Peče me⁴ usta¹, ko jem feferone (as I initially thought). I’m sure that there are many more nouns that are only plural (or always singular) – can you think of any? Also, I’m curious to know if you have also encounter a similar situation like me, if yes, do share it with me!

Discover more Slovene “lessons” that might interest you: Slovene Numbers & Numerals, Slovene Nouns & Pronouns, Slovene Verbs, Slovene Adjectives, Slovene Syntax, Slovenian Idioms, Slovene Adverbs.

Every Day with Slovenian Idioms #004

April 17, 2023April 8, 2023 / AnnaInSlovenia / 2 Comments

The best way to learn Slovene or any language is to use it as often as possible. Watching TV, reading newspapers and listening to the radio are all great methods of practise!

My in-laws love to watch sports. Just the other day, while watching Ski Jumping, the commentator was referring to a Canadian athlete by saying:

čez (veliko) lužo – across the (big) pond
When I heard it, I found it quite funny, because the first thought that came into my mind was the ocean – which turn out to be correct!

The Atlantic ocean is indeed a very very very big pond 😛 The expression is usually used to refer to the United States, but it can also be used for anywhere in America.

I am from Canada, therefore, prihajam čez lužo!

Learning Slovenian Slang #003

March 27, 2023March 26, 2023 / AnnaInSlovenia / 2 Comments

Have you ever heard some words used by Slovenian locals that you couldn’t exactly find in the dictionary? Well, those words could be slang. Learning them is an interesting way to jump into the Slovenian culture!

*Keep in mind that I live near Tržič, which is close to the Austrian border, therefore, many of the slang are influenced by German. I’ve also used Tržiški slovar, edited by Tereza Gosar and Jožica Koder, as reference.

Fruštek

means zajtrk (breakfast). It comes from frühstück, which translates into breakfast in German. Other meals in Slovene: malica means snack or a light meal, (but in restaurant, especially for workers, it is a good portion of food), kosilo is lunch and večerja is dinner.

Štumfe

means nogavice, žabnice (socks, stockings). I’ve been using it so naturally, everyday with my kids, until I realized that it was in fact, a slang that comes from the German word strumpf (stocking).

Špeh

means slanina (bacon). As you know, I live on a farm with livestock and we also use it to describe “fats” (maščobe). And no surprise that it also comes from German – speck (bacon).

Understanding Slovenian Idioms #011

February 8, 2023 / AnnaInSlovenia / Leave a comment

Using Slovenian idioms is an interesting way to learn Slovene and to have a better understanding of its cultural heritage. It is a different, but fun method to learn grammar!

Sedem debelih krav – Seven fat cows
Having seven fat cows means to be in a time of prosperity, richness and abundance. On the opposite, “sedem suhih krav” (seven skinny cows) means to be in a time of crisis. Each “cows” also refers to a year – so seven years of prosperity.
Pet krav za en groš – Five cows for one penny
Doesn’t it seem like an amazing deal? Well… it actually means that something is too good to be true, and most likely incredible, absurd. Such a nonsense that it is unlikely to be real. (Who would exchange five cows for one penny…? I know I wouldn’t.)
Delati za tri – To work for three
It means to work a lot, as much as three people together! This expression mainly emphases on the “za tri” (for three). Therefore, it can also be used as following: “jesti za tri” (to eat for three), močen za tri (strong as three), veljati za tri (to count for three)…

Understanding Slovenian Idioms #010

August 22, 2022December 2, 2022 / AnnaInSlovenia / Leave a comment

An interesting way to learn Slovene (and speak like Slovenians) is to know and understand how to use their idioms. And the day that you will actually be able to use an idiom correctly, you will be so proud!

Nositi hlače – To wear pants
It means “to be in charge”, the one that makes the decision and has the last word. There is a similar expression in English “to wear the trousers” and in French “porter la culotte”.
Kapo dol – Hat down
It means “bravo”, when you recognize someone’s achievements. The expression comes from the habit of taking the hat off as a sign or greeting or respect.
Gledati skozi rožnata očala – To see through rose-colored glasses
It doesn’t refer to a fashion item, but it means to beautify something, like to see something more beautiful that it really is. Just like the French expression “voir la vie en rose”.

Understanding Slovenian Idioms #009

December 14, 2021December 2, 2022 / AnnaInSlovenia / Leave a comment

An interesting way to learn and understand Slovene is through its local idioms. While using them, you get to speak like Slovenians and get an insight of the heritage and culture.

Beliti si glavo – To whiten your head
It doesn’t mean to paint your head in white, but to think about something very hard in order to remember it (so much that you might grow some white hairs…).
Iz te moke ne bo kruha – From this flour there will be no bread
As we know, flour is needed to make bread, but also other ingredients and actions (such as kneading and baking) as well. It means that not every effort will yield the expected result.
Nositi vodo v Savo – To bring water in Sava
Sava is a river that goes through Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Serbia. Bringing water to Sava, means that all efforts made no difference.

Discover Slovenian Facts #002

December 2, 2021December 2, 2022 / AnnaInSlovenia / Leave a comment

Hey guys,
as you guys know, I’m currently attending a Slovene course and of course, I’m learning a lot of different things and discussing different topics as well. The other day in class, we talked about how some of the Slovene grammar was quite strange and almost “illogical”. After some thoughts, it is actually true, but also interesting and it can make it easier to remember.

Five Cats Sleep

To show it, I will just use a random example, such as “five cats sleep“. As you know, Slovene has three genders: masculine, feminine and neutral. Obviously, cats can only be male (m) or female (ž).

1 maček^m / mačka^ž spi (One cat sleeps).
2 mačka^m / mački^ž spita (Two cats sleep).
3/4 mački^m / mačke^ž spijo (Three/four cats sleep).
5 mačkov^m / mačk^ž spi (Five cats sleep).

As you can see, when the amount reaches 5 (and more), the verb is conjugated in singular. That’s in Present tense.

There is another particularity with the participle used in Past tense and Future tense.

1 maček^m / mačka^ž je spal / spala (One cat slept).
2 mačka^m / mački^ž sta spala / spali (Two cats slept).
3/4 mački^m / mačke^ž so spali / spale (Three/four cats slept).
5 mačkov^m / mačk^ž je spalo (Five cats slept).

Even more strangely, when the amount reaches 5 (and more), the participle changes into its neuter form. Even if the subject is masculine or feminine.

Of course, it also works when a quantifying adverb, such as veliko (a lot), dovolj (enough) nekaj (some), is used instead of a specific number.

Veliko študentov^2(M) ima avto (A lot of students have a car).
Nekaj ljudi^2(M) je pilo kavo (Some people drank coffee).

BONUS – Večina (most) and polovica (half) can function as a noun or as a quantifying adverb.

Večina¹ je čokolado (Most eats chocolate).
Večina žensk^2(M) je čokolado (Most women eat chocolate).

But be careful in Past and Future tense.

Večina¹ je jedla čokolado (Most ate chocolate).
Večina žensk^2(M) je jedlo čokolado (Most women ate chocolate).

It’s so fun to discover some “strange” grammatical rules, because of the “illogic”, it is easier to remember. I’m sure there are many more. Can you think of any, or some that you found especially weird? Please share them with me!

Let’s discover together,
Anna.

First Prize in Contest!

July 8, 2021 / AnnaInSlovenia / 6 Comments

Hey guys,
a few weeks ago I participated in a creativity contest by Center for Slovene as a Second and Foreign Language to celebrate the 40th years of their Summer school.

The only directive was to create something associated with the word “Slovene”.
At first, I did it for fun only, and I ended up quite happy with the result!

Here is my winning entry:

(You will notice that I didn’t used Powtoon EDU to make this video but another tool, more news about it to come!)

Check out Slovenian idioms to learn for fun!

I’m super happy that I won the first prize! Hopefully I will be able to attend another course soon and start improving my Slovene! A few years back, I’ve already went to two of their courses and it was awesome! So, I can only highly recommend them!

Interesting Translation of Slovenian Towns

May 28, 2021March 31, 2023 / AnnaInSlovenia / 2 Comments

When I travelling around Slovenia, I never paid much attention to all the town names sign on the road until I got a better understanding of Slovene. Then I noticed some translated names were quite funny. It is not uncommon that some places would be named after the surroundings, I mean, anywhere in the world.

Triglav – Three Heads

Triglav is one of the most significant symbol of Slovenia. It is on the national flag and a well-known point of interest. Located in the center of Triglav National park, it is highest mountain in Slovenia, as well as the highest peak of the Julian Alps. Important landmark includes the famous Aljaž Tower, which is a small storm shelter at the top of the mountain.

Novo Mesto – New Town

Located in the Dolensjka region, Novo Mesto is the 7th biggest town of Slovenia. Cviček is a famous Slovenian red wine, that is produced in the region. Novo Mesto is also known for Otočec Castle – a castle hotel on a small island on the Krka river.

Podčetrtek – Under Thursday

Podčetrtek is a very destination for a day trip in the Savinsjka region with various point of attractions. For spa relaxation, go to Terme Olimia for spa. For a homemade culinary experience, visit Jelenov Greben. Another points of interest are Olimje Chocolate shop, which is near the Olimje Monastery – known for its pharmacy and herbal garden.

Slovenske Konjice – Slovenian Cavalry

Located in the Savinjska region, Slovenske Konjice is a medieval town with a white horse as its coat of arms! It is also a nice town to visit: on one side is the Konjice mountain and on the other side are the wine-growing hills of Škalce.

Ribnica – Fishpond

Located in the Dolenjska region, Ribnica is surprisingly not known for its fishes, but for its traditional woodenware and pottery. The Ribnica Handicraft Center is also a museum. Another point of interest is the Škrabec Homestead, the birthplace of the greatest Slovene linguist of the 19th century: Friar Stanislav Škrabec. His main work was the phonetics and orthographs of Slovene!

Mirna Peč – Peaceful Furnace

Mirna Peč is a settlement in the Dolenjska region with a very interesting name. The most probable origin of the name comes from the German term “Hönigstein” (honey stove). It refers to the color of the cliff Zijalo at the north of the town.

Mokronog – Wet Feets

Mokronog is settlement along the Mirna Valley and Radulja hills in the Dolenjska region. There is actually a human foot on its coat of arms! This particular symbol has been kept and passed down all the way from the medieval period.

Other examples that I can think of:

Jelendol – Deer Down
Medvode – Between Waters
Črni Vrh – Black Peak
Višnja Gora – Sour Cherry Mountain
Dolga Vas – Long Village

Have you noticed any others interesting and funny translation of Slovenian towns? If you do, please share it with me!

Discover more about Slovenia: Trips & Visits, Slovenian Festivities, Slovenian Folktales, Slovenian Idioms, Slovenian Heritage.

Understanding Slovenian Idioms #008

May 17, 2021December 2, 2022 / AnnaInSlovenia / Leave a comment

An interesting and playful way to discover Slovene as a language is by learning the idioms. Some doesn’t seem to make much sense at first, but what’s more significant is to understand the meaning behind the words!

Imeti maslo na glavi – To have butter on the head
It doesn’t actually mean to have butter on the head, but instead, it means to be guilty of something – like to have a guilty conscience.
Skakati čez plot – To jump over the fence
It doesn’t refer to an innocent athletics action as to jump over the fence, but it actually means to be cheating in marriage. s not to jump “over” the fence, just across the fence, which means to
Ugrizniti v kislo jabolko – To bite into a sour apple
It is obviously not very pleasant to bite into a sour apple instead of a sweet one – it means having to deal with something unpleasant or to go ahead and “bite the bullet”.