Knowing how to tell time is an important skill in any language, but especially if you’re learning a language like Slovenian. This will help you understand what time to check out of a hotel, when to catch the next bus and when to meet your friends at a bar.
So read this blog on telling time in Slovenian and by the end you’ll know how to ask for the time, how to tell the time and other related useful vocabulary.
Table of Contents
Telling Time In Slovenian
Telling time in Slovenian is not too hard, but it comes with a set of rules you must follow.
Firstly, you should learn how to say Slovenian numbers if you want to tell the time in Slovenian.
When you say the time in Slovenian you always use the word ura and the conjugated verb biti (to be) followed by the number. So this is how you say time if it is a full hour:
| Time | Slovenian |
|---|---|
| It’s one o’clock. | Ura je ena. |
| It’s two o’clock. | Ura je dve. |
| It’s three o’clock. | Ura je tri. |
| It’s four o’clock. | Ura je štiri. |
| It’s five o’clock. | Ura je pet. |
| It’s six o’clock. | Ura je šest. |
| It’s seven o’clock. | Ura je sedem. |
| It’s eight o’clock. | Ura je osem. |
| It’s nine o’clock. | Ura je devet. |
| It’s ten o’clock. | Ura je deset. |
| It’s eleven o’clock. | Ura je enajst. |
| It’s twelve o’clock. | Ura je dvanajst. |
Now remember that in spoken Slovenian, the twelve-hour clock is used, while the 24-hour clock is more common in written Slovenian. You see, Slovenian doesn’t have AM and PM, so to make it clear which time you mean when you’re talking, you can add the following phrases after the time:
| Time of day | Word to use | Usage |
|---|---|---|
| in the morning | zjutraj | Used for times before midday |
| in the afternoon | popoldne | Used for times in the afternoon |
| in the evening | zvečer | Used for times in the evening |
| at night | ponoči | Used for times late at night |
So just to give you an example. When it’s 3 PM, the digital clock will say it’s 15:00, but you can say: ura je tri popoldne. When it’s 3 AM, the digital clock will say it’s 03:00, and you say: ura je tri zjutraj.
Moving On To The Minutes
Obviously the clock doesn’t always land precisely on the hour. This is how you say the minutes in Slovenian:
| Meaning | Phrase |
|---|---|
| five past | pet čez |
| ten past | deset čez |
| fifteen past | petnajst čez |
| twenty past | dvajset čez |
| twenty five past (five minutes to half past) | pet do pol |
| twenty five to (five minutes past half) | pet čez pol |
| twenty to | dvajset do |
| fifteen to | petnajst do |
| ten to | deset do |
| five to | pet do |
Here are some examples of how you would say certain times. Unfortunately, in this case, the names of the numbers change. This is because Slovenian grammar is really fun and uses something we call cases, which change the endings of words. Here’s how you say at what time you did something:
- It’s 1:05 – Ura je pet čez eno.
- It’s 2:10 – Ura je deset čez dve.
- It’s 3:15 – Ura je petnajst čez tri.
- It’s 4:20 – Ura je dvajset čez štiri.
- It’s 5:25 – Ura je pet do pol šestih.
- It’s 6:35 – Ura je pet čez pol sedmo.
- It’s 7:40 – Ura je dvajset do osmih.
- It’s 8:45 – Ura je petnajst do devetih.
- It’s 9:50 – Ura je deset do desetih.
- It’s 10:55 – Ura je pet do enajstih.
I did not include half hours in the table because they require additional explanation:
When an hour is half past something, you always say it’s half the next hour. For example if the clock reads 1:30, you would say it’s half two, or pol dve.
Now, to complicate things a little bit, there are other ways of telling time that you might hear in more formal settings, or on TV and radio.
Let’s take 12:15, for example. We’ve learned that to say this, you would say ura je petnajst čez dvanajst. However, when you hear an announcement for a train or someone telling time on the radio you may hear them say that the time is twelve and fifteen minutes: ura je dvanajst in petnajst minut.
If you want to be really precise, you could also say this. For example when the time is 08:22, you would say dvaindvajest čez osem, or osem in dvaindvajset minut.
Some people still like to say some times with quarters. For example if the time is 08:15, you would say it’s a quarter on nine, or četrt na devet. If it’s 8:45, they would say it’s three quarters on a nine, or tričetrt na devet. But don’t worry, this is not so commonly used anymore.
How To Talk About Time
Now, when you’re talking about your day, you won’t just use the phrase ura je, so let’s learn some other useful phrases about time.
Let’s say you want to tell someone about your day. Here’s a simple sentence:
I woke up at 8 and ate breakfast.
In Slovenian, a woman would say this sentence like this:
Vstala sem ob osmih in jedla zajtrk.
See how that little ob got in there? That’s how you say at what time you did something. Here, too, the names of the numbers will change:
- at 1: ob enih
- at 2: ob dveh
- at 3: ob treh
- at 4: ob štirih
- at 5: ob petih
- at 6: ob šestih
- at 7: ob sedmih
- at 8: ob osmih
- at 9: ob devetih
- at 10: ob desetih
- at 11: ob enajstih
- at 12: ob dvanajstih
Here are some sentence examples:
| English | Slovenian |
|---|---|
| I woke up at 8. | Zbudil/a sem se ob osmih. |
| I went to bed at 10:30. | Spat sem šla ob pol enajstih. |
| She arrived at 5 o’clock. | Prišla je ob petih. |
| We started at 6 in the morning. | Začeli smo ob šestih zjutraj. |
| They finished at 7 in the evening. | Končali so ob sedmih zvečer. |
How Do You Say Time In Slovenian?
The word for time in Slovenian is čas.
The word ura, is the word both for an hour and a clock.
Time-Related Slovenian Vocabulary
Time is something we talk about every day so it’s an important part of language learning. Knowing how to tell the time and date in Slovenian will most definitely come in handy. Here’s some other useful words that relate to this topic that you will also hear in daily conversations.
| English | Slovenian |
|---|---|
| Hour | Ura |
| Minute | Minuta |
| Second | Sekunda |
| Clock | Ura |
| Watch (on hand) | Ura na roki |
| Today | Danes |
| Tomorrow | Jutri |
| Yesterday | Včeraj |
| Day after tomorrow | Pojutrišnjem |
| Day before yesterday | Predvčerajšnjim |
| Midnight | Polnoč |
| Noon | Poldne |
| Morning | Jutro |
| Afternoon | Popoldne |
| Evening | Večer |
| Night | Noč |
These words are essential for daily time-related conversations in Slovenian. Regular practice will help you blend in seamlessly with native speakers in the Slovenia. For efficient learning, consider using the Ling app, since you can take short lessons, that won’t take a lot of time out of your day, but truly help you in the long run!
Questions About Time In Slovenia
How Do You Ask For The Time In Slovenian?
When you want to ask about the time in Slovenian you would say: oprostite, koliko je ura?
This sentence simply translates to: excuse me, what’s the time?
What Time Does Slovenia Use?
Slovenia’s standard time is Central European Time (CET), which means it is UTC+1. This is the time they use most of the year.
Is There Daylight Savings In Slovenia?
Yes, Slovenia participates in daylight saving time. This means they adjust their clocks forward by one hour in the spring and back by one hour in the fall to make better use of daylight during longer days.
What Time Is It?
It’s time to practice! Here’s a pro tip for you: Practice telling time in Slovenian by trying to say what time it is every time you look at the clock today. This will have you telling time in no time, and you’ll be all equipped for a simple chat with your Slovenian friends.
