Lesson 2 Vocabulary: Prosím si
Let’s practice ordering food and describing things! New vocabulary words will teach you basic adjectives useful in describing your meal and your friends. You will also learn few basic phrases, such as prosím si (I would like). These two words will surely come in handy on your next visit to a Slovak restaurant or a pub. For the background info, please see the lesson 2 dialog and the grammar section.
New Adjectives
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
hungry: hladný (masc.), hladná (fem.), hladné (neut.)
thirsty: smädný (M), smädná (F), smädné (N)
pretty: pekný, pekná, pekné
ugly: škaredý, škaredá, škaredé
old: starý, stará, staré
new: nový, nová, nové
warm: teplý, teplá, teplé
hot: horúci, horúca, horúce
cold: studený, studená, studené
good: dobrý, dobrá, dobré
excellent: výborný, výborná, výborné
bad: zlý, zlá, zlé
New Nouns
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
beer: pivo (N)
soda: malinovka (F)
soup: polievka (F)
Kofola: Kofola (F)
breakfast: raňajky (fem plural)
lunch: obed (M)
dinner: večera (F)
sauerkraut soup: kapustnica (F)
potato dumplings: halušky (fem plural)
New Phrases
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Ja som hladný. A vy? (I am hungry. And you?)
Ja som tiež. A čo ty, Lucia? (I am too. And what about you, Lucia?)
Nie, nie som hladná. Ja som smädná. Poďme! (Nope, I am not hungry. I am thirsty. Let’s go!)
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Prosím si bryndzové halušky. (I would like bryndza potato dumplings)
A ja si prosím jedno pivo. (And I would like one beer)
A vám? (And for you?)
Dám si kapustnicu a Kofolu. (I’ll have the sauerkraut soup and Kofola)
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Kapustnica je výborná! (Sauerkraut soup is excellent!)
Malinovka je tiež dobrá. Je studená. (Soda is also good. It’s cold.)
Questions? Comments? Something not clear? Just leave a comment and I’ll do my best to clarify it. Thanks for visiting!
“Something not clear?” Are you kidding? This work is fantastic! Keep it up! It’s great to see someone giving slovak material for free on the Internet.
I’ve been trying to study it through http://www.e-slovak.sk but they have been having issues with their servers for too long, and there are no pictures or soundclips available! It’s a pity… I hope someday they rebuild the site.
Until then, I’ll keep coming here, since you really show your love to Slovakia, its food and its language!
yes. very good effort by you. i am trying to learn slovak through your website.
vyborne! djakuem
Thanks so much for the sound clips! Since I’ve moved from NY, there’s nobody I can hear speak it. The only thing I’ve never really understood is why the endings change. ie: why does kofola and kapustnica change to kofolu and kapustnicu?
This is a feature of many languages. The endings change to indicate which role the noun plays in the sentence. There are 7 cases in Slovak – or 7 “roles” a noun could play. The first case is called the nominative case, and it indicates the primary subject of the sentence. For instance, Kofola is cold (Kofola je chladná). Another commonly used case is the accusative case. This one indicates the noun that is the direct object of the subject, basically something being manipulated by the subject. Example of such a sentence is Peter drinks cold Kofola (Peter pije chladnú Kofolu). So to pick the right endings, you first need to know which case the noun is in. But to make things worse, nouns are categorized by gender (some are masculine, some feminine, some neuter) and each gender has some 4 or so conjugation patterns. Once you figure out the case and the gender, you next need to figure out which pattern form to use. This is definitely not trivial. This is why I really admire anyone who manages to learns to speak a Slavic language. The grammar is definitely way to complicated. Finally, adjectives also change endings based on the noun they are modifying. You will find artifacts of cases in non-slavic languages as well. For instance in German, the “der” definite article changes to “dem”, and nouns may pick up the “-m” ending. This is also why I think in English we say “I see them” instead of “I see they”.
Thanks for the comment on the audio. My friends in Slovakia tell me I have bit of an American accent. I guess that’s what happens after all these years of living in the US. However, I figured that me speaking Slovak with bit of an accent is better than not having any audio at all.
You’re right, Lubos, the object pronouns “them”, “us”, “him” etc are among the few leftovers we have from the time when English was an inflected language. English all but completely dropped its case system circa 1100.
Also, I wouldn’t translate soda as malinovka, since soda (as in club soda) is usually clear sparkling water, while malinovka is sweetened and flavoured.
club soda = mineralka (mineral water)OR soda
soda/pop = malinovka