The most useful Slovak phrases
A small guide for those who want to wrestle with the language.
Slovak is one branch in the Slavic language tree, and Slovaks will insist (we agree) that their language is the cleanest of them all. Regardless, it’s a tough language, laced with conjugations and myriad endings, depending on the case being used. Take heart - more and more Slovaks speak English, German or both.
How to read vowels and consonants
Select glossary
Numbers
Days of the week
Months
Food and drinks
Basic phrases
Useful phrases at a restaurant
Other useful phrases
Select Glossary
NUMBERS
0 nula 6 šesť 12 dvanásť
1 jeden 7 sedem 20 dvadsať
2 dva 8 osem 30 tridsať
3 tri 9 deväť 100 sto
4 štyri 10 desať 1,000 tisíc
5 päť 11 jedenásť 2,000 dvetisíc
199 is said as one hundred ninety-nine, sto deväťdesiat deväť, but without “and”.
The year 2018 is two thousand eighteen, dve tisíc osemnásť.
DAYS OF THE WEEK
Monday - pondelok
Tuesday - utorok
Wednesday - streda
Thursday - štvrtok
Friday - piatok
Saturday - sobota
Sunday - nedeľa
Weekend – víkend
MONTHS
January - január
February - február
March - marec
April - apríl
May - máj
June - jún
July - júl
August - august
September - september
October - október
November - november
December - december
FOOD AND DRINKS
jedálny lístok - menu
predjedlo - appetizers
Drinks
Soups
Main course
Fish
Vegetables
Fruits
Side dish
Other vocabulary related to food
Nápoje - Drinks
pivo - beer
červené víno - red wine
biele víno - white wine
minerálna voda - mineral water
čistá voda - tap water
jablkový džús - apple juice
pomarančový džús - orange juice
káva - coffee
čaj - tea
Polievky - Soups
zemiaková - potato
šošovicová - lentil
hovädzia - beef
hrachová - pea
slepačia - chicken
paradajková - tomato
zeleninová - vegetable
Hlavné Jedlo - Main course
mäso - meat
šunka - ham
čevabčiči - spiced meat balls
hovädzie - beef
pečienka - liver
kačica - duck
klobásy - sausages
kuracie - chicken
saláma - salami
slanina - bacon
teľacie - veal
bravčové - pork
morčacie - turkey
Ryby - Fish
kapor - carp
makrela - mackerel
pstruh - trout
treska - cod
Zelenina - Vegetables
zemiaky - potatoes
cibuľa - onion
cesnak - garlic
huby - mushrooms
hrach - pea
karfiol - cauliflower
paradajka - tomato
špenát - spinach
kapusta - cabbage
paprika - pepper
šalát - salad
Ovocie - Fruits
banán - banana
broskyňa - peach
citrón - lemon
hrozno - grapes
hruška - pear
jablko - apple
marhuľa - apricot
pomaranč - orange
čerešne - cherry
Príloha - Side dish
ryža - rice
opekané zemiaky - roasted potatoes
varené zemiaky - boiled potatoes
hranolky - chips (British), French fries (US)
chlieb - bread
pečivo - bread roll
Other vocabulary related to food
maslo - butter
syr - cheese
džem - jam
vajce - egg
niva - soft blue cheese
oštiepok - smoked curd
tvaroh - curd cheese
soľ - salt
korenie - pepper (spice)
horčica - mustard
arašídy - peanuts
vyprážaný - fried
zapečená - baked
zmrzlina - ice cream
BASIC PHRASES
please - prosím
thank you - ďakujem
good morning - dobré ráno
good day/hello - dobrý deň
good night - dobrú noc
hi - ahoj, čau (fam)
goodbye - dovidenia, čau (fam)
cheers! - na zdravie!
yes/no - áno/nie
excuse me/ sorry - prepáčte!
bon appetit! - dobrú chuť!
you’re welcome - prosím
not at all! - niet za čo!
welcome! - vitajte!
USEFUL PHRASES AT A RESTAURANT
Do you have an English menu?/ Máte jedálny lístok v angličtine?
The bill, please. / Prosím, zaplatím.
May we have ............ / Môžeme poprosiť..........
A bottle of red wine. / Jednu fľašu červeného vína.
A beer. / Jedno pivo.
Another beer. / Ešte jedno pivo.
We are in a hurry. / Ponáhľame sa.
OTHER USEFUL PHRASES
Excuse me, do you speak English? / Prepáčte, hovoríte po anglicky?
Do you understand? / Rozumiete?
I don’t understand. / Nerozumiem.
I don’t understand Slovak. / Nerozumiem po slovensky.
Please write it down for me. / Napíšte mi to prosím.
I beg your pardon? / Prosím?
Where is...? / Kde je...?
Could you help me? / Mohli by ste mi pomôcť?
What does....mean? / Čo znamená....?
How much is it? / Koľko to stojí?
What is your name? / Ako sa voláte?
My name is XX. / Volám sa XX.
Nice to meet you. / Teší ma.
How are you? / Ako sa máte? (máš)
Take care! / Majte sa dobre!
Is there a phone booth near here? / Je tu niekde telefónna búdka?
Where is the bathroom? / Kde je toaleta (WC)?
What time is it? / Koľko je hodín?
Do you have any vacancies? / Máte voľné izby?
Where is my luggage? / Kde je moja batožina?
Would you call a taxi for me, please? / Zavoláte mi prosím taxík?
How far is it to ..........? / Ako ďaleko je to do..........?
Can you tell us when to get off? / Prosím, kde máme vystúpiť?
What is the fare? / Koľko stojí lístok?
How to read vowels and consonants
VOWELS
Vowels can be either short (a, ä, e, i, o, u, y) or long (á, é, í, ó, ú, ý). Long vowels are simply empasized versions of their short counterparts.
a short -a- as in “ah” you say to your dentist, e.g. mapa (ma-pa) map
á long -a- as in prolonged “ah” to dentist, e.g. dáma (daaa-ma) lady
ä -e- as in bed, e.g. mäso (me-so) meat
e short -e- as in bet, e.g. teraz (te-raz) now
é long -e- as in there, e.g. prvé (pr-vee) first
i short -i- as in graffiti, e.g. pivo (pi-vo) beer
í long -i- as in need, e.g. víno (veee-no) wine
o -o- as in log, e.g. okno (ok-no) window
ó long -o-, like the -a- in talk, e.g. móda (moh-da) fashion
ô -uo-, like “whoa!” to a horse, e.g. môžem (mwhoa-zhem) I can
u short -u- as in shoot, e.g. ruka (ru-ka) hand
ú long -oo- as in school, e.g. údolie (ooo-doh-lye) valley
y, ý the same as for i, í
CONSONANTS
The consonants b, d, f, g, l, m, n, s, v, and z are pronounced approximately as in English. Meanwhile, k, p, and t are like in English, but without aspiration. The “v” over some consonants softens them. Example: čo, pronounced choh, which means what. To complicate things, d, n, and t are usually softened when followed by e or i, becoming ď, ň or ť. Examples: deti (dye-tyee) children, neviem (nye-vyem) I don’t know.
c -ts- as in oats, e.g. ocot (otsot) vinegar
č -ch- as in child, e.g. človek (chlo-vek) man, human being
ď -dy- as in duty, e.g. ďakujem (dyak-oo-yem) thank you
dz -ds- as in heads, e.g. medzi (me-dsi) between
dž -j- as in jam, e.g. džús (juus) juice
ch -ch- as in the Scottish loch, e.g. chata (cha-ta) cottage
j -y- as in you, e.g. kraj (kray) region
ľ -ly- as in lurid, e.g. ľad (lyad) ice
ĺ long l (no English equivalent) e.g. stĺp (stlllp) pole
ň -ny- as in news, e.g. deň (dyeny) day
r rolled like a Spanish r, e.g. ryba (rrri-ba) fish
ŕ long rolled r, e.g. mŕtvy (mrrrrrrrtvy) dead
š -sh- as in she, e.g. šesť (shesty) six
ť -t- as in tune, e.g. dosť (dost) enough
w -v- as in van (found only in foreign words), e.g. WC (ve-tse) WC
ž like -s- in pleasure, e.g. žena (zhe-na) woman