Another slightly more subtle meaning of tek is to imply moving in time (see examples).
Examples:
Dober tek! (Bon appetit!)
Tako sem zaljubljen… Izgubil sem tek. (I’m so in love… I lost my appetite.)
Vsak dan tečem. Tek je res odlična rekreacija. (I run every day. Running is really an excellent recreation/exercise.)
Projekt mora bit končan v teku enega leta. (The project has to be finished in the course of one year.)
Preiskava je v teku. (The investigation is underway.)
Expressions:
imeti voljči tek (to be very hungry; lit. to have a wolf’s appetite; you can also use it as biti lačen kot volk, which translates “to be hungry as a wolf”)
Related:
šprint – sprint maraton – marathon tek na smučeh – cross-country skiing (lit. running on skies) tekma – a game match / competition dobrodelni tek – charity run
Listen to the pronunciation of Slovenian words and phrases.
Petrol is the biggest Slovenian petrol company. This post is not meant as an endorsement of the company, though it is quite an important name to pay attention to. For example, when a Slovenian says “Grem na Petrol.”, they mean “I’m going to the gas station.” The company name became a synonym for a gas station.
The real reason for today’s post is actually a fun one. It turns out that in Slovenian you can write not only full sentences but even a short story in which every single word starts with a letter “p”. Petrol made a fun advertisement decades ago based on that quality. Watch it here:
Here is a sentence by sentence translation. Can you twist your language in the same way?
Translation:
Prelestno pokrajino preveva pomlad. (A delightful countryside is permeated by spring.)
Petra pa Primož, pravkar poročena, potujeta po prašni poti. Potem pa: PUF PUF (Petra and Primož, just married, travel on a dusty road. And then: PUF PUF)
Primož: »Presneto!« Prelepo potovanje postane problem. (Primož: “Damn!” The beautiful journey becomes a problem.)
Prepotena, prašna, prestradana, prrririneta pred Petrolovo postojanko. Poskočen prodajalec ponudi pomoč. (Sweaty, dusty, starving, they push (themselves and the car) in front of the Petrol post. A jumpy salesman offers help.)
»Pozdravljena, potrebujeta pomoč?« (Welcome, do you need help?)
Parčku pa predlaga pogledati po prodajalni. (And he suggests the couple to look about the store.)
Translation: capital (as: the city with the seat of government)
It is also common to say glavno mesto (main city) instead of prestolnica. Prestolnica can further be used to describe a center of a certain activity (eg. prestolnica kulture – cultural capital).
Examples:
Ljubljana je glavno mesto Slovenije. (Ljubljana is the capital of Slovenia.)
Lani je Luka obiskal skoraj vse evropske prestolnice. (Last year Luka visited almost all European capitals.)
Maribor je bil leta 2012 razglašen za evropsko prestolnico kulture. (In 2012, Maribor was pronounced the European capital of culture.)
Related:
prestol – throne
Extra:
Here is a very short list of capitals (and countries) in Slovenian. You will recognize most, but some names are… different.
Ljubljana (Slovenija) – Ljubljana (Slovenia) Dunaj (Avstrija) – Vienna (Austria) Rim (Italija) – Rome (Italy) Budimpešta (Madžarska) – Budapest (Hungary) Berlin (Nemčija) – Berlin (Germany) Pariz (Francija) – Paris (France) London (Združeno kraljestvo) – London (United Kingdom)
Listen to the pronunciation of Slovenian words and phrases.
Various examples/phrases, where knjiga plays the central role:
mladinska knjiga – young adult book spominska knjiga – memorial book žalna knjiga – condolence book matična knjiga – register zemljiška knjiga – land register šolska knjiga – school book e-knjiga – e-book
Examples:
Knjiga ima dvesto strani. (The book has two hundred pages.)
Vsak teden preberem vsaj eno knjigo. (Each week I read at least one book.)
Všeč so mi knjige s trdimi platnicami. (I like hardcover books.)
Pisateljica se je z novinarjem pogovarjala o svoji novi knjigi. (The writer talked with the journalist about her new book.)
Gospodar prstanov je roman v treh knjigah. (Lord of the rings is a novel in three volumes.)
Kaj misliš o e-knjigah? (What’s your opinion of e-books?)
Expressions:
biti kot odprta knjiga (to be an open book)
Njen sin je zelo družaben. Je kot odprta knjiga. (Her son is very sociable. He is an open book.)
požirati knjige (to read books in a fast succession)
Tako pameten je, ker cele dneve požira knjige. (He is so smart because he reads books all the time.)
Raj is a place where one’s soul goes after they’ve done something well according to their religion (I apologize for this simplified definition). Note that in Christianity one can also use the word nebesa, which means the same as heavens. On the other hand, raj also describes a state of bliss.
Examples:
Adam in Eva sta bila izgnana iz raja. (Adam and Eve were expelled from paradise.)
Če boš priden, boš šel v nebesa. Če boš poreden, boš šel v pekel. (If you behave, you will go to heavens. If you misbehave, you will go to hell.)
Pašniki, gore, jezera… Slovenija je raj na Zemlji! (Pastures, mountains, lakes… Slovenia is a paradise (heaven) on Earth.)
Rajske ptice imajo čudovito perje. (Birds-of-paradise have a wonderful plumage.)
Expressions:
obljubljati raj na Zemlji (to promise something wonderful)
Related:
pekel – hell vice – purgatory
Listen to the pronunciation of Slovenian words and phrases.
The formal word for a party is zabava. But it sounds a bit stuck-up. If your party involves dancing and beer and a lot of fun, then you would call it žur or žurka. It is especially applicable to student parties. Derivatives also exist:
žurirati – to party žuriranje – partying žurka – also a party
Žur can also be used to describe a particular collective festive fun feeling on an event. See examples.
Examples:
Hej, a danes zvečer prideš na žur? – Ja, seveda. (Hey, are you coming to the party tonight? – Yes, of course.)
Žuriranje med študenti je zaskrbljujoče. (Partying among students is worrisome.)
Včeraj sem bil v klubu. Didžej, muska, ples-bil je pravi žur! (I was in the club yesterday. DJ, music, dance-it was great! Note: I used the slang muska instead of glasba here.)
Med izbruhom koronavirusa so vsi žuri prepovedani. (All parties are forbidden during the coronavirus outbreak.)
Expressions:
Žur do jutranjih ur. (Party until early in the morning. Note: in Slovenian it rhymes, therefore this incomplete sentence is often used in different circumstances.)
Related:
zabava – party, fun plesišče – dance floor pivo – beer pir – beer (informal)
Listen to the pronunciation of Slovenian words and phrases.
Similar to its English meaning, zvezda describes both a hot ball of burning gas and a famous person with an inclination for extravagant.
Examples:
Sonce je Zemlji najbližja zvezda. (Sun is the closest star to Earth.)
Na večernem nebu so zasijale prve zvezde. (The first stars appeared (lit. started to shine) on the evening sky.)
Peterokraka zvezda je pomemben ideološki in verski simbol. (A five-pointed star is an important ideological and religious symbol.)
Prihodnost je zapisana v zvezdah. (The future is written in the stars.)
Filmske zvezde so se sprehodile po rdeči preprogi. (Movie stars walked down the red carpet.)
Expressions:
biti rojen pod srečno zvezdo (to be born under a lucky star; it is also common to say nesrečno zvezdo, which means unlucky)
kovati koga v zvezde (to praise somebody to the skies; lit. to forge somebody into stars)
seči po zvezdah (to reach for the stars)
Related:
The red star is one of the symbols of communism. In Slovenia, the survived fighters of the second world war (and their younger supporters) still proudly wave with flags with red stars on national ceremonies. To the chagrin of the survived opposition (and their young supporters). You wouldn’t believe the debates and arguments between the two brainwashed ideological factions that are still present in Slovenian politics.
Politics aside, my first association with the red star is Betelgeuse. Talking about the brainwashed.
The word dolgčas literally means long (dolg) time (čas). I hope this post will not bore you.
Examples:
Dolgčas mi je. (I’m bored.)
Po nekaj dneh neznosnega dolgčasa je končno lahko zapustil stanovanje. (After a few days of unbearable boredom he was finally able to leave the apartment.)
Ta predstava je čisti dolgčas. (This show is a total boredom.)
Kadar sta Pak in Mak skupaj, jima ni nikoli dolgčas. (Pak and Mak are never bored when they are together.)
Expressions:
preganjati dolgčas (to pass the time, to kill the time; lit. to chase away the boredom)
Med poletjem sem si dolgčas preganjal z branjem knjig. (During the summer I was passing the time reading books.)
Related:
brezčasen – timeless (lit. without (brez) time) sčasoma – in time (lit. with time)
Listen to the pronunciation of Slovenian words and phrases.
