oni
“oni” — they in Slovenian. Pronoun, level A0, topic — pronouns. Three or more, and only if at least one is a man. Three women are one, and two are onadva or onidve. In a live sentence: “Oni živijo v Mariboru” — They live in Maribor. You can hear how it sounds right here. One of 27 words in the set “pronouns” in the Slovenian course.
In short
| Written in Slovenian | oni |
| Translation | they |
| Part of speech | pronoun |
| Level | A0 |
- onithey
Why it looks that way
Three or more, and only if at least one is a man. Three women are one, and two are onadva or onidve.
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.
- Oni živijo v MariboruThey live in Maribor
Nearby words: pronouns
I, you, we, they. There is a handful of them, they turn up in every sentence, and politeness rides on them: most of these languages keep a formal “you” apart from a familiar one, and choosing the wrong one is noticed faster than a mispronounced word.
- jazIsounds like "yahz"
- tiyou (informal)Slovenes switch to first names and ti fast, but the older person offers it first. For exactly two people there is a special pronoun, vidva.
- viyou (formal)The polite form is written with a capital V — Vi — a visible mark of respect.
- onheTwo males are onadva, and oni needs three or more — even the third-person pronouns come in pairs.
- onasheTwo women are onidve, three or more are one; oni is left for men and mixed groups.
- miweUse it only for three or more; for exactly two there is midva — that is grammar, not style.
- midvathe two of usThe famous dual: midva is exactly two of us, women say midve, and mi would simply be the wrong number.
- mojmyDeclines like an adjective and even has a dual form: moji for exactly two of a thing.
- tvojyour (informal)The polite partner is vaš, and in letters it is written with a capital: Vaš.
- našourIf we are exactly two, the word is najin — saying naš about a pair quietly loses the dual.
Test yourself
Five questions from the same set — “pronouns”. Recalling a spelling from meaning is harder than knowing a familiar word on sight, and therefore more useful.
- How do you say “they” in Slovenian?
Three or more, and only if at least one is a man. Three women are one, and two are onadva or onidve.
- How do you say “the two of us” in Slovenian?
The famous dual: midva is exactly two of us, women say midve, and mi would simply be the wrong number.
- How do you say “you (formal)” in Slovenian?
The polite form is written with a capital V — Vi — a visible mark of respect.
- How do you say “our” in Slovenian?
If we are exactly two, the word is najin — saying naš about a pair quietly loses the dual.
- How do you say “we” in Slovenian?
Use it only for three or more; for exactly two there is midva — that is grammar, not style.
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 “they” in Slovenian?
«oni». In a live sentence: “Oni živijo v Mariboru” — They live in Maribor. You can hear how it sounds right on this page. Pronoun, level A0, from the set “pronouns”.
Why does this word look the way it does?
Three or more, and only if at least one is a man. Three women are one, and two are onadva or onidve. 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.