LingoflyGreetings and goodbyes in Slovenian
9 words in Slovenian on the topic “greetings and goodbyes”: živjo — hi, dober dan — good afternoon, dobro jutro — good morning, dober večer — good evening. 9 words can be played from recordings.
9 words on the topic
- živjohiž sounds like "zh" in "vision"; before j the v sounds like "u": ZHEEW-yoh
- dober dangood afternoonNeutral and polite. With strangers, start here rather than with the casual živjo.
- dobro jutrogood morningj is "y"; an unstressed o stays a clear "o": DOH-broh YOO-troh
- dober večergood eveningUntil dinner it is still dan, after about six in the evening it is večer.
- na svidenjegoodbyeLiterally "until we see each other" — the seeing is right there in the word.
- adijobyeA casual farewell borrowed from Italian addio; in Ljubljana you hear it more than the formal na svidenje.
- kako si?how are you?si is "you are": Slovenian never drops this little linking verb.
- kako ste?how are you (formal)?The polite version. ste is the formal "you are", good for strangers and elders.
- lahko nočgood nightLiterally "an easy night" — the same lahko means "can, may".
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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
živjo — hi. The all-purpose informal greeting, morning or night — and the very same word says goodbye too.
dober dan — good afternoon. Neutral and polite. With strangers, start here rather than with the casual živjo.
dobro jutro — good morning. Good only until ten or eleven; after that people switch to dober dan, and the border is respected.
dober večer — good evening. Until dinner it is still dan, after about six in the evening it is večer.
Test yourself
First by ear — the way you will meet the word in conversation. Click the speaker and pick the translation.
- What is this word?
It is živjo — hi.
- What is this word?
It is kako ste? — how are you (formal)?
- What is this word?
It is adijo — bye.
- What is this word?
It is dober večer — good evening.
- What is this word?
It is dober dan — good afternoon.
Now the other way around: recall the spelling from the meaning. That is harder, and therefore more useful.
- How do you say “hi” in Slovenian?
The all-purpose informal greeting, morning or night — and the very same word says goodbye too.
- How do you say “how are you (formal)?” in Slovenian?
The polite version. ste is the formal "you are", good for strangers and elders.
- How do you say “bye” in Slovenian?
A casual farewell borrowed from Italian addio; in Ljubljana you hear it more than the formal na svidenje.
- How do you say “good evening” in Slovenian?
Until dinner it is still dan, after about six in the evening it is večer.
- How do you say “good afternoon” in Slovenian?
Neutral and polite. With strangers, start here rather than with the casual živjo.
How to learn the set instead of just reading it
Every conversation starts here, and so does every first impression: say hello in the local language and you stop being a stranger in about a second.
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.
- 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.
- Study spread over days wins not only in experiments but in ordinary classrooms, with real students.checked many timesMawson & Kang, 2025, Behavioral Sciences 15(6):771 · 22 studies, d = 0.54 (confidence interval 0.31–0.77). The authors warn that individual studies disagree widely.
Frequently asked
How do you say “hi” in Slovenian?
«živjo». Ž sounds like "zh" in "vision"; before j the v sounds like "u": ZHEEW-yoh. It is one of 9 words in the set “greetings and goodbyes” — the rest are in the table above.
How many greetings do you need to start?
The whole set on this page is 9 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, 9 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.