Translation: to cry
Cry me a river!
Examples:
Otrok je jokal in se oklepal matere.
(The child cried and clung to his mother.)
Včeraj je jokala, danes pa se smeje.
(Yesterday she cried and today she smiles.)
Jokam od sreče.
(I cry with happiness.)
Zaradi hude bolečine v hrbtu je jokal.
(He cried due to a bad pain in his back.)
Related:
jok – crying
solza – a tear
cmera – a cry-baby
Translation: nature
Narava has more or less the same meaning(s) to nature in English.
Examples:
Spomladi se narava prebuja.
(Nature is waking up in spring.)
V nedeljo gremo na sprehod v naravo.
(On Sunday, we are going to make a walk in the nature.)
Naravo moramo ohraniti.
(We have to conserve the nature.)
Narave virusa še vedno ne poznamo dobro.
(We still don’t know the nature of the virus well.)
S tem dejanjem je pokazala svojo pravo naravo.
(With this action she has shown her true nature.)
Expressions:
igra narave
(unusual, extraordinary phenomenon in nature)
Igra narave razveseljuje ljudi: veličastna mavrica nad Ljubljano
(The play of nature delights people: a magnificent rainbow over Ljubljana)
Volk dlako menja, a narave nikdar.
(One doesn’t simply change their nature; lit. – A wolf changes its fur, but never its nature.)
Related:
naraven – natural
umeten – artificial
Translation: mad, crazy, insane, awesome
Nor is a versatile adjective. Literally it refers to insanity. But its derivatives are also used to express an excess (biti noro zaljubljen; to be madly in love) or appreciation (Noro!; Awesome!). In fact, it is used in so many contexts, I probably left out many of them, so keep an eye out for it.
Examples:
Tomaž se rad pogovarja s svojim papagajem. Je malo nor.
(Tomaž likes to talk with his parrot. He is a bit crazy.)
Kdo je tukaj nor?!
(Who is crazy here?! Note – a popular shout when questioning someone’s views or course of action)
O ta nora ženska mi gre res na živce.
(Oh that crazy woman really gets on my nerves.)
Prevzelo ga je noro navdušenje.
(He was overcome by an enormous excitement.)
Noro!
(Awesome!)
Expressions:
biti za luno
(to be crazy)
Ljudje, ki bi šli radi na Luno, so malo za luno.
(People who want to go to the Moon are a bit crazy.)
biti čez les
(to be crazy/weird)
Moja teta je imela deset mačk. Bila je malo čez les.
(My aunt had ten cats. She was a bit crazy.)
Mladost je norost, čez jarke skače, kjer je most.
(Youth does not mind where it sets its foot. Lit. – Youth is folly, it jumps over trenches next to a bridge.)
Gora ni nora; nor je tist’, ki gre gor.
(lit. The mountain is not crazy; crazy is the one that goes on it.)
Related:
norost – madness, craziness, insanity
blaznost – insanity
zmešan – insane (lit. mixed)
Translation: small talk, chatter, chitchat, prattle
I suck at small talk. But it’s a useful skill to overcome the social barriers, so perhaps I should learn how to čvekati. Čvekati is also used to describe talking nonsense.
Examples:
Ni in ni nehal čvekati.
(He just didn’t stop chattering.)
Ženske rade čvekajo.
(Women like to prattle.)
Daj, nehaj čvekati neumnosti.
(Come on, stop talking nonsense.)
On samo čveka, pa nič naredi.
(He only talks, but does nothing.)
Related:
klepet – a chat
nakladanje – to yack, to bullshit (lit. to put a load on sth)
čveka – a gasbag (someone who chatters a lot)
Translation: to congratulate
This is a basic one. Wouldn’t it be useful to know how to congratulate someone
for their birthday, getting a job, etc?
Examples:
Ana, boš dala bratcu roko in mu čestitala za rojstni dan?
(Ana, will you shake your brother’s hand and congratulate him for his birthday?)
Dobil sem službo! – Super, čestitke!
(I got a job! – Great, congratulations!)
Čestitkam se je pridružil tudi premier.
(The prime minister also joined with congratulations.)
Dovolite mi, da vam iskreno čestitam.
(Let me give you my sincere congratulations. Note – in this sentence I used the formal address)
Vse najboljše!
(Happy birthday!)
Related:
čestitka – a card (with good wishes)
dobre želje – good wishes
Extra:
You all know this one. Here is the transcription of the first, international part of the song (leaving out the laughter and the coughing). If you remember this, you’re good to go!
Vse najboljše za te, vse najboljše za te
vse najboljše draga Ana, vse najboljše za te.
Translation: artisan, master craftsman
Mojster (the female form is mojstrica) is typically someone who is either the most experienced craftsman in a company or someone who does something (a job) very well. The word, used in a phrase, can mean very specific professions, the most common being:
šahovski mojster – chess champion
tonski mojster – sound engineer
kuharski mojster – master chef
Examples:
Slavni mojster ga je učil igrati violino.
(A famous master thought him to play the violin.)
Po letih učenja in težkega dela je postal mojster svojega poklica.
(After years of learning and hard work he became the master of his profession.)
V Sloveniji je vse manj mojstrov kovačev.
(There are less and less master blacksmiths in Slovenia.)
Včeraj je Roglič zopet zmagal tekmo. – Ja, on je res mojster.
(Yesterday Roglič won the race again. – Yes, he is really good.)
Expressions:
mojster besede / mojster peresa
(a wordsmith / a skillful writer)
vaja dela mojstra
(practice makes perfect)
Related:
strokovnjak – a professional, expert
poznavalec – connoisseur
Extra:
Slovenian children are familiar with two famous “masters”. You know the famous Frère Jacques? Our version goes under the name of Mojster Jaka. Listen to it here.
Bob the Builder is a renowned children’s animated series. In Slovenia, the series is called Mojster Miha. Here is one episode for the taste.
Translation: stitch, seam
The thing that holds our clothes together. You won’t encounter the word “šiv” in many situations; here are some more frequently used derivatives:
šivati – to sew, stitch
šivilja, šivilec – seamstress, seamster
kroj – cut, sewing pattern
krojiti – to tailor
krojač, krojačica – tailor
Examples:
Večere je preživljala ob šivanju oblek.
(She spent evenings sewing clothes.)
Ker mu je bila obleka preozka, so ji začeli pokati šivi.
(Because his suit was too tight, its seams started to burst.)
Zvok šivalnega stroja ga je pomiril.
(The sound of the sewing machine calmed him down.)
Sestra mu je rano na dlani zašila s šestimi šivi.
(The nurse sutured the wound on his palm with six stitches.)
Expressions:
pokati po šivih
(to burst at the seams; to be very busy)
Slovenska obala je med vikendom pokala po šivih.
(Slovenian coast was very busy on weekend.)
Related:
volna – wool
preja – yarn
igla – needle
Translation: week
This week I proudly present to you: teden. A week in Slovenia lasts seven days, just like in other parts of the world. The first letter in the names of days in Slovenian is not capitalized. Here are the days:
ponedeljek – Monday
torek – Tuesday
sreda – Wednesday
četrtek – Thursday
petek – Friday
sobota – Saturday
nedelja – Sunday
Examples:
Teden ima sedem dni.
(A week has seven days.)
Se teden začne na nedeljo ali ponedeljek?
(Does a week start on a Sunday or Monday?)
Prihodnji teden gremo na počitnice!
(Next week we’re going on holidays!)
Danes se začne teden mode v Ljubljani.
(Today begins the Ljubljana fashion week.)
Zdravljenje lahko traja tedne dolgo.
(The treatment can last for weeks.)
Related:
dan – day
mesec – month
leto – year
desetletje – decennial
stoletje – century
tisočletje – millenium
Translation: a stable, confusion (informal)
Štala is a colloquial word for a stable. But you will also hear it used in everyday speech as a description of a confused, disorderly situation or happening (pandemonium).
Examples:
Kmet je imel v štali pet krav.
(The farmer had five cows in the stable.)
In takrat se je začela prava štala.
(And that is when the pandemonium began.)
Včeraj sem domov prišel zelo pozno. Ženi ni bilo všeč – bila je cela štala.
(Yesterday I came home very late. My wife didn’t like it – it wasn’t pretty.)
Expressions:
Najprej štalca, pol pa kravca.
(lit. first a little stable, and then a small cow. You say it when you first want to be financially independent, to have a house, and only then you think of children.)
Related:
hlev – a stable
kaos – chaos
norišnica – asylum, pandemonium
Translation: vaccine
Let’s face it, the vaccine is on everyone’s mind these days. Hardly a day goes by without an article, a round table, or a radio show discussing the ultimate question: when?
Examples:
Cepivo proti ošpicam uspešno preprečuje smrt otrok.
(The measles vaccine successfully prevents children’s death.)
Nasprotniki cepiv se igrajo z ognjem.
(Vaccine opponents are playing with fire.)
Razvoj cepiva traja leta.
(The development of the vaccine takes years.)
Ampak, ali bo cepiva dovolj za vse?
(But, will there be enough vaccine for everyone?)
Related:
cepiti – to vaccinate
cepljenje – vaccination
bolezen – disease
gripa – flu
ošpice – measles
Extra:
Completely unrelated: cepiti doesn’t mean only to vaccinate, but also to chop wood (eg. cepiti drva). You have been warned.