držati besedo
“držati besedo” — keep your word in Slovenian. Phrase, level B1, topic — people and family. No vowel between d and r: duhrzh-AH-tee-BEH-seh-doh. In a live sentence: “Vedno drži besedo, tudi ko je težko” — He always keeps his word, even when it is hard. You can hear how it sounds right here. One of 138 words in the set “people and family” in the Slovenian course.
In short
| Written in Slovenian | držati besedo |
| Translation | keep your word |
| Part of speech | phrase |
| Level | B1 |
- držati besedokeep your word
How to pronounce it
No vowel between d and r: duhrzh-AH-tee-BEH-seh-doh
Why it looks that way
literally just like English; držati obljubo, to keep a promise; the turn držati se, to stick to, is from the course-of-affairs unit; no vowel between d and r
A word with a story stays in memory longer than one learned as a “spelling — translation” pair: memory holds on to meaning, not to a string.
In a live sentence
A single word almost never appears alone in conversation. A sentence shows where it fits and what stands next to it.
- Vedno drži besedo, tudi ko je težkoHe always keeps his word, even when it is hard
Nearby words: people and family
Mum, friend, child, neighbour. The first thing people ask you about, and the first thing you tell about yourself.
- prijateljfriendA close friend — the word is saved for the real thing, not for casual acquaintances.
- družinafamilyž is the "zh" of "measure": droo-ZHEE-nah
- mamamomWhat you call her to her face is mama. The official word, documents included, is mati.
- očedadč is "ch": OH-cheh
- otrokchildTwo children take the dual: dva otroka.
- prodajalecsellerj is "y", c is "ts": pro-DAH-yah-lets
- kupecbuyerc is "ts": KOO-pets
- sosedneighborfinal d devoices: SOH-set
- človekpersonč is "ch"; the second e is nearly swallowed
- moškimanš is "sh", stress the first syllable: MOSH-kee
Test yourself
Five questions from the same set — “people and family”. Recalling a spelling from meaning is harder than knowing a familiar word on sight, and therefore more useful.
- How do you say “keep your word” in Slovenian?
literally just like English; držati obljubo, to keep a promise; the turn držati se, to stick to, is from the course-of-affairs unit; no vowel between d and r
- How do you say “buyer” in Slovenian?
One root, two sides of the counter: prodajalec sells, kupec buys.
- How do you say “mom” in Slovenian?
What you call her to her face is mama. The official word, documents included, is mati.
- How do you say “man” in Slovenian?
A noun grown from the adjective "male", so it declines like an adjective: dva moška. This exact word is on the restroom door.
- How do you say “seller” in Slovenian?
From prodajati, "to sell". A woman is prodajalka — and at the market that is her nine times out of ten.
How not to forget this word
Reading a word and remembering it are different jobs. A day later, little survives of a single reading — and that is not bad memory, that is how memory works.
- This has been tested on foreign words too. The difference shows up most when you test yourself a few days later rather than straight away.checked many timesKim & Webb, 2022, Language Learning 72(2) · 48 experiments, 3,411 participants, 98 comparisons.
- 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.
- An answer you worked out yourself sticks better than one handed to you.checked many timesBertsch et al., 2007, Memory & Cognition 35(2) · 86 studies, 445 comparisons, d = 0.40.
Frequently asked
How do you say “keep your word” in Slovenian?
«držati besedo». No vowel between d and r: duhrzh-AH-tee-BEH-seh-doh. In a live sentence: “Vedno drži besedo, tudi ko je težko” — He always keeps his word, even when it is hard. You can hear how it sounds right on this page. Phrase, level B1, from the set “people and family”.
Why does this word look the way it does?
literally just like English; držati obljubo, to keep a promise; the turn držati se, to stick to, is from the course-of-affairs unit; no vowel between d and r. A word with a story stays in memory longer than a “spelling — translation” pair: memory holds on to meaning, not to a string.
Can I hear how it sounds?
Yes, right on this page: click the word and it will play. The sound works on any phone, and nothing needs to be installed.