Slovenian
Slovenian — Indo-European family, about 2.5 million speakers (estimate, Ethnologue). Script: the Gajevica Latin alphabet with č, š, ž. This site has 4051 words and 25 letters with audio.
Where to start
First words
Every conversation starts with them — and so does the first impression: one greeting in the local language and you stop being a stranger within a second.
- živjohiž sounds like "zh" in "vision"; before j the v sounds like "u": ZHEEW-yoh
- dober dangood afternoonNeutral and polite. With strangers, start here rather than with the casual živjo.
- dobro jutrogood morningj is "y"; an unstressed o stays a clear "o": DOH-broh YOO-troh
- dober večergood eveningUntil dinner it is still dan, after about six in the evening it is večer.
- hvalathank youthe h really is pronounced: HVAH-lah
- prosimplease (when asking)Literally "I ask", and the most versatile word in the language: it also answers hvala ("not at all") and means "pardon?" when you missed something.
- na svidenjegoodbyeLiterally "until we see each other" — the seeing is right there in the word.
- adijobyeA casual farewell borrowed from Italian addio; in Ljubljana you hear it more than the formal na svidenje.
How it sounds
Five words spoken aloud: click the speaker and pick the translation. The sound works on any phone, and nothing needs to be installed.
- What is this word?
It is živjo — hi.
- What is this word?
It is ne — no.
- What is this word?
It is odlično — excellent.
- What is this word?
It is midva — the two of us.
- What is this word?
It is hvala — thank you.
About the language
| Native name | Slovenščina · Slovenščina |
| Official in | Slovenia and the EU |
| Also spoken in | Italy, Austria and Hungary |
| How many speakers | about 2.5 million speakers (estimate, Ethnologue) |
| Family | Indo-European family, Slavic group |
| Writing | the Gajevica Latin alphabet with č, š, ž |
| Writing direction | left to right |
Hard: the dual number — a third form beside singular and plural.
Easy: spelled by the rules, compact grammar, no articles.
What Russian speakers most often take it up for: moving to the EU, study, work, residence permits.
How lessons work
A lesson is up to half an hour a day, split into three to five short sessions. A word comes back not on the course's schedule but at the moment you are about to forget it: the interval is computed by an algorithm from your own answers.
- The longer you want to keep a word, the rarer its repetitions should be. To hold it for a week, review every day; to hold it for a year, about once a month.checked many timesCepeda et al., 2008, Psychological Science 19(11) · Over 1,350 participants, tested after delays of up to a year. The best gap is about 20% of the target interval on a horizon of weeks, and 5–10% on a horizon of a year.
- Recalling beats re-reading. Covering the translation and trying to remember it does more than reading it ten more times.checked many timesAdesope, Trevisan & Sundararajan, 2017, Review of Educational Research 87(3) · 188 experiments, 272 comparisons. g = 0.61; against plain re-reading 0.51, against passive review 0.93.
- Pay someone to study and they study less, not more. Praise and a clear explanation of their mistakes do the opposite — they help.checked many timesDeci, Koestner & Ryan, 1999, Psychological Bulletin 125(6) · 128 experiments. Material reward: d = −0.40 for taking part, −0.36 for finishing. Praise and feedback: +0.33.
Frequently asked
Where to start learning Slovenian?
With the script: 25 letters are worked through in a week or two, and after that words stop being pictures.
How many people speak it in Slovenian?
About 2.5 million speakers — an estimate from Ethnologue. Nobody runs an exact census of languages, and sources disagree by noticeable amounts.
Is Slovenian hard?
The dual number — a third form beside singular and plural. At the same time, spelled by the rules, compact grammar, no articles.
Where is it spoken in Slovenian?
An official language in: Slovenia and the EU. Noticeable communities: Italy, Austria and Hungary.
Is Slovenian in Duolingo?
No. As of September 18, 2026, Duolingo’s catalogue has no such course at all, from any language. We have Slovenian in full: 4051 words, with audio, the script explained, a phrasebook and grammar in plain words.