Speak To The World
Alphabet in Slovenian Language
Learning the Slovenian alphabet is crucial in mastering the Slovenian Language. Slovenian alphabet composition is applied in a every day conversation. With out the Slovenian alphabet, it is difficult to say the Slovenian words properly even if you know how to write those key phrases in Slovenian. Learn More
As in any language, the far better a person articulate a letter in a word, the easier grasped you will be in speaking the Slovenian language. Below are web links that redirects you to the Slovenian alphabet and exactly how it is pronounced in English.
 Learn Slovenian Language Online | ) |
Vowels in Slovenian Alphabet
| There are five vowels in Slovene: a, e, i, o, u are similar to the Spanish vowels. | |
| In some Slovene words the letter r, like Serbo-Croatian, becomes a hard semi-vowel when it stands before another consonant, as in rdeč (red) or rjav (brown), or when it stands between two consonants, as in Brnik (the Ljubljana airport) or vrt (garden). Like other Slavic languages, the sound of each vowel is pure and clear. Notice the vowels have both long and short sounds. | |
| A | the 'a' in "far" [long] (aa) / the 'a' in "above" [short] (uh) "abeceda" (alphabet) |
| E | the 'e' in "bled" [long] (ehh) / the 'e' in "met" [short] (eh) "edinče" (only child) |
| I | the 'ee' in "see" [long] (ee) / the 'i' in "bit" [short] (ih) "ica" (little cow) |
| O | the 'oa' in "cloak" [long] (ohh) / the 'o' in "obey" [short] (oh) "obala" (beach) |
| U | the 'oo' in "pool" [long] (oo) / the 'oo' in "book" [short] (u) "ura" (clock) |
Consonants in Slovenian Alphabet
| There are twenty consonants in Slovene. They can be voiced or unvoiced. They are pronounced as they are spelled (refer to the alphabet). | |
| B | the 'b' in "best" [end of a word 'p' sound]; "bdenje" (vigil) |
| C | the 'ts' in "bets"; "car" (tsar) |
| Č | the 'ch' in "chocolate"; "čmrlj" (bumble-bee) |
| D | the 'd' in "day" [end of a word 't' sound]; "daljava" (distance) |
| Dž | the 'j' in "jeep"; "džumbus" (noise) |
| F | the 'f' in "far"; "fižol" (beans) |
| G | the 'g' in "go" [end of a word 'k' sound]; galeb (sea-gull) |
| H | the 'h' in "heat"; "hajduk" (bandit) |
| J | the 'y' in "Yankee"; "Jugoslavija" (Yugoslavia) |
| K | the 'k' in "kick"; "kamra" (bedroom in Slovene farm houses) |
| L | the 'l' in "left", [but 'w' before another consonant or at the end of a word]; "letališče" (airport) |
| Lj | the 'li' in "battalion"; "ljubka" (dapper (female form)) |
| M | the 'm' in "mom"; "mah" (moss) |
| N | the 'n' in "nothing"; pronounced like a Spanish ñ as in "Señor" after an an i; a common trait among Slavs. ni [nyee]; "nitje" (niti) |
| Nj | the 'n' in "news"; "njiva" (field) |
| P | the 'p' in "path"; "patos" (ecstazy) |
| R | the 'r' in trilled like spanish 'r' in "rico", or 'er' when used as a vowel; "rjutje" (roar) |
| S | the 's' in "seven"; "shramba" (closet) |
| Š | the 'sh' in "shock"; "ščetka" (brush) |
| T | the 't' in "taxi"; "tovariš" (comrade) |
| V | the 'v' in "vase" [after a vowel or before a consonant is 'w' sound, by itself is 'oo' sound], "včasih" (sometimes) |
| Z | the 'z' in "zero"; "zlato" (gold) |
| Ž | the 'su' in "pleasure" or 'ge' in "garage"; "žrtev" (victim) |
| The voiced consonants are b, d, g, j, l, m, n, r, v, z, ž. | The unvoiced consonants are c, č, f, h, k, p, s, š, t. |
Semi Vowels/ Diphthongs in Slovenian Alphabet
| The Slovene diphthongs are generally considered phonemically as combinations of two phonemes, a vowel and /j/ or a vowel and [w] (often written as [u]. The Slovene phonetic diphthongs are [ew, Ew, aw, Ow, ej, oj, Oj, aj, uj]. The diphthongs [aw] and [aj] can safely be used as equivalents of the English /aU/ and /aI/. | |
| aj | Like the word "eye" |
| ej | Like 'ay' in "pay" |
| oj | Like 'oy' in "toy" |
| uj | Like 'wee' in "week" |
| ae | Like 'a' in "father" and 'e' in "empty" |
| ija | Like 'ia' in "Lydia" |
| ije | Like 'ie' in the Spanish word "miedo" |
| nje | similar to the Spanish sound 'ñe' in "muñeco" [nyeh] |
| lj | as 'lee' in "leek" |
| dja | as the 'dia' in "Lydia" [dyah] |
| kje | as the quie' in the Spanish word "quiero" [kyeh] |
| Like Serbo-Croatian, stress usually falls on the second or third-last syllable, but in any case the stressed is always put in capital letters. |
[table id=slovenian filter=”Special Consonant Cluste
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.