Asking the way in Slovenian
18 words Slovenian words on the topic “asking the way”: kje je? — where is?, tukaj — here, tam — there, desno — to the right. 18 words can be played from recordings.
18 words on the topic
- kje je?where is?kje asks where, kam asks where to — Slovenian keeps the two strictly apart.
- tukajherej is "y": too-KIGH
- tamthereThe partner of tukaj. Direction is a separate word: pojdi tja, "go over there". Place and direction are kept strictly apart.
- desnoto the rightFrom desnica, the right hand. On the spot is na desni, into motion is na desno.
- levoto the leftThe partner of desno. na levi is "on the left", na levo is "to the left" — place and direction again wear different shapes.
- naravnoststraight aheadLiterally "to evenness". "Straight" in the sense of correct is a different word: prav.
- blizucloseIt demands the genitive: blizu postaje, "near the station". Very close is čisto blizu.
- dalečfarč is "ch": DAH-lech
- kako pridem dohow do I get toLiterally "how do I come up to": the question is asked with a first-person verb, and do demands the genitive — do postaje.
- prispetito arrivepriti is simply to come; prispeti is to reach the destination, and where to is v/na with the accusative.
- na drugi stranion the other sidestran is side and page; here the locative na strani, while crossing the road is čez cesto.
- dva koraka strantwo steps awayThe two steps stand in the dual — dva koraka; stran here is the adverb "aside", not the noun.
- za ovinkomaround the bendza with the instrumental answers "where"; za ovinek with the accusative would be motion — around the bend and onward.
- levo odto the left ofAfter od, always the genitive: levo od cerkve, levo od mene.
- desno odto the right ofThe partner of levo od, same genitive. In desno the d stays voiced — no devoicing at the end of the syllable here.
- na srediniin the middleNo single word: sredina you know, and the adverb is built by na plus the locative.
- naslednji ovinekthe next turnovinek and naslednji are in the course; in the accusative, masculine inanimate does not change: v naslednji ovinek.
- spotomaon the wayTwo English words packed into one adverb. po poti would mean "along the very road", not "while you are at it".
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.
What is worth knowing about these words
kje je? — where is?. kje asks where, kam asks where to — Slovenian keeps the two strictly apart.
tukaj — here. In speech it shrinks to tu: tu sem — I am here. And sem on its own means "to here", a direction already.
tam — there. The partner of tukaj. Direction is a separate word: pojdi tja, "go over there". Place and direction are kept strictly apart.
desno — to the right. From desnica, the right hand. On the spot is na desni, into motion is na desno.
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 kje je? — where is?.
- What is this word?
It is daleč — far.
- What is this word?
It is desno od — to the right of.
- What is this word?
It is desno — to the right.
- What is this word?
It is na drugi strani — on the other side.
Now the other way around: recall the spelling from the meaning. That is harder, and therefore more useful.
- How do you say “where is?” in Slovenian?
kje asks where, kam asks where to — Slovenian keeps the two strictly apart.
- How do you say “far” in Slovenian?
The comparative is irregular: dlje, "farther". kako daleč je? — "how far is it?"
- How do you say “to the right of” in Slovenian?
The partner of levo od, same genitive. In desno the d stays voiced — no devoicing at the end of the syllable here.
- How do you say “to the right” in Slovenian?
From desnica, the right hand. On the spot is na desni, into motion is na desno.
- How do you say “on the other side” in Slovenian?
stran is side and page; here the locative na strani, while crossing the road is čez cesto.
How to learn the set instead of just reading it
Right, left, straight on, how far. You ask the way rarely — and always at the moment when there is no time to work it out.
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 “where is?” in Slovenian?
«kje je?» kje asks where, kam asks where to — Slovenian keeps the two strictly apart. It is one of 18 words in the set “asking the way” — the rest are in the table above.
How many direction words do you need to start?
A dozen is enough. The set of 18 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, 18 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.