Slovak - English Phrasebook

By Ernest C Smitten

Speak Slovak as soon as you step foot in Slovakia with this thoroughly helpful phrasebook, featuring complete phrases, questions and answers, for all kinds of travel situations. Every phrase has a phonetic pronunciation guide to help you be understood. Three different dictionaries let you find the words you want to say, as well as the words you hear. And the grammar section lets you expand your Slovak language knowledge for continued learning.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu.com
• Release date: Jan 13, 2015
• ISBN: 9781312817159

Book preview

Slovak - English Phrasebook

Slovak – English phrasebook

with clear explanations and phonetics

by an American, for Americans

Phrases / Pronunciation / Usage / Dictionary / Grammar

It would have been impossible to put this book together without the patient help of many incredibly friendly Slovak people, including, but not limited to :

Ková, Peká, Anes, Mirka, Igor, Nadežda, Malá Lenka, Hi-Lenka, Luba, Majki, Peter, Števa, Lenka Kmeťová, Mato, and the Kmeť family, Stano, Erika, Maria, Miša, Miša, Yo-yo, Zuska, Josef, Roman, Peter, Leeloo, Erik, Lucia, Stanka, Alenka, Soňa, Romana, Renáta, oh you know - everyone in Prievidza, Saša, Super-Kova, Voda, Kika, Charlotte, and Nika Hrehová and the Hreha family.

Copyright

ISBN  978-1-312-81715-9

© Ernest C. Smitten 2004


Slovak proofreading by Nika Hrehová


all photos © Ernest C. Smitten

first edition, 2004


 second edition, 2009


 third edition, 2014

THE BASICS

Alphabet / Abeceda

(ah-beh-tseh-dah)

alphabet / abeceda                 example / príklad

A        ah        always

Á         aaah        akward - long A

Ä        eh        peck - Ä is very similar to E. Shape your mouth to say AY, but

say EH instead. Or simply say it like E - you will be understood.

B        beh        botch

C        tseh        parts

Č        chuh        cherry

D        deh        devil

E        eh        excellent

F        eff        forget

G        geh        grace

H        ha        hey - when followed by a consonant, sounds like huh

- at the end of a word, h sounds like ch, the next letter in the Slovak alphabet.

CH     xhuh        like a cat hissing - a noise made in the back of the mouth

I         ee        feast  - Try to resist saying IH. I is always pronounced EE

Í        eeee        long E - tree - Hold it out a bit.

J        yuh        yogurt - Again, resist the English pronunciation.

K        kah        kick

L        luh        little

Ľ        lua        Softened consonants, like the soft L, combine with a subtle YEH sound

and trail off. The middle of the tongue moves to the roof

of the mouth. Practice definitely required. This is a soft, subtle sound.

M        em        mermaid

N        en        nervous

Ň        nyuh        soft N - Like the N in California, even when it's the last letter in the word

O        oh        Oh! - Resist other pronunciations, like ah.

Ó        oooh        long O - robot - Hold it out for a bit.

Ô        ool        wow - Even at the beginning of a word, it leads with the W sound

P        puh        public

R        ruh        R is always trilled, even elegantly rolled sometimes, as in many European

languages.

Ŕ        rrruh        long R, also trilled or rolled

S        ess        snail

Š        shuh        Shhh! Quiet!

T        teh        trick

Ť        tyeh        soft T - Like the other softened consonants, combines with YEH

sound and trails off. Similar to quickly saying TO YOU, but with a slight hint of CHUH.

U        oo        rude - Resist saying uh in all cases, or a lazy oo. You should be pursing your lips.

Ú        oooo        long U - food

V        veh        very

Y        ypsilon or ee  sweet - Always said like EE, never YEH.

Ý        ýpsilon or eeee  long Y - tree

Z        zed or zuh        zoo

Ž        zhuh or zhed    juice - but with a little more Z to it

You may have noticed that Q, W, and X are missing from the Slovak alphabet. But they must be pronounced when they appear in a foreign word. So Q is pronounced KVEH. For example, quiz is said KVEEZ. W acts just like V, so worldwide web sites begin with VEH VEH VEH (www). X is said like in English - eks or sometimes like eeks.

For the most part, words can be said properly by just putting the sounds of the letters together. Vowel sounds are more exaggerated than in English. Practice moving your mouth more dramatically, or think of it as singing (more like Sinatra than rock n’ roll).

Letters are never silent in Slovak. Sometimes, there will be three consonants in a row, for example, krv (blood), is pronounced like curve, but with the R trilled (functioning like a vowel). Or difficult sounds may be next to each other, like in chcem (I want), pronounced XH-tsem, but you just have to put those sounds together, and practice a bit.

There are a few combinations of letters that try to throw you off.

AV before a consonant is pronounced OW like in the English word how. A few examples :

prestávka (preh-STAUU-kah)  break, rest, lunch break

zastávka (zah-STAUU-kah) bus stop, stopping point

The beginning of the word always gets the main stress in pronunciation. This can feel unnatural at times, but it greatly assists in hearing where one word ends, and the next begins. The two examples above illustrate a common exception, which is when a long vowel moves the stress to the even-numbered syllable.

Another hidden pronunciation problem is the automatic softening of D and N, and T, when followed by an E. There need not be any written mark to indicate this softening. You must simply remember that DE, NE, and TE always have that soft YEH sound trailing off at the end. This does NOT apply to the long E. There is a small -yeh in the pronunciation hint as a reminder, but the sound is actually soft, quick, and subtle. It requires plenty of practice to say it correctly. Examples :

v odpade (vuh OHD-pah-dyeh) m. in the garbage

Čaute! (CHOW-tyeh) pl. hi, goodbye

presne (PRESS-nyeh) exactly

lacné (LAHTS-nehh) cheap (neutral) -no softening

There are rare exceptions where the e is not softened, such as debil (DEH-bill) moron.

The letter combination UJE, used in many verbs, is pronounced (oo-way). For instance, the word for Thank you. is d'akujem (d'YAHK-wee-em). More help with the soft D: The mouth should be formed to say D, (tip of tongue pressed behind top teeth), but actually say (Yahk), and you will naturally hear a bit of a D sound as the tongue leaves the roof of the mouth. In general, the mouth should move more than when speaking English, each sound should be exaggerated a little, and you will be better understood. For instance, the letter U should be said with the lips rounded, more like OOH! But once again, for emphasis, the soft consonants do take a bit of a YEH sound, but should always trail away quickly, with as much subtlety as you can physically muster.

Other vowel combinations are more regular, such as ou, which sounds like oh-oo, but eu, is said like ehv. For instance,

Europe          Europa (EHV-roh-pah)

euro              euro (EHV-roh)

Questions are made with question words, but also with a rising intonation at the end of the sentence, just like in English.

And finally, there are a few consonants that are always pronounced softer or harder when followed by a hard consonant, because they would create a break in the flow of speech otherwise.

softened K :   kde (guh-DEH) where

hardened V :  vtak (ff-TAHK) bird

Despite Slovakia's small size, pronunciation does vary regionally, as with any language. The central area, including Zvolen, Banská Bystrica, Nitra, Trenčín, Martin, Žilina, and Prievidza, boasts the most pure form of spoken Slovak, and the accent here is actually easiest for westerners to understand. In the capital city of Bratislava, there tends to be a slightly affected accent, which flattens some of the color of the language, such as pronouncing NE more like (neh) than (nyeh), possibly also due to the influence of frequent travels and communications with Prague and Vienna. The eastern part of the country borders Ukraine and Hungary, and the accent is noticeably more eastern, and the slang is a little different. Across the country from Bratislava (pop. 450,000), is the only other large city in Slovakia, Košice (pop. 220,000), and as in most cities, the people speak more quickly. Central Slovaks will sometimes stretch out nie (no) for emphasis (nEEEE-yehhhh), while in Bratislava (or Blava, for short), it is often more like the Czech ne (neh), and in the East, it may sound more like a soft N (nyeh).

Basic Words

Formal speech is used for anyone you don't know, such as strangers on the street, the people working at the market, and even people that are older than you, that you have come to know to some degree, may desire to maintain that level of formality, as a matter of custom. The form for addressing someone with formal speech is simply the same as the 2nd person plural.

basic greetings and expressions / základné pozdravy a výrazy

formal and common / formálne a obyčajné

Good day, hello     Dobrý deň (DOH-brEE deh-nyeh) - short form Dobrý is common

Good morning        Dobré ráno (DOH-brayy RAAHN-oh)

Good evening        Dobrý večer (DOH-breee VEH-chair)

Have a nice evening        Pekný večer (PECK-nee VEH-chair)

Good night (bedtime)        Dobrú noc (DOH-broo noh-ts)

Goodbye                 Do videnia (DOH vee-DAYN-yah)

How are you?          Ako sa máte? (AH-koh sah MAH-tyeh) pl./formal

How are you?          Ako sa máš? (AH-koh sah MAHsh?) s.

Good, and you?       Dobre, a vy? pl./formal a ty? s. (DOH-breh, ah VEE? / ah TEE?)

What's your name?     Ako sa voláte? (AH-koh sah voh-LAH-tyeh?) pl./formal

Ako sa voláš? (AH-koh sah voh-LAHsh?) s.

Pleased to meet you.        Teší ma. (TEH-sheee mah.)

It was nice meeting you.   Tešilo ma. (TEH-shee-loh mah.)

I'm... My name is...       Ja som... Moje meno je...

(YAH sohm... MOY-yeh MEH-no yeh...)

last name / nickname   priezvisko / prezývka (PREE-ehz-VEES-koh / PREHZ-eeev-kah)

This is...                    Toto je... (TOH-toh yeh...)

my friend (m.)        môj kamarát (MWOY KAHM-ah-RAHHD)

my friend (f.)           moja kamarátka (MOY-yah KAHM-ah-RAHHT-kah)

my boyfriend          môj priateľ, frajer (MWOY PREE-ah-TEHLyeh, FRAI-yahr)

my girlfriend          moja priateľka, frajerka (MOY-yah PREE-ah-TEHL-kah, FRAI-yahr-kah)

my husband, wife    môj muž, moja žena (MWOY MOOzh, MOY-yah ZHEH-nah)

Do you speak Slovak?       Hovoríte / hovoríš po slovensky? 


(HOH-voh-REEE-tyeh / HOH-voh-reesh POH sloh-VEHN-skee?)

Yes, a little.                        Áno, trošku. (AHH-noh, TROH-shkoo.)

Only a bit.                        Len troška. (LEN TROH-shkah.)

You speak Slovak well!        Dobre hovoríte / hovoríš po slovensky!

(DOH-breh HOH-voh-REEE-tyeh / HOH-voh-reesh...)

Really? Thank you.                 Áno? D'akujem. (AHH-noh? d'YAHK-wee-em.)

You speak English well!        Hovoríte / hovoríš dobre po anglicky!

(...poh ahn-GLEE-tskee!)

Bon appetit!                          Dobrú chuť ! (DOH-broo xhOOt)

- very commonly said, even if you only have a small snack

Yes.               Áno. (AHH-noh)

No.                  Nie. (NEE-yeh)

OK. Fine.        Dobré.  Môže byť.

Is that ok? Good?       Dobré? (doh-BREHH?) Môže byť? (MWOH-zheh BEETyeh?)

It's good                       To je dobré. (TOH yeh DOH-braay)

It's bad                         To je zlé. (TOH yeh ZLEHH)

and                              a (ah)

but                               ale (AH-leh)

No way!                       Ale nie! (AH-leh NYEH)

too, also                       tiež (tee-EHZH)

as well, also                aj (like English word eye)

Me too!                        Aj ja! (EYE yah)

neither                         ani (AH-nee) (not to be used in item-choosing situations)

Me neither                  Ani ja. (AH-nee yah)

(You may not,) but I do...       Ale ja, áno. (AH-leh YAH, AHH-noh)

Is that true? Really?               Je to pravda? Naozaj?

(YEH toh PRAU-dah? NAH-oh-ZIGH?)

Of course                               Samozrejme. (SAH-mohz-REH-meh)

Definitely                               Určite. (OOR-chee-teh)

Do you like it here?               Páči sa vám/ti tu?

(PAHH-chee sah vahhm (pl.) / tee (fam.) TOO?)

What are you doing here?    Čo tu robíte/robíš?

(CHOH too ROH-beee-tyeh / ROH-beesh?)

very                                Veľmi. (VEHL-mee)

a lot / much                   veľa (VEHL-ah)

a little                            trochu, trošku (TROH-xhoo, TROH-shkoo)

just a tiny bit                  trocha, troška (TROH-xhah, TROH-shkah)

everything                      všetko  (FSHEHT-koh)

nothing                          nič  (neetch)

everybody (gen., spec.)       každý, všetci (KAH-zhdeee, FSHEH-tsee)

no one                            nikto (NEEK-toh)

someone                        niekto (NEE-ehk-toh)

already                           už (oozh)

not any more                 už nie (oozh NYEH)

still, more                       ešte (EHSH-teh)

not yet                            ešte nie (EHSH-teh NYEH)

still, continuing              stále (STAHHL-eh)

possibly                       možno (MOH-zhnoh)

probably                        pravdepodobne (PRAU-dyeh-poh-DOHB-nyeh)

Please                              Prosím. (PRO-seeem) - literally, I ask

Excuse me (sorry)            Prepáčte. (preh-PAHTCH-tyeh) - lit. forgive me

Excuse me (help?)           Prosím Vás. (PRO-seeem VAHS) - lit. I ask you

I'm sorry. (serious)           Je mi ľuto. (YEH mee LOO-toh)

Go ahead/I can help you.     Nech sa páči. (NEXH sah PAHH-chee)

May I?                              Môžem? / Smiem? (MWOH-zhehm? / SMEE-em?)

Thank you.                       D'akujem. (d'YAHK-wee-em)

You're welcome.              Prosím. / Páči sa. / Nemáte začo. 


(PRO-seeem / PAHH-chee sah / nyeh-MAH-tyeh zah CHOH)

Tell me, please...        Povedzte mi, prosim... (poh-VEDZ-tyeh mee PRO-seem)

Can you tell me...?      Viete mi povedať...? (VEE-yeh-tyeh mee POH-veh-dahtyeh...?)

It's hard to say.            Tažko povedať. (TAHZH-koh PO-vehd-ahtyeh)

Come in!                      Pod'(te) d'alej! (POHDyeh DyAH-lay!) -lit. Come further!

Where is...?                      Kde je...? (geh-DyEH yeh...?)

the bathroom                   záchod / wecko (WC - water closet) / toaleta

(ZAHH-xhohd / VEHTS-koh / TOH-wah-LEH-tah)

There it is.                        Tam je to. (TAHM yeh TOH.)

To the right. / left.             Doprava. / Doľava. (doh-PRAH-vah / doh-LyAH-vah)

On the right. / left.            Vpravo. / Vľavo. (FPRAH-voh / FLyAH-voh)

Here it is.                          Tu je to. (TOO yeh TOH.) - use a round mouth: tOO, not two

Who is it?                         Kto je to? (guh-DOH yeh TOH?)

What is it?                        Čo je to? (CHOH yeh TOH?)

What did you say?           Prosím? (PRO-seeem?)

What?!!                             Čože?!! (CHOH-ZHEH?!!)

Why?                                Prečo? (PREH-choh?)

Because...                        Pretože... / Lebo... (PREH-toh-zheh, LEH-boh)

So, such                           Tak (tahk)

That's how it is.                Je to tak. (YEH toh tahk)

When?                             Kedy? (keh-DEE?)

When she comes.           Ked' (ona) pride. (KEDyeh OH-nah PREE-deh)

Where to?                       Kam? (KAHM?)

Where are you going?    Kam idete / ideš? (KAHM EE-deh-tyeh (pl.) EE-desh (fam.)?)

Where are you from?     Odkiaľ / Skadiaľ ste / si? 


(OHD-kee-ahl / SKAH-dee-ahl steh/see?) pl./s.

Which one?                       Ktorý? (kuh-TOHR-ee?)

How much / many?           Koľko? (KOHL-koh?)

How? How's that again?   Ako? (AH-koh?) Prosím? (PRO-seeem?)

I can't hear you                 Nepočujem. (nyeh-POH-chway-em)

Once more?                      Ešte raz? (EHSH-teh rahz?)

Slowly please.                  Pomaly prosím. (POH-mah-lee PRO-seeem.)

I think that..., I mean to say...     Myslím že... (MEE-sleeem zheh...)

I will. / I will not.                         Budem. / Nebudem. (BOO-dyehm, NyEH-boo-dyehm)

I want. / I don't want.                   Chcem. / Nechcem. (XH-tsehm, NyEH-xh-tsehm)

I like. / I don't like. (appearance)     Páči sa mi. / Nepáči sa mi.

(PAHH-chee SAH mee, NYEH-pahh-chee SAH mee)

I like. / I don't like (substance of) M     Mám rád. / Nemám rád. 


(MAHHM rahhd, NYEH-mahhm rahhd)

I like. / I don't like. (substance of) F     Mám rada. / Nemám rada.

(MAHHM rah-dah, NYEH-mahhm rah-dah)

awesome, terrific                    výborné, skvelé (VEEE-bohr-nyehh, SKVEH-lehh)

(that's) awful                            hrozne (huh-ROHZ-nyeh)

terrible, terribly (very)               strašne (STRAHSH-neee, STRAHSH-nyeh)

I know. / I don't know.               Ja viem. / Neviem. (YAH VEE-ehm, NyEH-vee-ehm)

What does that mean?             Čo to znamená? (CHOH toh ZNAH-meh-nah?)

I understand. / I don't.               Rozumiem. / Nerozumiem. 


(ROHZ-oo-MEE-em, NYEH-rohz-oo-mee-em)

Nevermind. Don't worry about it.      Nevadí. (NYEH-vah-dee)

It's the same to me, either way.        Je mi to jedno. / To je jedno.

(YEH mee toh YEHD-noh. / TOH yeh YEHD-noh)

Can we go?                        Môžeme isť? / Ideme? (MWOH-zheh-meh EEST? / ee-DEH-may?)

No problem.                        Žiadný problém. (zhee-AHD-nee proh-blehhm)

Let's go!                              Pod'me! (POHD-meh)

I'm coming!                         Už idem! (OOZH ee-DyEHM!) - lit. Already I go.

How long? Until when?        Ako dlho? Dokedy? (AH-koh dul-HO? DOH-keh-DEE?)

How far?                              Ako d'aleko? (AH-koh dyah-LEH-koh?)

Which direction?                 Akým smerom? (AH-keem SMAIR-om?)

This / that way                     tadeto, tadiaľto (TAH-deh-TOH, TAH-dee-ahl-toh)

Informal basics   /  Neformálne základy

Hi and Bye                          Ahoj. / Čau. / Servus. / Nazdar (from Czech)

(AH-hoy, chow, SEHR-voos, NAHZ-dahr)

Hi and Bye to a group        Ahojte, Čaute (AH-hoy-tyeh, CHOW-tyeh)

Bye-bye.                            Dovi. / Pá. / Pápá. / Čau Čau. / Čau Zaťiaľ. (repetition is common)


(DOH-vee, PAHH, PAHH-pahh, CHOW CHOW, chow ZAH-tyee-ahl)

What's your name?          Ako sa voláš? (AH-koh sah voh-LAHSH?)

How's it going?                 Ako sa máš?, Jak se máš? (Czech, but commonly used)


(AH-koh sah MAHHSH, YAHK seh MAHSH?)

Good, you?                         Dobre, a ty? (DOH-breh, ah tee?)

Thanks.                              Diky. / Vd'aka. (DEE-kee, vuh-DAH-kah)

Where are you from?           Odkiaľ si? (OHD-kee-ahl see?)

Do you like it here?               Páči sa ti tu? (PAH-chee sah tee TOO?)

What’re you doing here?      Čo tu robíš? (CHOH too ROH-beeesh?)

What's up?                         Čo je? / Čo ty? / Ako? (CHOH yeh?, CHOH tee? AH-koh?)

Sorry.                                   Prepač. / Pardón. / Sorry.

(PREH-pahch, pahr-doohn, SOH-ree)

Excuse me, Can I ask?        Prosím ťa? (PROH-seeem TyAH)

Yeah        .                          No. (short for áno), Hej. (noh, hey)

Maybe so, maybe not          Asi hej, asi nie. (AH-see HEY, AH-see NyEH)

Tell me something...             Povedz mi niečo... (poh-VEHDZ mee nee-YEH-choh)

Can you tell me...              Môžeš mi povedať... (MWOH-zhehsh mee POH-veh-dahtyeh?)

You're welcome,                 Nemáš za čo. / Neni zač. 
don't worry about it.

(nyeh-MAAHSH za CHOH / nyeh-nee zahtch)

Too bad for you!            Máš smolu. (MAHsh SMOH-loo)

Similar Words

words that are similar in Slovak and English  / slova ktoré su podobné v slovenčine a v angličtine

abnormal                          nenormálny (NyEH-nor-MAHHL-nee)

absolutism                         absolutizmus (AHB-soh-LOOT-eez-moos)

abstract