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.

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.

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”.

Understanding Slovenian Idioms #007

January 8, 2021December 2, 2022 / AnnaInSlovenia / Leave a comment

A casual and engaging method to learn Slovene is to master the Slovenian idioms. Knowing the theory is one thing, but actually applying it is another. But the day that you will, you can be very proud!

Zaradi dreves ne videti gozda – Because of the trees, can’t see the forest
Personally, I think that this idiom is beautifully so written. It means that if you look at each tree individually, then you can’t see the larger forest (which is formed by trees). The deeper meaning is that because of individuality, you lose the perception of a whole.
Rasti kot gobe (po dežju) – To grow like mushrooms (after the rain)
With some imagination, I find this idiom very amusing. The meaning points at a very very fast growth (or multiplication), like mushrooms after the rain. It can be use to describe a massive crowd of tourists during holidays, or money after an excellent investment.
Govoriti kot dež – To talk like the rain
How does the rain talk, like a quiet mist or a crazy deluge? In this case, it means to talk at a very fast rate or to talk a lot – so, the latter one. You can try to imagine a sudden downpour of heavy rain… but made of words.

Discover Slovenian Facts #001

September 25, 2020December 2, 2022 / AnnaInSlovenia / Leave a comment

Hey guys,
the other day, after putting both kids to sleep, I was enjoying a nice hamburger from McDonald’s (yes, sometimes I do miss the awesome junk food…) while randomly watching TV – a Slovenian Quiz Show called “Joker” on RTV Slo.

One question in particular caught my attention.

“Kaj ni eno od tradicionalnih slovenskih imen za steklenico za strežbi vina?”
(Which is not a traditional Slovenian name for bottle for serving wine?)

Possible answer : Martin, Neža, Urban or Marjeta.

Personally, I’m not a wine drinker or connoisseur, but it still picked my curiosity. I had no idea that in Slovenia, bottles had “names”. So I did a little research, and it’s true!

The traditional name for Slovenian bottle, especially for wine is Štefan, and it has a volume of 2 liters. Other names are:

Polič for 0,75L bottle,
Janez or Neža for 3L bottle,
Urban for 4L bottle,
Martin for 5L bottle,
Pic for 100L bottle and
Bok for 250L bottle.

We can learn so many stuff by watching the right TV programs! “Joker” or similar shows are indeed of one the best way to learn something random but interesting about Slovenia! Hope you enjoyed!

Let’s discover together,
Anna.

Slovenian Dialects on RTV Slo

August 4, 2020November 9, 2020 / AnnaInSlovenia / 4 Comments

Hey guys,
I’ve been quite busy with hay, but now that it’s rainy, I get to rest a little bit.

The other day, between two batches of hay, I came across a very interesting documentary series and thought to share with you guys : Slovenska narečja – Slovenian dialects on RTV Slo. Although, there are no subtitles, it can still be fun to watch.

As we know, there are around 50 dialects in Slovenia, divided into 7 regions. Some dialects are so different that it wouldn’t be weird if two Slovenians from two different regions wouldn’t entirely understand each others. 😛

What about us, foreign learners? …haha.

Until next time,
Anna.

What brings luck to Slovenians?

May 7, 2020 / AnnaInSlovenia / 2 Comments

Depending on the culture, there are many beliefs that certain things bring luck, while other bring bad luck – it is the same for Slovenians.

**Holding a button when meeting the dimnikar brings luck**

Dimnikar (chimney sweeper) is a very important profession in Slovenia, because many house burn logs as a main source of heat. Therefore, it is important that the chimney is cleaned and inspected.

I’ve been told that if I hold a button when the chimney sweeper comes, then something good will happen on the same day! Unfortunately, I always forget to wear something with a button when it’s time for inspection… (lol).

Seeing a spider in the house brings luck

Personally, I do not like pajki (spiders) at all, especially inside the house. I just have this pressing urge to smack them right away. Until one day, as I was about to get rid of one, my Slovenian mother-in-law told me that spiders found in the house were believed to bring luck for a short period of time.

All I can say is… the spider got really lucky on that day.

Hearing the cuckoo brings money

One year while on a walk with my Slovenian mother-in-law, we heard koo-koo koo-koo and she told me that she doesn’t have a coin with her. I was like… uh? Apparently, there’s a belief around that too.

If you have a coin in your pocket the first time of the year that you hear the sound of the cuckoo, then you will have enough money for the upcoming year!

From now on, for the sake of luck and money, are you going to always wear something with a button, let spiders make webs in your house or carry a coin with you? Do you know any other similar beliefs? If you so, you are welcomed to share them with me via comments!

Until next lucky round,
Anna.