Buildings and premises in Slovenian
25 words Slovenian words on the topic “buildings and premises”: restavracija — restaurant, kavarna — coffeehouse, trg — square, trgovina — shop. 25 words can be played from recordings.
25 words on the topic
- restavracijarestaurantv before a consonant sounds like "u": res-TOW-rah-tsee-yah
- kavarnacoffeehouseFrom kava. Sitting for hours over a single cup is the norm here, not an offense.
- trgsquareno written vowel before r; a faint "uh" glides in: tuhrg
- trgovinashopFrom trg, the square where trade happened. It is the shop itself, not "trade".
- tržnicamarketž is "zh"; no written vowel before r: tuhrzh-NEE-tsah
- lekarnapharmacyFrom lek, "medicine". The word apoteka is not used here.
- bankabankPlainly the financial kind — no other meaning is attached to it.
- postajastationOne word for the station and the stop: železniška postaja is the train station, avtobusna postaja the bus stop.
- pultcounterš is "sh"
- živilska trgovinagrocery storež is the "zh" of "measure"
- bolnišnicahospitall before n sounds like "u", š is "sh"
- pisarnaofficeFrom pisati, "to write". There is no "ofis"; urad is a government office.
- univerzauniversitystress the e
- šolaschoolš is "sh"
- poštapost officeš is "sh"
- glavna avtobusna postajacentral bus stationavtobusna postaja is an ordinary stop; the terminal is marked by glavna, "main".
- pristanpierpristanišče is the big port; pristan is the small landing where the boat pulls in. Locative ob pristanu.
- menjalnicaexchange officeOne word where two would do, from menjati, "to change" — built on the pattern of pralnica and lekarna.
- živalski vrtzoož is the "zh" of "measure"
- cirkuscircusGenitive cirkusa, locative v cirkusu. In casual speech the same word names a scandal and a muddle.
- gasilski domfire stationš is "sh"
- avtopralnicacar washavto plus pralnica; pralnica is the laundromat — the very same word.
- turistična agencijatravel agencyč is "ch"
- glavna ulicamain streetglavna cesta is the highway out of town; in town the main one is an ulica. Locative na glavni ulici.
- blagajna za vozovniceticket officeblagajna is the shop till; the station one is pinned down by za plus the accusative plural.
How it sounds in a sentence
A word list is a blank. Conversation is made of sentences, and these are the ones the words fit into most often.
- Ta restavracija je odprta do polnočiThis restaurant is open until midnight
- Dobiva se v kavarni ob trehLet us meet at the coffeehouse at three
- Dobiva se na trguLet us meet at the square
- Trgovina se zapre ob osmihThe shop closes at eight
- V soboto gremo na tržnicoOn Saturday we go to the market
- Kje je najbližja lekarna?Where is the nearest pharmacy?
What is worth knowing about these words
restavracija — restaurant. A place with a full lunch and a bill to match. Simpler and cheaper is the gostilna, a family tavern with home cooking.
kavarna — coffeehouse. From kava. Sitting for hours over a single cup is the norm here, not an offense.
trg — square. It has almost no vowel at all: before r a faint "uh" glides in. Prešernov trg is the heart of Ljubljana.
trgovina — shop. From trg, the square where trade happened. It is the shop itself, not "trade".
Test yourself
First by ear — the way you will meet the word in conversation. Click the speaker and pick the translation.
- What is this word?
It is restavracija — restaurant.
- What is this word?
It is postaja — station.
- What is this word?
It is pošta — post office.
- What is this word?
It is avtopralnica — car wash.
- What is this word?
It is trgovina — shop.
Now the other way around: recall the spelling from the meaning. That is harder, and therefore more useful.
- How do you say “restaurant” in Slovenian?
A place with a full lunch and a bill to match. Simpler and cheaper is the gostilna, a family tavern with home cooking.
- How do you say “station” in Slovenian?
One word for the station and the stop: železniška postaja is the train station, avtobusna postaja the bus stop.
- How do you say “post office” in Slovenian?
Both the institution and the mail. Email is elektronska pošta — in speech, plainly mejl.
- How do you say “car wash” in Slovenian?
avto plus pralnica; pralnica is the laundromat — the very same word.
- How do you say “shop” in Slovenian?
From trg, the square where trade happened. It is the shop itself, not "trade".
How to learn the set instead of just reading it
Where to go and what is done there. These words are read off a sign more often than they are spoken.
A list is read in a minute and forgotten in a day. What works: hide the translation, try to recall, get it wrong — and come back to the same words tomorrow.
- 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.
- This holds not only in experiments but in ordinary classrooms, with real students.checked many timesMawson & Kang, 2025, Behavioral Sciences 15(6):771 · 22 studies, d = 0.54 (confidence interval 0.31–0.77). The authors warn that individual studies disagree widely.
Frequently asked
How do you say “restaurant” in Slovenian?
«restavracija». v before a consonant sounds like "u": res-TOW-rah-tsee-yah. It is one of 25 words in the set “buildings and premises” — the rest are in the table above.
How many words for buildings and places do you need to start?
A dozen is enough. The set of 25 words on this page covers nearly every everyday case on the topic — but it is best taken a few at a time, not all at once.
Is there audio?
Yes, 25 words on this page can be played — click the speaker next to the word. The sound works on any phone, and nothing needs to be installed.