počivati
“počivati” — to rest in Slovenian. Verb, level A1, topic — everyday life and routine. Rest as a breather. A vacation is dopust, from another root. In a live sentence: “Moram malo počivati” — I need to rest a little. You can hear how it sounds right here. One of 13 words in the set “everyday life and routine” in the Slovenian course.
In short
| Written in Slovenian | počivati |
| Translation | to rest |
| Part of speech | verb |
| Level | A1 |
- počivatito rest
Why it looks that way
Rest as a breather. A vacation is dopust, from another root.
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.
- Moram malo počivatiI need to rest a little
Nearby words: everyday life and routine
Work, home, rest, errands. The words the answer to “how are things?” is made of.
- službajobž is the "zh" of "measure"
- delatito workThe same word does "to do": kaj delaš? is both "what is your job?" and "what are you doing?" — context decides.
- moramI mustAn infinitive follows: moram delati, "I have to work". ne morem is "I cannot", and ni mi treba is "I do not have to".
- zbuditi seto wake upWithout se it is "to wake someone". The particle slips into second place: zjutraj se zbudim.
- vstatito get upPresent vstanem. Three consonants in a row at the start are ordinary here.
- umiti seto wash upAbout the face. Washing all over is se stuširati; doing the dishes is pomivati.
- počesati seto comb one’s hairč is "ch" twice: poh-cheh-SAH-tee seh
- briti seto shavePresent brijem se. Without se it is "to shave someone".
- obleči seto get dressedč is "ch": ob-LEH-chee seh
- sleči seto get undressedč is "ch"
Test yourself
Five questions from the same set — “everyday life and routine”. Recalling a spelling from meaning is harder than knowing a familiar word on sight, and therefore more useful.
- How do you say “to rest” in Slovenian?
Rest as a breather. A vacation is dopust, from another root.
- How do you say “to comb one’s hair” in Slovenian?
From česati, "to comb". Present počešem se.
- How do you say “I must” in Slovenian?
An infinitive follows: moram delati, "I have to work". ne morem is "I cannot", and ni mi treba is "I do not have to".
- How do you say “to get undressed” in Slovenian?
The partner of obleči se: the s- prefix takes off what ob- put on.
- How do you say “to wash up” in Slovenian?
About the face. Washing all over is se stuširati; doing the dishes is pomivati.
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 “to rest” in Slovenian?
«počivati». In a live sentence: “Moram malo počivati” — I need to rest a little. You can hear how it sounds right on this page. Verb, level A1, from the set “everyday life and routine”.
Why does this word look the way it does?
Rest as a breather. A vacation is dopust, from another root. 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.