Ljudje, otroci, ljudstvo: the plurals that break the rule
The society unit is made entirely of words about masses of people, and exactly on them the Slovenian plural stops being predictable. What has to be memorized is not a rule but a dozen words — though they are among the most frequent in the language. For example: “V naši ulici živijo prijazni ljudje” — Friendly people live in our street. A rule from the Slovenian course: worked out on examples, not memorized as a…
How it works
The society unit is made entirely of words about masses of people, and exactly on them the Slovenian plural stops being predictable. What has to be memorized is not a rule but a dozen words — though they are among the most frequent in the language.
Človek — ljudje. A full stem swap, the like of which English only gestures at with 'person — people'. Genitive plural: ljudi (no ending), dative ljudem, instrumental z ljudmi. The word človeki does not exist. And it has no dual either: two people are dva človeka, by the singular.
Otrok — otroci. You would expect otroki, but it is otroci, with a k → c shift. Genitive: otrok — exactly like the singular nominative: pet otrok — five children, otrok je prišel — the child came. One word in two different roles, told apart only by the number of the verb.
Words with no plural at all. prebivalstvo, ljudstvo, družba, revščina, brezposelnost, dobrodelnost — collectives and abstractions. They are singular, and the verb with them is singular: Prebivalstvo raste. English agrees here ('the population grows'), so the only easy slip is starši — parents — which in Slovenian is only plural.
And the reverse, plural-only words: pogajanja (negotiations), vrata (door), usta (mouth), pljuča (lungs), starši. Note vrata: the English 'door' is singular, the Slovenian is always plural neuter, vrata so odprta.
Separately, about the dual in this unit: Soseda sta se pozdravila — the two neighbors greeted each other; sostanovalca si delita kuhinjo — the two roommates share a kitchen. The moment there are exactly two people, dvojina switches on — and that goes for every word that has a plural at all.
Table
| singular | plural | genitive plural | note |
|---|---|---|---|
| človek | ljudje | ljudi | a full stem swap |
| otrok | otroci | otrok | k → c, genitive like the singular |
| prebivalec | prebivalci | prebivalcev | by the rule |
| prebivalstvo | — | — | a collective, singular only |
| ljudstvo | — | — | a collective, singular only |
| — | starši | staršev | plural only |
| — | pogajanja | pogajanj | plural only |
| — | vrata | vrat | plural only, neuter |
By example
- V naši ulici živijo prijazni ljudjeFriendly people live in our street
- Pet otrok se je igralo na otroškem igriščuFive children were playing in the playground
- Starši so prišli, otroka pa sta ostala domaThe parents came, and the two children stayed home
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
Ljudje, otroci, ljudstvo: how does it work in Slovenian?
The society unit is made entirely of words about masses of people, and exactly on them the Slovenian plural stops being predictable. What has to be memorized is not a rule but a dozen words — though they are among the most frequent in the language.
What does it look like in an example sentence Slovenian?
“V naši ulici živijo prijazni ljudje” — Friendly people live in our street. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.