Slovenian has no articles, but it makes up for that with six cases and a dual number most European languages dropped centuries ago. The words below are the ones doing the heavy lifting in daily speech, the pronouns, the verb 'to be', the connectors that hold sentences together. Learn these first and the rest of the language starts falling into place.
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
| # | Slovenian | English | In use |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | in | and | Rada berem knjige in gledam filme.I like reading books and watching movies. |
| 2 | je | is | Ona je zdravnica.She is a doctor. |
| 3 | se | oneself / each other | Otroci se igrajo v parku.The children are playing in the park. |
| 4 | na | on | Knjiga je na mizi.The book is on the table. |
| 5 | da | that | Mislim, da je prav.I think that he's right. |
| 6 | ne | no / not | Ne razumem tega.I don't understand this. |
| 7 | za | for | To darilo je za tebe.This gift is for you. |
| 8 | so | are | Oni so prijatelji.They are friends. |
| 9 | v | in | Živimo v Ljubljani.We live in Ljubljana. |
| 10 | ki | which / who | Punca, ki tam stoji, je moja sestra.The girl who is standing there is my sister. |
| 11 | z | with | Grem na sprehod z psom.I'm going for a walk with the dog. |
| 12 | tudi | also | Tudi jaz imam rad kavo.I also like coffee. |
| 13 | kot | as / like | Dela kot učitelj.He works as a teacher. |
| 14 | bi | would | Rad bi kavo.I would like a coffee. |
| 15 | pa | but / and | Jaz grem domov, ona pa ostane.I'm going home, but she's staying. |
| 16 | ali | or | Hočeš čaj ali kavo?Do you want tea or coffee? |
| 17 | do | until / to | Delam do petih.I work until five. |
| 18 | iz | from | Prihajam iz Slovenije.I come from Slovenia. |
| 19 | po | after / along | Sprehodimo se po parku.Let's walk through the park. |
| 20 | ta | this | Ta knjiga je zanimiva.This book is interesting. |
| 21 | tisti | that (one) | Tisti mož je moj sosed.That man is my neighbor. |
| 22 | biti | to be | Želim biti srečen.I want to be happy. |
| 23 | imeti | to have | Imam dva brata.I have two brothers. |
| 24 | jaz | I | Jaz sem iz Maribora.I am from Maribor. |
| 25 | ti | you | Ti si moj najboljši prijatelj.You are my best friend. |
| 26 | on | he | On dela v pisarni.He works in an office. |
| 27 | ona | she | Ona rada kuha.She likes to cook. |
| 28 | mi | we | Mi gremo na morje.We're going to the seaside. |
| 29 | vi | you (plural) | Vi ste zelo prijazni.You all are very kind. |
| 30 | oni | they | Oni živijo v Celju.They live in Celje. |
| 31 | moj | my | To je moj avto.This is my car. |
| 32 | tvoj | your | Kje je tvoj telefon?Where is your phone? |
| 33 | njegov | his | Njegov pes je zelo velik.His dog is very big. |
| 34 | njen | her | Njen brat študira v Ljubljani.Her brother studies in Ljubljana. |
| 35 | naš | our | To je naša hiša.This is our house. |
| 36 | vaš | your (plural) | Kako je vaše ime?What is your name? |
| 37 | njihov | their | Njihov avto je rdeč.Their car is red. |
| 38 | kdo | who | Kdo je to napisal?Who wrote this? |
| 39 | kaj | what | Kaj delaš nocoj?What are you doing tonight? |
| 40 | kje | where | Kje zdaj živiš?Where do you live now? |
| 41 | kdaj | when | Kdaj prideš domov?When are you coming home? |
| 42 | kako | how | Kako se počutiš?How do you feel? |
| 43 | zakaj | why | Zakaj si žalosten?Why are you sad? |
| 44 | koliko | how much / many | Koliko to stane?How much does this cost? |
| 45 | tukaj | here | Živim tukaj že deset let.I've lived here for ten years already. |
| 46 | tam | there | Trgovina je tam čez cesto.The store is over there, across the street. |
| 47 | zdaj | now | Zdaj moram iti.I have to go now. |
| 48 | potem | then | Najprej pojejmo, potem pa se pogovorimo.Let's eat first, then talk. |
| 49 | vedno | always | Vedno vstanem ob sedmih.I always get up at seven. |
| 50 | nikoli | never | Nikoli nisem bil v Ameriki.I've never been to America. |
| 51 | zelo | very | Ta film je zelo dober.This movie is very good. |
| 52 | samo | only | Imam samo eno sestro.I only have one sister. |
| 53 | že | already | Že sem pojedel kosilo.I've already eaten lunch. |
| 54 | še | still / yet | Še vedno dežuje.It's still raining. |
| 55 | lahko | can / may | Lahko mi pomagaš?Can you help me? |
| 56 | morati | must / have to | Moram iti v službo.I have to go to work. |
| 57 | hoteti | to want | Hočem se naučiti slovenščino.I want to learn Slovenian. |
| 58 | vedeti | to know | Ne vem, kje je moj ključ.I don't know where my key is. |
| 59 | videti | to see | Vidim goro v daljavi.I see a mountain in the distance. |
| 60 | iti | to go | Grem v trgovino.I'm going to the store. |
| 61 | priti | to come | Prosim, pridi jutri ob osmih.Please come tomorrow at eight. |
| 62 | reči | to say | Kaj si hotel reči?What did you want to say? |
| 63 | narediti | to make / do | Moram narediti domačo nalogo.I have to do my homework. |
| 64 | delati | to work / do | Delam v bolnišnici.I work in a hospital. |
| 65 | dati | to give | Daj mi tisto knjigo, prosim.Give me that book, please. |
| 66 | vzeti | to take | Vzemi dežnik, ker bo deževalo.Take an umbrella because it's going to rain. |
| 67 | misliti | to think | Kaj misliš o tem?What do you think about this? |
| 68 | govoriti | to speak | Govorim slovensko in angleško.I speak Slovenian and English. |
| 69 | gledati | to watch / look | Rad gledam nogomet.I like watching soccer. |
| 70 | čas | time | Nimam časa za to.I don't have time for this. |
| 71 | leto | year | Naslednje leto grem v Italijo.Next year I'm going to Italy. |
| 72 | dan | day | Danes je lep dan.Today is a nice day. |
| 73 | človek | person | Vsak človek je drugačen.Every person is different. |
| 74 | ljudje | people | Na trgu je veliko ljudi.There are many people in the square. |
| 75 | otrok | child | Otrok se smeje.The child is laughing. |
| 76 | mož | husband / man | Njen mož dela kot zdravnik.Her husband works as a doctor. |
| 77 | žena | wife / woman | Moja žena kuha večerjo.My wife is cooking dinner. |
| 78 | dom | home | Moj dom je v Kranju.My home is in Kranj. |
| 79 | hiša | house | Kupili smo novo hišo.We bought a new house. |
| 80 | mesto | city | Ljubljana je glavno mesto Slovenije.Ljubljana is the capital city of Slovenia. |
| 81 | svet | world | Rad bi videl svet.I would like to see the world. |
| 82 | voda | water | Prosim, daj mi kozarec vode.Please give me a glass of water. |
| 83 | hrana | food | Ta hrana je zelo okusna.This food is very tasty. |
| 84 | denar | money | Nimam dovolj denarja.I don't have enough money. |
| 85 | delo | work | Njeno delo je zelo zanimivo.Her work is very interesting. |
| 86 | šola | school | Otroci gredo v šolo ob osmih.The children go to school at eight. |
| 87 | prijatelj | friend | On je moj najboljši prijatelj.He is my best friend. |
| 88 | družina | family | Moja družina je velika.My family is big. |
| 89 | beseda | word | Ne poznam te besede.I don't know this word. |
| 90 | knjiga | book | Berem zelo zanimivo knjigo.I'm reading a very interesting book. |
| 91 | dober | good | To je zelo dobra ideja.This is a very good idea. |
| 92 | velik | big | Imajo velik vrt.They have a big garden. |
| 93 | majhen | small | Živimo v majhnem mestu.We live in a small town. |
| 94 | nov | new | Kupil sem nov telefon.I bought a new phone. |
| 95 | star | old | Ta hiša je zelo stara.This house is very old. |
| 96 | lep | beautiful | Danes je zelo lep dan zunaj.Today is a very beautiful day outside. |
| 97 | dolg | long | Pot do morja je dolga.The way to the sea is long. |
| 98 | prvi | first | To je moj prvi dan v službi.This is my first day at work. |
| 99 | drugi | other / second | Vzemi drugi kos torte.Take the other piece of cake. |
| 100 | vse | everything | Hvala za vse.Thanks for everything. |
The ones English speakers get wrong
The dual number
Slovenian is one of the few European languages that still has a dual, a special grammatical number just for exactly two of something, separate from singular and plural. "Midva greva" means "the two of us are going," while "me gremo" would be three or more people. Learners often default to plural forms out of habit, and native speakers notice right away.
delati vs. narediti
Both mean "to do" or "to make," but Slovenian verbs come in aspect pairs and these two show it clearly. "Delati" is imperfective, an ongoing or habitual action, as in "Delam nalogo" (I am doing the homework, in progress). "Narediti" is perfective, a completed action, as in "Naredil sem nalogo" (I finished the homework).
na vs. v with locations
Slovenian, like other Slavic languages, pairs certain place names with "na" and others with "v," and there's no logical rule for which. You say "v Ljubljani" (in Ljubljana) but "na Bledu" (in Bled), and "na fakulteti" (at university) but "v šoli" (at school). These pairings mostly have to be learned noun by noun.
Ali means two different things
"Ali" is both the word for "or," as in "čaj ali kava" (tea or coffee), and a yes-or-no question particle placed at the start of a sentence, as in "Ali greš z nami?" (Are you coming with us?). English has no equivalent particle, so beginners often miss the second use entirely.
Six grammatical cases
Slovenian nouns, adjectives, and pronouns decline through six cases, so "hiša" (house) becomes "hiše," "hiši," "hišo," and more depending on its role in the sentence. This is one of the steepest parts of learning Slovenian for English speakers, who are used to word order doing that job instead of endings.
What to do next
A list this size is about two weeks of light daily review, and it is the difference between decoding Slovenian and following it.