Slovenian phrasebook
A Slovenian phrasebook arranged by situation, not alphabetically: introductions, cafés, directions. Each has both sides' lines, so you understand not only what to say but what you will be told back.
Conversations by situation
- 💬Meeting peopleA chat in the courtyard
- 💬At the caféOrdering at a Ljubljana café
- 💬How to get thereLooking for the station
- 💬At the marketSaturday, a fruit stall at the Plečnik market
- 💬Calling a repairmanA call to a plumber from a rented apartment
- 💬At the pharmacyAn on-duty pharmacy, third day of a cold
- 💬Weather and plansTwo friends messaging on the eve of the weekend
- 💬About workTwo neighbors talking on the staircase
- 💬At the airportCheck-in desk at Brnik, a flight to Vienna
- 💬A boat for rentA pier in Piran, two tourists and the boat owner
- 💬At the clothing storeA Ljubljana mall, trying on a sweater
- 💬An apology and comfortTwo friends after a missed meeting
- 💬Cooking dinnerThe kitchen of a rented apartment, two roommates at the stove
- 💬Wi-Fi at the caféA café on Prešeren Square, a guest with a dead phone
- 💬At the libraryThe Ljubljana city library, signing up a reader
- 💬At the workoutA gym in Šiška, a first session with a trainer
- 💬A wedding invitationTwo colleagues at lunch, an envelope with an invitation
- 💬How old the children areA playground in Tivoli, two parents on a bench
- 💬At the student officeA faculty clerk in Ljubljana, the first day of enrollment
- 💬A loan at the bankA bank branch on Čopova, a talk with a consultant
- 💬A cold and a sick noteA GP’s office, morning hours
- 💬The job interviewAn HR office in a small firm near Ljubljana
- 💬Moving dayThe yard of an old house, a truck and boxes
- 💬At the rental deskBrnik airport, the car rental desk, early morning
- 💬An argument in front of the TVThe living room, evening, two people switching channels
- 💬At the administrative unitA window at the administration office, Tuesday, office hours
- 💬Two optionsThe kitchen, evening, a talk about whether to take the new job
- 💬Pros and consA building residents’ meeting, discussing the roof repair
- 💬Who was thatTwo colleagues in the hallway, one trying to recall the new person
- 💬After the quarrelA park bench, one friend comforting another
- 💬Grandma’s recipe over the phoneThe kitchen, a grandson calling grandma ten minutes before the guests
- 💬Returning a jacketThe register of a mall store, Saturday afternoon
- 💬At the repair centerThe intake desk of a repair shop on the outskirts of Ljubljana
- 💬The weekend forecastTwo neighbors by the entrance deciding whether to go to the mountains
- 💬How to get to the stationA visitor stops a passerby at an intersection in central Ljubljana
- 💬Signing up for a courseA language school desk, a woman choosing a group
- 💬Rescheduling the meetingA phone call between two colleagues on Monday morning
- 💬Asking again and clarifyingA government office window, the visitor didn’t catch half of what was said
- 💬A talk about workAn office of a small firm, a manager talking to a person who answered the ad
- 💬Before the signatureTwo people sit over a rental contract: one is renting out an apartment, the other is reading such a text for the first time
- 💬Raising money for a playgroundThe yard of an apartment building, a neighbor going door to door with a signature sheet
- 💬At the bookshopA customer is looking for a gift and doesn’t know which book to choose
- 💬Signing up at the gymThe desk of a sports center, a man returning to training after a long break
- 💬At the electronics storeA counter with gadgets, a customer choosing a projector and measuring everything with words
- 💬At the doctor with the resultsA doctor’s office, a person has come for test results
- 💬The sister’s weddingTwo friends on the street, one inviting the other to his sister’s wedding
- 💬An argument at the meetingA small firm, two people disagreeing about the price
- 💬Advice about movingTwo friends in a café; one has been offered a job in another city
- 💬At the hardware storeA customer is looking for a replacement for an old shelf and explains to the seller what it was like
- 💬Moving the furnitureTwo people rearranging the furniture in a room and arguing about what goes where
- 💬How much to orderAt the café they count how many supplies to order for the week
- 💬The work has stalledA manager and a worker sort out why the work stalled
- 💬Let’s check the dataTwo employees decide whether the numbers in the report can be trusted
- 💬At grandma’s about the old daysA grandson questions grandma about how people lived in the village half a century ago
- 💬How to sort the trashA new resident questions a neighbor about the containers in the yard
- 💬Accepting the goodsA warehouse keeper and a driver sort out a batch that arrived with defects
- 💬What happened on the streetTwo neighbors discuss an incident that one saw and the other knows by hearsay
- 💬About the new colleagueTwo colleagues on a break discuss what the new person is like at work
Phrases that always rescue you
These are learned first not for politeness. They bring back a conversation that has already gone wrong — which makes them more useful than any list of nouns.
Frequently asked
Which Slovenian phrases to learn first?
“Hello”, “thank you”, “sorry”, “I don't understand”, “repeat, please”. The first three open a conversation; the last two save it.
Is a phrasebook enough without grammar?
For a short trip — yes. For living in the country — no: memorized phrases do not assemble into new ones, and the other person does not follow your script.