Zelo, precej, preveč — and the hedges: morda, seveda, žal
Slovenian measures degree with a short ruler: malo — a little, kar and precej — quite, zelo — very, preveč — too. They stand right in front of the word they scale: zelo star, precej daleč, premalo slano. For example: “Ta tečaj valute je precej slab” — This exchange rate is pretty bad. A rule from the Slovenian course: worked out on examples, not memorized as a wording.
How it works
Slovenian measures degree with a short ruler: malo — a little, kar and precej — quite, zelo — very, preveč — too. They stand right in front of the word they scale: zelo star, precej daleč, premalo slano.
zelo has a limit everyone trips over: it boosts adjectives and adverbs, but not verbs. 'I love it very much' is not zelo ljubim but zelo rad imam, and 'I work a lot' is delam veliko. With the phrase všeč mi je, though, it lives happily: zelo mi je všeč.
Preveč means both 'too' and 'too much', and with a noun it demands the genitive: preveč dela, preveč ljudi. Don't confuse it with the prefix pre- you know from prevelik and predolg: the prefix sits inside the adjective, while preveč is a separate word. Its partner is premalo — not enough.
Commentary on what is said comes from a different shelf, usually at the front of the sentence: morda and the colloquial mogoče — maybe, verjetno — probably, seveda — of course, res — really, žal — unfortunately, na srečo — luckily. And one word from no textbook: Ljubljana's ful — 'very', borrowed from German voll. Ful dobro, ful mi je všeč — half the city talks like that, but you don't write it.
Table
| English | Slovenian | example |
|---|---|---|
| a little | malo | malo utrujen |
| quite (colloquial) | kar | kar dober |
| quite | precej | precej drago |
| very | zelo | zelo zanimivo |
| very (Ljubljana) | ful | ful dobro |
| too | preveč | preveč dela |
| not enough | premalo | premalo časa |
| maybe | morda / mogoče | morda pride |
| of course | seveda | seveda ti pomagam |
By example
- Ta tečaj valute je precej slabThis exchange rate is pretty bad
- Preveč ljudi je na koncertuThere are too many people at the concert
- Morda bo jutri dež, seveda pa gremo na izletIt may rain tomorrow, but of course we're going on the outing
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
Zelo, precej, preveč — and the hedges: how does it work in Slovenian?
Slovenian measures degree with a short ruler: malo — a little, kar and precej — quite, zelo — very, preveč — too. They stand right in front of the word they scale: zelo star, precej daleč, premalo slano.
What does it look like in an example sentence Slovenian?
“Ta tečaj valute je precej slab” — This exchange rate is pretty bad. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.