Ready for a little city tour in Slovak? In this episode of Slovak Sound Check, we explore useful vocabulary for tourists — from “centrum mesta” and “námestie” to “hrad”and “múzeum”. We’ll also learn how to ask what someone wants to see and say what you’d like to visit.
SSCH_Ep55
Máte problém s prehrávaním? Nahláste nám chybu v prehrávači.
Vocabulary
prehliadka = guided tour / tour
sprievodca = male tour guide
sprievodkyňa = female tour guide
turista, pl. turisti = tourist, pl. tourists
mesto = city / town
centrum mesta = city centre
námestie = square
most = bridge
Čo chceš vidieť? = What do you want to see?
Chcem vidieť… = I want to see…
budova = building
pamiatka = historical landmark / monument
radnica = town hall / city hall
katedrála = cathedral
hrad = castle
veža = tower
múzeum = museum
galéria = gallery
Recap:
ulica = street
Note 1: In Slovak, many professions and roles have separate masculine and feminine forms. The feminine form is often created by adding a suffix such as -ka or -kyňa. For example, a male tour guide is “sprievodca”, while a female tour guide is “sprievodkyňa”. The same applies to “turista” (male tourist) and “turistka” (female tourist).
Note 2: The basic word for city is “mesto”, but in “centrum mesta” (city centre) — it changes to “mesta”. This is because Slovak uses the genitive case to express relationships such as — the centre of the city.
Note 3: The verb “chcieť” (to want) works like a modal verb: it changes according to the person and number, while the main verb stays in the infinitive. For example, “Čo chceš vidieť?” (What do you want to see?) and “Ja chcem vidieť námestie”(I want to see the square).
