Menu
English
РусскийEnglishEspañol

Verbs in Slovenian

111 words in Slovenian on the topic “verbs”: želim — I would like, rad imam — I love, iti — to go, jesti — to eat. 111 words can be played from recordings.

Updated September 1, 2026 · Lingofly

111 words on the topic

  • želim
    I would like
    ž is the "zh" of "measure": zheh-LEEM
  • rad imam
    I love
    Literally "gladly have". A woman says rada imam — the form follows the speaker.
  • iti
    to go
    š is "sh"
  • jesti
    to eat
    j is "y": YEH-stee
  • piti
    to drink
    The present changes its stem: pijem, piješ, pije. A drink is pijača, from the same root.
  • brati
    to read
    Present berem, bereš, bere. in the neighbouring languages the word looks like "to take"; here taking is vzeti.
  • govoriti
    to speak
    About a language you use the adverb, not the name: govorim slovensko, not govorim slovenščino.
  • delati
    to work
    The same word does "to do": kaj delaš? is both "what is your job?" and "what are you doing?" — context decides.
  • živeti
    to live
    ž is the "zh" of "measure": ZHEH-vee-tee
  • imeti
    to have
    "I have" is imam — no "at me there is" construction anywhere in sight.
  • imam
    I have
    Negation fuses into one word: nimam, "I do not have".
  • učiti se
    to learn
    č is "ch": oo-CHEE-tee seh
  • moram
    I must
    An infinitive follows: moram delati, "I have to work". ne morem is "I cannot", and ni mi treba is "I do not have to".
  • izbirati
    to choose
    Present izbiram, izbiraš, izbira. The perfective is another verb: izbrati, izberem.
  • študirati
    to study (at university)
    š is "sh"
  • zapomniti si
    to memorize
    The particle si is obligatory: Zapomni si! Without it the verb loses its sense.
  • videti
    to see
    stress the first syllable: VEE-deh-tee
  • slišati
    to hear
    š is "sh", stress the first syllable: SLEE-shah-tee
  • spati
    to sleep
    stress the a: SPAH-tee; in the present it slides onto the ending: SPEEM
  • nesti
    to carry
    stress the e: NES-tee
  • postaviti
    to put up
    stress the a in the middle: poh-STAH-vee-tee
  • lomiti
    to break
    stress the second syllable: loh-MEE-tee
  • graditi
    to build
    Stress the second syllable: gra-DEE-tee.
  • greti
    to heat
    stress the e, hard g: GREH-tee
  • spakirati
    to pack
    From the German packen. The imperfective is pakirati: pakiram — I am packing; spakiral sem — I have packed.
  • kopati se
    to swim (for fun)
    Without se the verb digs. The little reflexive is the entire difference.
  • plavati
    to swim (move in water)
    Present: plavam, plavaš, plava. kopati se is being in the water for pleasure; plavati is moving through it.
  • sončiti se
    to sunbathe
    č is "ch"
  • loviti ribe
    to fish
    loviti catches anything: fish, a taxi, a ball. The object plural: ribe, not rib.
  • zalivati
    to water (regularly)
    Literally "pour over", and that is exactly it: zalivam rože. The perfective is zaliti.
  • obleči
    to put on
    č is "ch"
  • pomeriti
    to try on
    From mera, "measure". The question goes: Ali lahko pomerim?
  • smejati se
    to laugh
    j is "y"
  • jokati
    to cry
    j is "y"
  • bati se
    to be afraid
    The present is irregular: bojim se, bojiš se, boji se. Fear takes the "of what" form: bojim se psa.
  • čuditi se
    to be surprised
    č is "ch"
  • upati
    to hope
    Careful: upam is "I hope", and upam si is "I dare" — one little si flips the sense.
  • prepirati se
    to argue
    j is "y"
  • obljubiti
    to promise
    lj is a soft "ly"
  • skregati se
    to fall out (with)
    Stronger than prepirati se: this is a falling-out. sva se skregala — "the two of us fell out".
  • objeti
    to hug
    j is "y"
  • kuhati
    to cook
    From the German kochen. Covers cooking and boiling alike — no separate verb.
  • umivati
    to wash (hands, face)
    Dishes take pomivati, hands umivati si roke, laundry prati — three verbs where one might do.
  • skuhati
    to boil (cook done)
    The perfective of kuhati: cooked through. The everyday boiling uses the same root — only the aspect differs.
  • cvreti
    to fry
    c is "ts", v before r sounds like "u"
  • peči
    to bake
    č is "ch"
  • rezati
    to cut
    The present alternates: režem, režeš. The slice is rezina — hence rezanci, noodles.
  • poskusiti
    to try
    Both tasting and attempting: poskusi še enkrat — "try again".
  • naročiti
    to order
    č is "ch"
  • klicati
    to call (phone)
    c is "ts"
  • prenesti
    to download
    Literally "to carry over". Downloading is prenesti, uploading is naložiti. In speech you will also hear downloadati.
  • poslati
    to send (a message)
    š is "sh"
  • prejeti
    to receive
    Bookish and polite: written in letters and at the post. In conversation dobiti: sem dobil sporočilo.
  • odgovoriti
    to reply
    Replying to someone takes the "to whom" form: odgovoriti prijatelju. Replying to something: odgovoriti na vprašanje.
  • prižgati
    to switch on (light, fire)
    ž is the "zh" of "measure"
  • ugasniti
    to switch off (light)
    g is hard
  • popraviti
    to fix (repair)
    From prav, "right": literally "to make right". The noun is popravilo — the repair.
  • zamenjati
    to replace
    nj is a soft "ny"
  • zmagati
    to win
    č is "ch"
  • izgubiti
    to lose (a match)
    The same verb as losing a key: izgubil sem ključ — lost the key; izgubili smo tekmo — lost the match. The match nearby tells the sense.
  • teči
    to run
    č is "ch"
  • skakati
    to jump
    The present shifts its stem: skačem, skačeš, skače. The single leap is skočiti.
  • sedeti
    to sit
    A stress trap: sedéti is to sit, sésti is to sit down. Present: sedim, sediš, sedi.
  • stati
    to stand
    The same verb means "to cost": Koliko stane?. Standing is stojim, costing stane — the forms tell them apart.
  • ležati
    to lie (be lying)
    ž is the "zh" of "measure"
  • dvigniti
    to lift
    The root of dvigalo, the lift. Picking up the phone is dvigniti too.
  • vreči
    to throw
    č is "ch"
  • ujeti
    to catch
    From jeti, "to take", as in vzeti. The same verb catches the bus and makes the train: ujeti vlak.
  • pasti
    to fall
    Present: padem, padeš, pade. Careful: the same spelling is pasti, "to herd" — and it sounds the same.
  • peti
    to sing
    Identical to the numeral peti, "fifth" — only the conversation tells them apart. Present: pojem, poješ, poje.
  • plesati
    to dance
    š is "sh"
  • igrati
    to play
    Playing something takes no preposition: igrati nogomet. Frolicking adds se: otroci se igrajo.
  • risati
    to draw
    š is "sh"
  • fotografirati
    to take photos
    In speech people more often say slikati — literally "to depict": slikaj me — "take a photo of me".
  • sprehajati se
    to stroll
    h light, as in "loch"
  • počivati
    to rest (relax)
    č is "ch"
  • poročiti se
    get married
    č = ch in church: po-ro-CHEE-tee seh
  • povabiti
    invite
    you invite someone somewhere: povabiti prijatelja na večerjo, to invite a friend to dinner
  • moliti
    pray
    no reflexive se: molim, not molim se; but moliti roko means to stretch out a hand — something else entirely
  • postiti se
    fast (religious)
    post is the fast — and also a job position; Lent is postni čas
  • voščiti
    congratulate
    šč = sh plus ch: VOSH-chee-tee
  • pometati
    sweep
    from metati, to throw; the broom is metla, and the link is audible
  • prati
    do the laundry
    only about laundry; the present tense is perem, pereš, pere; the washing machine is pralni stroj
  • likati
    iron (clothes)
    a reversed false friend: petting a cat is božati; likati is for clothes only
  • pomagati
    help
    help takes the "to whom" form: pomagam mami; the present tense is pomagam, pomagaš, pomaga
  • prositi
    ask (for something)
    the source of prosim, please; you ask someone for something: prositi soseda za pomoč
  • dovoliti
    allow
    from volja, will; you allow someone something: dovoliti otroku sladoled; the participle dovoljeno sits on half the signs around
  • prepovedati
    forbid
    from povedati, to say, with pre-; on signs you meet prepovedano, forbidden, more often than the verb itself
  • prepisovati
    copy off someone
    literally to copy over, innocent without context — rewriting a text cleanly is prepisovati too; in class it means cheating: prepisoval je od sošolca
  • popraviti
    correct (a mistake)
    the same word that fixes a tap: popraviti covers both repair and correct — the object tells them apart; popraviti napako vs popraviti pipo
  • varčevati
    economise
    Č is "ch" as in "church": vahr-cheh-VAH-tee
  • zapravljati
    squander
    Lj is a soft "ly", as in "million": zahp-RAHV-lyah-tee
  • prihraniti
    save up
    from hraniti, to keep and to feed; prihraniti is to put aside, the ongoing prihranjevati is rarer than dajati na stran, to set aside
  • zavarovati
    insure
    from varen, safe — the same root as varčevati; the reflexive zavarovati se insures yourself: zavaroval sem se za potovanje; the insurer is zavarovalnica
  • kihati
    sneeze
    an onomatopoeic word; to a sneezer you say na zdravje! and they answer hvala; coughing is kašljati — where kašelj comes from
  • zboleti
    fall ill
    you fall ill with something via za plus the object form: zbolel je za gripo; do not mix with boleti, to hurt, which works completely differently
  • okrevati
    recover
    The e is a tight "eh": ohk-REH-vah-tee
  • dogovoriti se
    agree
    always reflexive: you agree se; agree on something with dogovoriti se za: dogovorimo se za termin; the noun dogovor is an understanding, unlike the written pogodba
  • dati odpoved
    resign
    literally give notice: the worker leaves by choice; the mirror action, odpustiti, is done by the boss; the pair works exactly like resign and dismiss
  • odpustiti
    dismiss
    the same verb discharges you from hospital and forgives your guilt: odpusti mi, forgive me; from work: odpustiti z dela; context fully sorts the senses
  • seliti se
    move house
    the ongoing form, the perfective being preseliti se; selim se v Maribor, I am moving to Maribor; birds se selijo too — hence ptice selivke, migratory birds
  • zapakirati
    pack up
    spakirati is packing for a trip; zapakirati closes the box around a thing; the prefixes tell: s- gathers, za- seals
  • razpakirati
    unpack
    raz- takes apart what za- put together — the same pair as English un-; also odpakirati; unpack a suitcase: razpakirati kovček; bubble wrap is zračna folija, tape lepilni trak
  • urediti se
    settle in
    from red, order — literally put oneself in order; in speech it covers both settling into a new place and sprucing yourself up; for the flat say urediti stanovanje
  • biti
    to be
    The linking verb is obligatory where English drops it: Sem študent, To je drago. The conjugation is irregular and hosts the dual: sem, si, je — sva, sta, sta — smo, ste, so.
  • gledati
    to watch
    videti is to see by itself; gledati is to watch on purpose, first person gledam. One glance is pogledati.
  • leteti
    to fly
    letim means "I am flying". letati means flying back and forth. vzleteti means "to take off", and pristati means "to land".
  • uporabljati
    to use
    j is "y"
  • znati
    to know how
    Where other languages make do with "know" and "can", this one keeps four: vedeti a fact, poznati a person, moči be able, znati know how. An infinitive follows: znam plavati.
  • srečati
    to meet
    č is "ch"
  • dotikati se
    to touch
    se is obligatory and the object stands in the "of what" form: ne dotikaj se stekla. One touch is dotakniti se.

Download the word set (CSV) · Open the printable sheet

The CSV contains spelling, reading guides, translations and links to word pages. Use the browser menu to save the printable sheet as a PDF.

How it sounds in a sentence

A word list is a blank. Conversation is made of sentences, and these are the ones the words fit into most often.

What is worth knowing about these words

želim — I would like. Literally "I wish" — politer than hočem, "I want". This is the word to use in a cafe.

rad imam — I love. Literally "gladly have". A woman says rada imam — the form follows the speaker.

iti — to go. The present tense comes from another root: grem, greš, gre. For two people: greva.

jesti — to eat. The present comes from another root: jem, ješ, je. je is both "he eats" and "he is" — context decides.

Test yourself

First by ear — the way you will meet the word in conversation. Click the speaker and pick the translation.

  1. What is this word?

  2. What is this word?

  3. What is this word?

  4. What is this word?

  5. What is this word?

Now the other way around: recall the spelling from the meaning. That is harder, and therefore more useful.

  1. How do you say “I would like” in Slovenian?

  2. How do you say “to work” in Slovenian?

  3. How do you say “to study (at university)” in Slovenian?

  4. How do you say “to break” in Slovenian?

  5. How do you say “to fish” in Slovenian?

How to learn the set instead of just reading it

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.

A list is read in a minute and forgotten in a day. What works: hide the translation, try to recall, get it wrong — and come back to the same words tomorrow.

Frequently asked

How do you say “I would like” in Slovenian?

«želim». Ž is the "zh" of "measure": zheh-LEEM. It is one of 111 words in the set “verbs” — the rest are in the table above.

How many verbs do you need to start?

The whole set on this page is 111 words, but there is no need to start with all of it: the words you will need in the next few days are enough. Take them a few at a time — five to seven new ones per session.

Is there audio?

Yes, 111 words on this page can be played — click the speaker next to the word. The sound works on any phone, and nothing needs to be installed.

Next

Open the materialOpen the material