Slovak has no articles, but it more than makes up for that with seven grammatical cases and a habit of changing word endings depending on what a word is doing in a sentence. These hundred words, the pronouns, prepositions, and verbs that show up in nearly every sentence, are worth learning first because they're everywhere. Once they click, a lot of what looked like noise starts to look like pattern.
How to use this list
Do not work through this list top to bottom. Read down it and mark only the words you could not have produced yourself. Those are your list. The rest are already yours, and reviewing them is wasted effort better spent on words you actually meet in reading, conversation, or subtitles.
The 100 words
| # | Slovak | English | In use |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | a | and | Kúpil som chlieb a mlieko.I bought bread and milk. |
| 2 | v | in | Kniha je v taške.The book is in the bag. |
| 3 | sa | oneself (reflexive) | On sa volá Peter.His name is Peter. |
| 4 | na | on | Mačka sedí na stole.The cat is sitting on the table. |
| 5 | je | is | Ona je učiteľka.She is a teacher. |
| 6 | že | that | Viem, že máš pravdu.I know that you're right. |
| 7 | som | I am | Som z Bratislavy.I am from Bratislava. |
| 8 | s | with | Idem do kina s kamarátom.I'm going to the movies with a friend. |
| 9 | to | it / that | To je moja sestra.That is my sister. |
| 10 | ako | how / as | Ako sa máš?How are you? |
| 11 | si | you are (informal) | Si veľmi milý.You are very kind. |
| 12 | do | into / to | Ideme do práce.We're going to work. |
| 13 | za | behind / for | Ďakujem za pomoc.Thank you for the help. |
| 14 | z | from / out of | Prišla z Košíc.She came from Košice. |
| 15 | ale | but | Som unavený, ale šťastný.I'm tired, but happy. |
| 16 | čo | what | Čo robíš?What are you doing? |
| 17 | keď | when | Zavolaj mi, keď prídeš.Call me when you arrive. |
| 18 | alebo | or | Chceš čaj alebo kávu?Do you want tea or coffee? |
| 19 | ja | I | Ja bývam v Bratislave.I live in Bratislava. |
| 20 | ty | you (sg.) | Ty hovoríš po slovensky?Do you speak Slovak? |
| 21 | on | he | On pracuje ako inžinier.He works as an engineer. |
| 22 | ona | she | Ona študuje medicínu.She studies medicine. |
| 23 | ono | it | Dieťa spí, ono je unavené.The child is sleeping, it is tired. |
| 24 | my | we | My ideme na výlet.We're going on a trip. |
| 25 | vy | you (pl. / formal) | Odkiaľ ste vy?Where are you from? |
| 26 | oni | they (masc.) | Oni bývajú blízko parku.They live near the park. |
| 27 | ony | they (fem. / neut.) | Ony sú sestry.They are sisters. |
| 28 | tento | this | Tento dom je nový.This house is new. |
| 29 | ten | that / the | Ten muž je môj otec.That man is my father. |
| 30 | tá | that (fem.) | Tá žena je moja teta.That woman is my aunt. |
| 31 | jeho | his / him | To je jeho auto.That is his car. |
| 32 | jej | her | To je jej kniha.That is her book. |
| 33 | môj | my | Toto je môj brat.This is my brother. |
| 34 | tvoj | your (sg.) | Kde je tvoj otec?Where is your father? |
| 35 | náš | our | Toto je náš dom.This is our house. |
| 36 | váš | your (pl. / formal) | Aký je váš názor?What is your opinion? |
| 37 | svoj | one's own | Miluje svoju prácu.He loves his own job. |
| 38 | nie | no / not | Nie, ďakujem.No, thank you. |
| 39 | už | already | Už som jedol.I already ate. |
| 40 | len | only | Mám len jedného brata.I have only one brother. |
| 41 | aj | also / too | Prišla aj moja sestra.My sister came too. |
| 42 | ešte | still / yet | Ešte spí.She is still sleeping. |
| 43 | veľmi | very | Tento film je veľmi zaujímavý.This movie is very interesting. |
| 44 | tak | so | Je tak unavená.She is so tired. |
| 45 | potom | then / after | Najprv jeme, potom ideme von.First we eat, then we go out. |
| 46 | pred | before / in front of | Auto je pred domom.The car is in front of the house. |
| 47 | po | after / along | Idem domov po práci.I'm going home after work. |
| 48 | medzi | between | Kľúč je medzi knihami.The key is between the books. |
| 49 | bez | without | Neviem žiť bez hudby.I can't live without music. |
| 50 | pri | near / at | Sedí pri okne.She's sitting by the window. |
| 51 | cez | through | Prešli sme cez park.We walked through the park. |
| 52 | pod | under | Mačka spí pod stolom.The cat is sleeping under the table. |
| 53 | nad | above | Lampa visí nad stolom.The lamp hangs above the table. |
| 54 | kto | who | Kto je tam?Who is there? |
| 55 | ktorý | which / who | To je muž, ktorý mi pomohol.That is the man who helped me. |
| 56 | kde | where | Kde bývaš?Where do you live? |
| 57 | prečo | why | Prečo si smutný?Why are you sad? |
| 58 | byť | to be | Chcem byť lekárom.I want to be a doctor. |
| 59 | bol | was (masc.) | Včera bol pekný deň.Yesterday was a nice day. |
| 60 | bola | was (fem.) | Ona bola veľmi unavená.She was very tired. |
| 61 | boli | were (pl.) | Boli sme na dovolenke.We were on vacation. |
| 62 | mať | to have | Chcem mať viac času.I want to have more time. |
| 63 | mám | I have | Mám dve sestry.I have two sisters. |
| 64 | má | has | On má nové auto.He has a new car. |
| 65 | robiť | to do / make | Musím robiť domáce úlohy.I have to do homework. |
| 66 | robí | does / makes | Čo robí tvoj brat?What does your brother do? |
| 67 | ísť | to go | Chcem ísť domov.I want to go home. |
| 68 | ide | goes | Vlak ide rýchlo.The train goes fast. |
| 69 | chcieť | to want | Chcieť nestačí, treba aj konať.Wanting isn't enough, you also have to act. |
| 70 | chcem | I want | Chcem sa naučiť po slovensky.I want to learn Slovak. |
| 71 | môcť | can / to be able to | Nemôžem prísť dnes.I can't come today. |
| 72 | môže | can (3rd person) | On môže hovoriť po anglicky.He can speak English. |
| 73 | vedieť | to know | Chcem vedieť pravdu.I want to know the truth. |
| 74 | viem | I know | Neviem odpoveď.I don't know the answer. |
| 75 | povedať | to say | Chcem ti povedať niečo dôležité.I want to tell you something important. |
| 76 | povedal | said | Povedal mi pravdu.He told me the truth. |
| 77 | vidieť | to see | Chcem vidieť more.I want to see the sea. |
| 78 | vidím | I see | Nevidím dobre bez okuliarov.I don't see well without glasses. |
| 79 | dať | to give | Chcem ti dať darček.I want to give you a gift. |
| 80 | dal | gave | Dal mi dobrú radu.He gave me good advice. |
| 81 | deň | day | Dnes je krásny deň.Today is a beautiful day. |
| 82 | čas | time | Nemám čas.I don't have time. |
| 83 | rok | year | Tento rok som veľa cestoval.This year I traveled a lot. |
| 84 | život | life | Život je krátky.Life is short. |
| 85 | človek | person | Je to dobrý človek.He is a good person. |
| 86 | dom | house | Náš dom je pri parku.Our house is near the park. |
| 87 | práca | work | Moja práca sa začína o ôsmej.My work starts at eight. |
| 88 | ruka | hand | Držal knihu v ruke.He held the book in his hand. |
| 89 | voda | water | Pijem veľa vody.I drink a lot of water. |
| 90 | žena | woman | Tá žena pracuje ako lekárka.That woman works as a doctor. |
| 91 | muž | man | Ten muž je môj sused.That man is my neighbor. |
| 92 | dieťa | child | Dieťa sa hrá na dvore.The child is playing in the yard. |
| 93 | vec | thing | To je dôležitá vec.That is an important thing. |
| 94 | slovo | word | Nerozumel som ani slovo.I didn't understand a single word. |
| 95 | dobrý | good | Je to veľmi dobrý reštaurant.It's a very good restaurant. |
| 96 | veľký | big | Bývajú vo veľkom dome.They live in a big house. |
| 97 | nový | new | Kúpil som si nový telefón.I bought a new phone. |
| 98 | prvý | first | Toto bol môj prvý deň v práci.This was my first day at work. |
| 99 | milovať | to love | Milujem svoju rodinu.I love my family. |
| 100 | rodina | family | Moja rodina je veľmi dôležitá pre mňa.My family is very important to me. |
The ones English speakers get wrong
Seven grammatical cases
Slovak nouns decline across seven cases, nominative, genitive, dative, accusative, locative, instrumental, and vocative, so the same word changes shape depending on its role. Žena (woman, nominative) becomes ženy in the genitive and žene in the dative. Learning a noun means learning its whole pattern, not just one form.
ty vs. vy
Ty is the informal "you," used with friends, family, and children. Vy is both the plural and the formal singular, the standard choice with strangers, elders, or in professional settings.
Aspect pairs: dokonavý vs. nedokonavý
Like other Slavic languages, Slovak verbs come in perfective and imperfective pairs. Robiť (imperfective, to do or be doing something ongoing) contrasts with urobiť (perfective, to complete doing it). Choosing the wrong one changes whether an action sounds finished or still happening.
Slovak vs. Czech
Slovak and Czech are close enough that speakers often understand each other without translation, but they are not the same language. Vocabulary and grammar diverge in real ways, for example Slovak ďakujem versus Czech děkuji for "thank you," so the two aren't interchangeable.
Diacritics change meaning, not just accent
The mäkčeň (ˇ) and dĺžeň (´) marks aren't decorative, they distinguish real words. Byt (apartment) and byť (to be) look almost identical but mean nothing alike, and dropping the marks can make a sentence genuinely ambiguous, not just accented differently.
False friend: rodina
Rodina simply means "family" in Slovak. It's easy for English speakers to associate it with words like "nation" or a Russian-sounding "homeland," but it has nothing to do with either, it's the ordinary word for the people you grew up with.
What to do next
A list this size is about two weeks of light daily review, and it is the difference between decoding Slovak and following it.