100 Essential Slovak Words for Beginners (with English Translations)

Greetings & basics

16 words

English	Slovak	Type
hello	dobrý deň	interjection
goodbye	dovidenia	interjection
yes	áno	interjection
no	nie	interjection
please	prosím	interjection
thank you	ďakujem	interjection
sorry	prepáč	interjection
and	a	conjunction
but	ale	conjunction
or	alebo	conjunction
because	pretože	conjunction
here	tu	adverb
there	tam	adverb
always	vždy	adverb
never	nikdy	adverb
together	spolu	adverb

People & family

14 words

English	Slovak	Type
man	muž	noun
woman	žena	noun
boy	chlapec	noun
girl	dievča	noun
friend	kamarát	noun
mother	matka	noun
father	otec	noun
brother	brat	noun
sister	sestra	noun
son	syn	noun
daughter	dcéra	noun
child	dieťa	noun
husband	manžel	noun
wife	manželka	noun

Everyday verbs

16 words

English	Slovak	Type
to be	byť	verb
to have	mať	verb
to do	robiť	verb
to go	ísť	verb
to come	prichádzať	verb
to eat	jesť	verb
to drink	piť	verb
to want	chcieť	verb
to need	potrebovať	verb
to know	vedieť	verb
to speak	hovoriť	verb
to read	čítať	verb
to write	písať	verb
to listen	počúvať	verb
to work	pracovať	verb
to buy	kupovať	verb

Describing words

10 words

English	Slovak	Type
good	dobrý	adjective
bad	zlý	adjective
new	nový	adjective
old	starý	adjective
young	mladý	adjective
tall	vysoký	adjective
short	nízky	adjective
nice	milý	adjective
kind	láskavý	adjective
shy	plachý	adjective

Colors

8 words

English	Slovak	Type
red	červený	adjective
blue	modrý	adjective
green	zelený	adjective
yellow	žltý	adjective
black	čierny	adjective
white	biely	adjective
orange	oranžový	adjective
purple	fialový	adjective

Numbers

12 words

English	Slovak	Type
one	jeden	number
two	dva	number
three	tri	number
four	štyri	number
five	päť	number
six	šesť	number
seven	sedem	number
eight	osem	number
nine	deväť	number
ten	desať	number
zero	nula	number
twenty	dvadsať	number

Time

10 words

English	Slovak	Type
today	dnes	adverb
tomorrow	zajtra	adverb
yesterday	včera	adverb
morning	ráno	noun
afternoon	popoludnie	noun
evening	večer	noun
night	noc	noun
day	deň	noun
week	týždeň	noun
month	mesiac	noun

Food & drink

10 words

English	Slovak	Type
water	voda	noun
coffee	káva	noun
tea	čaj	noun
milk	mlieko	noun
bread	chlieb	noun
cheese	syr	noun
fruit	ovocie	noun
apple	jablko	noun
egg	vajce	noun
rice	ryža	noun

Home

4 words

English	Slovak	Type
house	dom	noun
door	dvere	noun
window	okno	noun
bed	posteľ	noun

Emoji: Twemoji, CC-BY 4.0

Learn these Slovak words for good

Watch Your LanguageVocabulary widgets for iPhone & Apple Watch

A list is where learning starts, not where it ends. Watch Your Language puts Slovak words like these on your iPhone Lock Screen and on your Apple Watch face, so you see a few every time you check the time, and it schedules the repeats so the words you keep forgetting come back more often.

You can add your own words too, from a photo, a page of notes or a spreadsheet.

Keep going with Slovak

Slovak vocabulary by topicLonger word lists, one topic at a time

Slovak for beginners questions

What are the first Slovak words to learn?

Start with the words you use every day: greetings, numbers, the days and times, food, family and a handful of verbs. For Slovak that means words like dobrý deň (hello), ďakujem (thank you), voda (water) and jesť (to eat). The list above groups 100 of them by topic.

How is Slovak written?

Slovak uses the Latin alphabet, so you can read the words above without learning a new script. 63 of the 100 words contain a letter or mark outside plain a–z, so learn those alongside the spelling.

Is 100 words enough to speak Slovak?

No. This is a starting set: enough to greet people, count, talk about time, name food and family, and say what you want or need. Conversation needs more words, and above all hearing and using them. Treat the list as the first step, then add words from topics you care about.

How do I remember these Slovak words?

Read a few at a time, say them out loud, and come back to them on a schedule rather than once. Watch Your Language puts words like these in a widget on your iPhone Lock Screen and on your Apple Watch face, and brings back the ones you keep forgetting more often.