Lingoflyželim
- želimI would like
“želim” — I would like in Slovenian. Verb, level A0, topic — verbs. Ž is the "zh" of "measure": zheh-LEEM. In a live sentence: “Želim eno kavo” — I would like one coffee. You can hear how it sounds right here. One of 111 words in the set “verbs” in the Slovenian course.
In short
| Written in Slovenian | želim |
| Translation | I would like |
| Part of speech | verb |
| Level | A0 |
How to pronounce it
ž is the "zh" of "measure": zheh-LEEM
Why it looks that way
Literally "I wish" — politer than hočem, "I want". This is the word to use in a cafe.
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.
- Želim eno kavoI would like one coffee
Nearby words: verbs
I want, I can, I am going, I know. The verb holds a sentence together: a few of the most frequent ones cover more everyday talk than a long list of nouns.
- rad imamI loveLiterally "gladly have". A woman says rada imam — the form follows the speaker.
- itito goš is "sh"
- jestito eatj is "y": YEH-stee
- pitito drinkThe present changes its stem: pijem, piješ, pije. A drink is pijača, from the same root.
- bratito readPresent berem, bereš, bere. in the neighbouring languages the word looks like "to take"; here taking is vzeti.
- govoritito speakAbout a language you use the adverb, not the name: govorim slovensko, not govorim slovenščino.
- delatito workThe same word does "to do": kaj delaš? is both "what is your job?" and "what are you doing?" — context decides.
- živetito livež is the "zh" of "measure": ZHEH-vee-tee
- imetito have"I have" is imam — no "at me there is" construction anywhere in sight.
- imamI haveNegation fuses into one word: nimam, "I do not have".
Test yourself
Five questions from the same set — “verbs”. Recalling a spelling from meaning is harder than knowing a familiar word on sight, and therefore more useful.
- How do you say “I would like” in Slovenian?
Literally "I wish" — politer than hočem, "I want". This is the word to use in a cafe.
- How do you say “to work” in Slovenian?
The same word does "to do": kaj delaš? is both "what is your job?" and "what are you doing?" — context decides.
- How do you say “to eat” in Slovenian?
The present comes from another root: jem, ješ, je. je is both "he eats" and "he is" — context decides.
- How do you say “I have” in Slovenian?
Negation fuses into one word: nimam, "I do not have".
- How do you say “to speak” in Slovenian?
About a language you use the adverb, not the name: govorim slovensko, not govorim slovenščino.
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 “I would like” in Slovenian?
«želim». Ž is the "zh" of "measure": zheh-LEEM. In a live sentence: “Želim eno kavo” — I would like one coffee. You can hear how it sounds right on this page. Verb, level A0, from the set “verbs”.
Why does this word look the way it does?
Literally "I wish" — politer than hočem, "I want". This is the word to use in a cafe. 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 this 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.