Have you ever wondered how to say Hi in Slovak? Slovaks greet each other very often, and it is considered a little bit rude not to respond! Logically, basic greetings in Slovak are something you should know if you are planning to visit this interesting country or have friends and want to learn a word or two in their native language. So let’s talk about the most common greetings and goodbyes.
What Are The Formal Greetings In Slovak?
| Slovak Language | English Translation |
| Dobré ráno | Good morning |
| Dobrý deň | Good afternoon |
| Dobrý večer | Good evening |
| Dobrú noc | Good night |
When Should You Use Formal Greetings?
Dobré ráno you can use in the morning until 9 am.
Dobrý deň is usually an excellent greeting to say from 9 am until approximately 6 pm.
Dobrý večer is a greeting you should use after 6 pm.
Dobrú noc is a thing you say only when a person is going to sleep.
You can use “Dobrý deň” or a short form “Dobrý” in almost all formal conversations or official places. For example, when you enter:
- the shops
- the offices
- the schools
- the restaurants and cafés
- or any other place where formal communication is required
When addressing formally, either in an email or at school, you should use the titles.
| Slovak Language | English Translation |
| pán | Mr. |
| pani | Mrs. |
| slečna | Ms. |
Here are some examples of formal greeting:
Dobrý deň, pán Peter. (Good afternoon, Mr. Peter.)
Dobré ráno, pani Jauková. (Good morning, Mrs. Jaurová.)
What Are The Informal Greetings In Slovak?
| Slovak Language | English Translation |
| Ahoj | Hello |
| Čau | Hi |
There are lots of other greetings which you can use among friends and have similar meanings. However, those words are considered slang words. Those are, for example, “serus, ahojky, nazdar, čauko”. You can use these words to create a fun and relaxed atmosphere.
When Should You Use Informal Greetings?
You can use the most useful informal greetings when you meet with:
- the family
- the friends
- the youngsters
- or the people with the same age (usually under 30 years of age)
Here are some examples of informal greetings:
Ahoj, Anna. (Hello, Anna.)
Čau, Martin. (Hi, Martin.)
To Recapitulate
We use the informal “Ahoj” at any time of the day for hello and goodbye. The word is known to some as the sailor’s greeting. It is commonly believed that it was they who introduced it into the Slovak language. The word “Čau” is only used for goodbye and comes from… yes, you got it. It was originally an Italian word “ciao” that we took over.
When we talk about formal greetings, it is a little bit more complicated as we use a different phrase for each part of the day. The word “dobrý” means “good”, and its ending changes depending on the gender of the following noun. The endings are –ý for masculine, -é for neutral, and -u for the feminine in the fall used for the greetings (Accusative – remember your Latin classes?).
Unlike in English, the Slovak language doesn’t have a specific time when we have to switch from one to another – it all depends on how you feel. So, you can use “Dobré ráno” (or “Good morning”) until 10 am or until noon, generally for the first few hours after waking up. “Dobrý deň” (or “Good day”) is used for the majority of the day, and “Dobrý večer” (or “Good evening”) is used towards dinner time, which is at around 6 pm in Slovakia. “Dovidenia” could be translated as “until the next time we see each other” and is used as a goodbye when we are with the person.
If we only speak to the person on the phone, we have to use the word “Dopočutia“, which translates as “until the next time we hear each other”. As the difference between the two is minor, I sometimes come across Slovaks using only “Dovidenia” regardless of the situation.
How To Ask “How Are You” In Slovak?
Let’s talk about the most common phrases used to ask and respond “How are you?”
| Slovak Language | English Translation |
| Ako sa máte? | How are you? (plural,formal) |
| Ako sa máš? | How are you? (singular, informal) How are you doing? |
| Mám sa fajn. | I am fine. |
| Ako sa máte vy? A čo vy? | What about you? (plural,formal) |
| Ako sa máš ty? A čo ty? | What about you? (singular,informal) |
| Je všetko v poriadku? | Is everything all right? |
| Ide to. | It is going fine. |
| Nie veľmi dobre. | Not really good. |
| Nie dobre. Veľmi zle. | Not good./Very bad. |
| Mám sa veľmi dobre.Mám sa super. | I am very good.I am great. |
How To Say “Goodbye” In Slovak?
Just like any greeting word, in Slovakia, you can say goodbye in a formal or informal way.
Here are some formal greetings:
| Slovak Language | English Translation |
| Dovidenia! | Goodbye! |
| Majte sa! / Majte sa pekne! | Goodbye! |
| Hore zdar! | Goodbye! |
| Do skorého videnia! | See you soon! / See you later! |
| Pekný deň prajem! | Have a nice day! |
And some informal greetings:
| Slovak Language | English Translation |
| Maj sa! / Maj sa pekne! | Goodbye! |
| Vidíme sa! | See you soon! / See you, then! |
| Vidíme sa zajtra! | See you tomorrow! |
| Čau! | Bye! / Bye-bye! |
| Pekný deň prajem! | Have a nice day! |
In Slovakia, it is important how you say goodbye during phone calls. You can say “Dopočutia” or a short form “Dopo” when ending a phone call.
Example Dialog
Anna: Dobrý večer, pán Kováč! (Good evening, Mr. Kováč)
Martin: Dobrý večer, slečna Juríková. Ako sa máte? (Good evening, Ms. Juríková. How are you?)
Anna: Ide to. Ďakujem. A vy? Je všetko v poriadku? (It is fine. Thank you. What about you? Is everything all right?)
Martin: Áno. Mám sa fajn. Ďakujem. (Yes. I am fine. Thank you.)
Anna: Výborne. Dovidenia, pán Kováč. (Great. Goodbye, Mr. Kováč.)
Martin: Do skorého videnia, slečna Juríková. (See you later, Ms. Juríková.)
Fill In The Blanks Exercises About Greetings In Slovak
Fill in the blank spaces with the right answer. To be 100% correct, make sure to set your keyboard to Slovak.
– dobrú noc – pekný deň prajem – mám sa super – čau – veľmi zle – slečna – dobrý deň – ako sa máte – dobré ráno – mám sa dobre –
| Good morning. | |
| Good night. | |
| How are you? (formal) | |
| Good afternoon. | |
| I am fine. | |
| Have a nice day. | |
| Hi! | |
| Ms. | |
| Very bad. | |
| I am great! |
If you want to do more exercises like the one above, you should use a language learning app. Ling App can be an excellent solution for you if you want to learn the Slovak language in an easy, fast and fun way. That way, you will have the opportunity to learn basic words and phrases in Slovak and many more useful expressions in this interesting language.
