1. Sounds and spelling
Slovenian spelling is close to one letter, one sound. The alphabet has twenty-five letters, and it has no q, w, x or y.
Letters that differ from English
| Letter | Sound | Example |
|---|---|---|
| c | ts | cesta (road) |
| č | ch | čas (time) |
| š | sh | šola (school) |
| ž | s in "measure" | žena (wife) |
| j | y | jaz (I) |
| r | rolled; can be a whole syllable | prst (finger) |
| e | eh, or a short uh | pes (dog) |
Two letters that change sound
| Letter | Where | Sounds like | Example | Said as |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| l | end of a syllable | w | bil (was) | "beew" |
| l | end of a syllable | w | delal (worked) | "delaw" |
| v | end of a syllable | w | siv (grey) | "seew" |
| v | as a word on its own | u | v (in) | "u" |
This matters immediately, because every past tense verb ends in -l.
Stress
Stress is not predictable, and it is not marked in writing. Copy it from audio when you hear it, and do not try to work it out from the spelling.