slovak

When I started to learn Slovak I understood that the letter “r” is regarded as a hard consonant, but with a dual aspect (?) , so similarly to b, p, m, v, f, z and s, one can write both “i” and “y” after an “r”. On the other hand when I met “pohár” as the first masculine noun ending with “r” I...

Yes, I am still in the amazing world of numerals. Similarly to my mother language, Hungarian, Slovak has the same sort of charm that there are not just many types of numerals, which can be expressed in many languages, but in Slovak there are different forms to express the same meaning. But do...

It seems to me that while the dictionaries do not say that these numerals have a gender, but since the plural of ‘sto’ is not just ‘sto’, but also ‘stá’, it can be regarded as a neutral/neuter noun, too. And indeed 200 is ‘dvesto’, so it is not contradictory to it, because ‘dve’ is used for...

If you check this link Slovenské slovníky you can see that while the dictionary “Slovník súčasného slovenského jazyka A – G, H – L, M – N z r. 2006, 2011, 2015.” lists naliať as the perfective pair of liať, “Slovník slovenského jazyka z r. 1959 – 1968*.” lists vyliať, uliať and odliať...

I hope this time I will be closer to their distinctive definition. Rad mainly means line, order. And there are other meanings like “a bunch of something.” Riadok is used for a line in a book, newspaper, or a digital line like in case of TV or computer/phone displays. Is it OK? My only...

Checking these two verbs in the best Slovak online dictionaries my best bet is that they are interchangeable apart from the meaning when someone washes his/her or an other person’s body (or part of it), because the latter can be expressed only with umývať (umyť). But things like riady, bielizeň...

Hi all, The Czech language can use perfective verbs for a general fact and in the sense of "each time in such circumstances", unlike East Slavic languages where the perfective is rather limited to the image of a single event. I'd like to know, how close the Slovak language is to Czech in this...

After recording that these two verbs are the perfective form of “pršať”, I tried to distinct their exact meaning, but I could not grasp the difference. Is it correct that “napršať” implies a sort of less amount of rain dripped on sy compared to “opršať” (poured on)? If not how can one...

After being confused by Slovak-Hungarian dictionaries I have checked the Slovak online ones. I understood that “múčnik” is something, which can be “zákusok” (“jemné sladké pečivo obyčajne plnené alebo zdobené, dezert”), but not always, because everything prepared “z múky” can be “múčnik”. Some...

Hello, 1. Brďo this word is practically missing from all the dictionaries I have ever used, see Slovenské slovníky but google translate said it to mean brother. And indeed it sounds like that moreover the Hungarian “bratyó” meaning like bro’ is also pretty close to “brďo”. On the other hand...

This time I have no question, I just wish to share a resource I just stumbled across. I was looking for some help whether usilovný really meant more than diligent, whether also meant enduring, as my printed dictionary suggested. First I found a word on the web, úsilný, and when I tried to...

For me the meaning of the word “nastúpiť” is clear. The word “vystúpiť” seems to clear, too, the main meaning is to get out (of) or get off, but it can mean also to climb. My printed Slovak-Hungarian dictionary says it can also mean “nastúpiť”, and the example is “vystúpiť na vlak”. It is more...

Hello, this time I just need a sort of confirmation. 1. Is it correct that while prísť has its own imperfect form(s), ísť can be used both as perfect and imperfect verb? 2. Or only chodiť can be used as the imperfect form of ísť? If 1 is true then how can one grasp any difference between ísť...

An excerpt from user instructions for a machining device: What this seems to be saying is that, when programming the device (for the process in question), you have to allow an extra 20 mm of length, in order to account for a portion that is cut off at the end of the process. But I don't fully...

One of the criteria from a training checklist: "Quality [...] - Has been familiarized with the quality requirements [??]" I'm not sure what "proces" refers to here – possibly the industrial process of the plant that these instructions pertain to. Partly because of this uncertainty, I'm also...

Dobré ráno, ako sa povie po slovensky: 1/ Vzala som si polovicu Aspirinu. 2/ Vzala som si pol Aspirinu 3/ ináč? Ďakujem. Enco.

Hi all, One side of my family is Slovak, and my grandma always says 'moja zlata dzetsko' which she says means 'my sweet child'. She is sick and I'd like to write it for her in a card but to change it to 'my sweet grandma' or 'our sweet grandma' (for me and my sibling). She told my once it was...

There is a fable in my coursebook, “korytnačka a zajac”. An excerpt: “ …ale keď videl, ako ďaleko zostala korytnačka, nechal cieľ cieľom, natiahol sa do trávy a zaspal” Cieľ = finish (line) cieľom = (in order) to, with the purpose of So my machine-like translation of the 2nd part is like “…...

Dobré ráno, narazil som na tento článok. Zaujala ma veta: "už tu mnohí učitelia slovenčiny nevyslovujú mäkké de, te, ne, le...". Je to opravdu pravda, že napr. dnes sa vyslovuje [dnes] a nie [dněs]??? Ďakujem. Enco.

First I heard “gdo” in a Hungarian village by a local who spoke Slovak. I thought it was just a rare dialectic form of “kto”. But since then I was hearing it a lot of times and start to feel that it is a general phenomenon. As a sideinfo I know that in Slovak there is the assimilation rule of...

Zdravím, napadlo ma slovo "teplá" ako synonymum pre horúčavu. V krátkom Slovníku slovenského jazyka som nič nenašiel, ale vo veľkom áno, čiže asi výraz "teplá" zrejme existuje, potom som našil na webu dva odkazy, vety. Moja otázka: je správne v hovorovej slovenčine povedať niečo ako: Radšej...

It just happened today that I found that some Slovak may pronounce the past singular form of verbs changing the “l” to “u” to create a diphtong. It is a bit similar to pronounce -ov like -ou, it seems that the Slovak like the diphtongs. ;-) Originally I found only ležal and behal converted to...

A small mistake of my printed dictionary raised this question, since it does not include the word “oblok” just “oblokový”. Are “oblok” and “okno” interchangeable or is there anything to remember when using them. I also checked the former threads, but found no more about it than this one Balkan...

First I just observed that my Slovak-Hungarian dictionary classified “telefonovať” as an imperfective/perfective verb. I thought that it was a mistake, but checked the online dictionaries, too. Althought the majority simply said it to be only imperfective (sometimes “zatelefonovať” was...

Months ago I promised I would be back definitely with some questions regarding the perfective and imperfective verbs. As a sort of backtest of my understanding regarding this field let me refer to a dialogue. “Veselý dialóg - Fero, dal si koňom žrať? - Dal. - Dal si im dosť? - Dal som im dosť...

Certainly I know that the former is an adverb + noun in plural G, while the latter is an adjective + noun in plural N. But is there any tiny difference in meaning, even if it is just a shade? Or even if there is none, is there anything to remember about when I can use this or that?

Is ‘ Naproti čomu stojí strom?´ a valid question in Slovak? Or just ‘Kde stojí strom?´? I have to create a question where the answer will be ‘Strom stojí naproti domu.’

I remember I already asked once about word orders as regards Slovak, but it was not a structured question. This time let’s consider the sentence: ‘Čášník teraz nesie kávu tomu pánovi’. And the question is: ’Komu nesie …?’. Could the other 3 words be put at any place after ‘nesie’? Fyki let...

Sometimes I hear and see forms of Slovak words from Slovak natives, which forms seem to be incorrect at first glance. But after a long inspection I typically figure it out that they are simply forms of some dialects. Like ‘hovado’ is not incorrect, it is just a Western Slovak dialect form of...

There is a joke in my book. - Úradník zaspal na stole. Príde vedúci a hovorí: - Vy tu spíte? And the punchline is: - Ale sa mi snívalo o práci. Without knowing anything about the usage of stredný rod / neuter in case of verbs, it became quite clear for me during my checks in online dictionaries...

Hello again, this is another question about an official form I'm filling out in Slovak. However, I see the form rules say only one question per thread, so I thought I'd post it separately. If I want to say a (female) relative left Slovakia in x year, is it correct to write 'odišla v ...'...

Dobrý deň! I'm in the process of filling out a form in Slovak and am hoping someone can confirm whether the term N/A will be understood in Slovak. If not, what do you write for a question that is not applicable to your situation? I checked various dictionaries and translation sites and can't...

I could not figure out the meaning of this proverb. The second part of sentence is related to be dancing? Or to being twisted? I also found a special meaning of “vykrúčať sa” as the imperfect form of “vkrútiť sa”, which is to be beat around/about the bush. My best bet is that Who has no...

Hello again. The original sentence is “Večer sa pozerám televízny program”. Which questions are correct? A) or B) or both? A) “Čo pozeráš večer?” B) “Na čo pozeráš večer?” Thanks

In the meantime I checked all of the resources that mic.iom.sk proposes. I didnt like them, e-slovak was the one which was the closest to my need. I realized I just simply need a pure Slovak grammar book, which explains Slovak grammar and grammar-wise phenomena in details. Preferably written...

So far I thought I already understand this area of Slovak. But today I faced “zacvičiť si”. The sentence was “Zacvičím si podľa rádia”. Wow, no explicit object at all? In this case there is some sort of hidden object and it is why we dont use “sa”, but “si”. If so are there many reflexive...

A new lesson means new questions: “Idem sa do kuchyne raňajkovať: i checked both my dictionaries and some of my web resources and I concluded that “isť sa” as a verb does not exist and this construction is just about the magnetic field :) of the second word, so even if “sa” got closer to “idem”...

Let me ask whether one is obliged to use “sa” as many times as the number of reflexive verbs is in a list. Options: A) Tu sa oholím, osprchujem sa, poutieram sa a učesem sa. B) Tu sa oholím, osprchujem sa, poutieram a učesem sa. C) Tu sa oholím, osprchujem, poutieram a učesem sa. D) Tu sa...

The term “vstávať do ….” can be found in my language book. Although the typical form would be “vstávať and isť do …” I can imagine that this shorter form is correct, too. And the interweb says it is used. My question is whether an educated Slovak person will use it or not?

Looking for a translation of the English idiom "in for a penny, in for a pound", that is, having started something, you must go all the way. Or the equivalent "may as well be hanged for a sheep as a lamb" -- if you're going to do something wrong, it might as well be for something major rather...

Mastné jedlo and tučné mäso seem to be correct. They are in my book exactly in these forms, moreover also my dictionary contain them. What about tučné jedlo and mastné mäso? Based on searching internet both seem to be correct, too. But the number of hits were not high enough for me to conclude...

The more thoroughly I am checking my language book the more places I spot where something I don’t like. Of course, it does not mean I am right, I just do not want to jump these instances over. Otázka: To sú tie tvoje diétne raňajky? Odpoveď: Áno, zjem niekoľko diétnych suchárov a ….. For me...

Čím poslúžim? It is written this way in my book as part of a conversation “U holiča”. I just wonder whether it is really used in real life as an informal, shortened form of Čím môžem poslúžiť?

Hello, I found another example in my Slovak book which seems to be a mistake, but I am not sure about it. My book says ‘bez jednej’. Having read it I found it strange and tried to to check the internet. My conclusion is that “bez jedného” is the correct form (due to jedno), and “bez jednej”...

It is a hádanka. But from where does ‘sa je’ come? Normally I’d say it is reflexive version of either byť or jesť in 3rd person of singular. But I could not find either byť sa or jesť sa in the dictionaries, not even here Pravopis - Slovnik.sk. My best bet is: What kind of man eats himself...

Hello, in my Slovak language book I saw both versions 1. Koľko máš rokov? Akú by si mala mať výšku podľa …? 2. Koľko stupňov Celzia je vonku? Aký deň je dnes? Are there any rules related to this like “what is it one would like to stress” or is it completeley free to choose any of these two...

Hello, It makes me mad that I cant decide whether both are correct or just one of them. I checked the web and both forms are used even in Slovak lessons organized by Slovak people. Is anyone around who can confirm that not just both are used by Slovak people, but both are grammatically...

There is one difficult line in Darina's song. Možno s chybami rátam Som zlý súper (Darina Rolincova, Čo o mne vieš?) It was translated as 1) Maybe I’m taking a calculated risk, I'm super bad 2) Maybe I accept mistakes, I'm bad opponent Which variant is correct?

What does mean Poď von? Get out? Do všetkých lavíc píšeš tak ako básnik, Že si sa do mňa práve trochu zbláznil Do schránky nápad tajne dáš Poď von! (Darina Rolincova, Čo o mne vieš?)

V niektorych slovanskych jazykoch sa vyskytuje zapor pri otazke typu : ''Nevedeli by ste mi povedat, prosim ?'', alebo '' Nesiel by si tam so mnou ? '', alebo ''Neurobili by ste to, prosim za nas ? '' Je to zvlastne a rad by som vedel odkial tento zaporny zvrat pochadza (ci to je prirodzene v...