temelj
“temelj” — foundation in Slovenian. Noun, level B1, topic — home and things. mostly in the plural: temelji hiše; figuratively a basis: temelji demokracije; the verb utemeljiti, to justify, comes from the proof unit. In a live sentence: “Temelje so zalili konec marca” — The foundation was poured at the end of March. You can hear how it sounds right here. One of 196 words in the set “home and things” in the Slovenian course.
In short
| Written in Slovenian | temelj |
| Translation | foundation |
| Part of speech | noun |
| Level | B1 |
- temeljfoundation
Why it looks that way
mostly in the plural: temelji hiše; figuratively a basis: temelji demokracije; the verb utemeljiti, to justify, comes from the proof unit
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.
- Temelje so zalili konec marcaThe foundation was poured at the end of March
Nearby words: home and things
Room, key, water, electricity. You will need them on your first day in a rented flat.
- hišahouseš is "sh", the h sounds: HEESH-ah
- stanovanjeapartmentFrom stanovati, "to reside". It opens the first line of rental ads.
- bivališčeresidencešč said in sequence: bee-VAH-lee-shcheh
- sobaroomRooms are counted the way you count rooms: dvosobno stanovanje, "a two-room apartment".
- kuhinjakitchenthe h sounds, j is "y": koo-HEE-nyah
- kopalnicabathroomc is "ts": koh-PAHL-nee-tsah
- balkonbalconyRental ads write z balkonom, "with a balcony".
- nadstropjefloor (storey)j is "y": NAHD-stroh-pyeh
- dvigaloelevatorFrom dvigniti, "to lift". People will understand lift, but the button says dvigalo.
- stopnicestairsc is "ts": STOHPT-nee-tseh
Test yourself
Five questions from the same set — “home and things”. Recalling a spelling from meaning is harder than knowing a familiar word on sight, and therefore more useful.
- How do you say “foundation” in Slovenian?
mostly in the plural: temelji hiše; figuratively a basis: temelji demokracije; the verb utemeljiti, to justify, comes from the proof unit
- How do you say “balcony” in Slovenian?
Rental ads write z balkonom, "with a balcony".
- How do you say “residence” in Slovenian?
From bivati, "to dwell". A word of forms and ads; in a live conversation people just say stanovanje.
- How do you say “stairs” in Slovenian?
Plural only — there are many steps. In Ljubljana speech the stairs are štenge, from the German Stiege.
- How do you say “bathroom” in Slovenian?
From kopati se, "to bathe". The toilet lives separately and is stranišče — or plainly WC.
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 “foundation” in Slovenian?
«temelj». In a live sentence: “Temelje so zalili konec marca” — The foundation was poured at the end of March. You can hear how it sounds right on this page. Noun, level B1, from the set “home and things”.
Why does this word look the way it does?
mostly in the plural: temelji hiše; figuratively a basis: temelji demokracije; the verb utemeljiti, to justify, comes from the proof unit. 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.