Dva metra, trije metri, pet metrov: the number and the case after it
The shape of the word after a number changes three times in Slovenian, not once. That is the main difference from English, and it shows in every sentence about metres and minutes. For example: “Soba je dolga štiri metre in široka dva metra in pol” — The room is four meters long and two and a half meters wide. A rule from the Slovenian course: worked out on examples, not memorized as a wording.
How it works
The shape of the word after a number changes three times in Slovenian, not once. That is the main difference from English, and it shows in every sentence about metres and minutes.
En behaves as if there were no number at all: en meter, ena minuta, eno leto. Dva asks for the two-form: dva metra, dve minuti, and the verb goes dual too — Dva metra sta dovolj.
Trije and štirje take the ordinary plural: trije metri, štirje litri, tri minute. Masculine has its own shape of the number: štirje kilometri, but štiri ure.
From five up comes the 'of what' plural: pet metrov, deset litrov, sto let. The verb moves into the neuter: Pet metrov je bilo premalo. Size is named with an adjective: Miza je dolga dva metra.
Table
| number | masculine | feminine | which case it is |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | en meter | ena minuta | plain singular |
| 2 | dva metra | dve minuti | the dual |
| 3 | trije metri | tri minute | plain plural |
| 4 | štirje metri | štiri minute | plain plural |
| 5 | pet metrov | pet minut | 'of what' plural |
| 20 | dvajset metrov | dvajset minut | 'of what' plural |
| half | pol metra | pol ure | 'of what' singular |
| size | dolg dva metra | težka dve kili | object with the adjective |
By example
- Soba je dolga štiri metre in široka dva metra in polThe room is four meters long and two and a half meters wide
- Za torto potrebujem pol litra mleka in dvesto gramov maslaFor the cake I need half a liter of milk and two hundred grams of butter
- Pet kilometrov je bilo preveč, trije kilometri bi bili ravno pravFive kilometers was too much, three would have been just right
How the rule settles in your head
A rule is not memorized from an explanation. It is memorized from an attempt to use it and a mistake — that is why the app delivers it mixed in with words, not as a separate lesson: it resurfaces exactly where you forgot it.
Frequently asked
Dva metra, trije metri, pet metrov: how does it work in Slovenian?
The shape of the word after a number changes three times in Slovenian, not once. That is the main difference from English, and it shows in every sentence about metres and minutes.
What does it look like in an example sentence Slovenian?
“Soba je dolga štiri metre in široka dva metra in pol” — The room is four meters long and two and a half meters wide. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.