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.)
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)
Listen to the pronunciation of Slovenian words and phrases.
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
Listen to the pronunciation of Slovenian words and phrases.
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.
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:
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.
Listen to the pronunciation of Slovenian words and phrases.
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:
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.)
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.
Listen to the pronunciation of Slovenian words and phrases.