The alphabet (abeceda)
Level A1 · Unit 1: Hello! · Lesson 1: Sounds and letters
The Slovenian alphabet has 25 letters. There is no q, w, x or y; they only appear in foreign names and borrowed words such as "Wi-Fi" (Slovenian writes taksi for "taxi").
Most letters sound much as they do in English. These are the ones to learn carefully:
| Letter | Sounds like | Example | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| c | ts in cats | cesta | road |
| č | ch in church | čaj | tea |
| š | sh in ship | šola | school |
| ž | s in pleasure | žena | wife |
| j | y in yes | jajce | egg |
| h | h, but a little rougher (like ch in Scottish loch) | hiša | house |
| r | a rolled r, as in Spanish or Italian | riba | fish |
| A a | B b | C c | Č č | D d |
| E e | F f | G g | H h | I i |
| J j | K k | L l | M m | N n |
| O o | P p | R r | S s | Š š |
| T t | U u | V v | Z z | Ž ž |
Practise this in the free course
This explanation comes from Unit 1, Lesson 1 of Slovenim, a free Slovenian course with dialogues, audio and exercises that check your answers.