Slovak is one branch in the Slavic language tree, though Slovaks will insist (we agree) that their language is the cleanest of them all. Regardless, it's a tough language, laced with conjugations and a myriad of funky endings, depending on the case being used. Take heart, though, more and more Slovaks speak English, German or both, and if not, the little phrase you pucker out will impress them mightily We`ve included a little guide for those hardy souls who want to wrestle with the language.
Pronunciation
Assume a British accent, if you don`t already have one, for the following examples.

Vowels
The vowels a, e, i, o, u, y are pure sounds, as in Spanish or Italian, rather than English. Vowels can be either short (a, ä, e, i, o, u, y) or long (á, é, í, ó, ú, ý) Long vowels are simply prolonged versions of their short counterparts, preserving the same color.

a short -a- as in the „aaah" you say to your dentist. e.g. mapa /ma-pa/ map
á long -a- as in a prolonged "aaah“ to your dentist. eg dáma /dhaaa-ma/ lady
ä -e- as in bed, e.g. mäso /mae-so/ meat
e close to the -e- in bet, e.g. teraz /te-raz/ now
é prolonged -e- as in there, e.g. prvé /pr-vhe-e/ first
i short -i- as in graffiti, e.g. pivo /pi-vo/ beer
í long -i- as in need, e.g. víno /veeee-no/ wine
o -o-as in log, e.g. okno /ok-no/ window
ó prolonged -o-, like the -a- in talk, e.g. móda /moh-da/ fashion
ô the diphthong –uo-. like „whoa!“, e.g. môžem /mwhoa-zhem/ I can
u -u- as in shoot, e.g. ruka /ru-ka/ hand
ú prolonged -oo- as in school, e.g. údolie /oooo-do-lye/ valley
y,ý the same as i, i

Consonants
The consonants b, d, f, g, I, m, n, s, v, and z are pronounced approximately as in English Meanwhile, k, p, and t are like in English, but without aspiration. The carrot „ˇ“ over some consonants softens them. Example: čo, pronounced /choh/. which means what. To complicate things, d, n, and t are usually softened when followed by e or i, becoming equivalent to ď, ň or ť. Examples: deti /dye-tyee/ children, neviem /nye-vyem/ I don't know, držte /drzh-tye/ hold on, hold this.

c -ts- as in oats, e.g. ocot /otsot/ vinegar
č -ch- as in child, e.g. človek /chlo-vek/ man, human being
ď -dy- as in duty, e.g. ďakujem /dyak-oo-yem/ thank you
dz like -ds- in heads, e.g. medzi /me-tsi/ between
dž like our -j- in jam, e.g. džús /juice/ juice (they gave our word a phonetic spelling!)
ch -ch- as in the Scottish loch, e.g. chata /kha-tah/ cottage
j -y-as in you, e.g. kraj /krai/ region
ľ -ly- as in lurid, e.g. ľad /lyad/ ice
ĺ long I (no English equivalent) e.g. stĺp /stlllp/ pole
ň -ny- as in news, e.g. deň /dyeny/ day
r rolled (like a Scottish r), e.g. ryba /rrri-ba/ fish
ŕ prolonged, rolled r, e.g. mŕtvy /mrrrrrrrtvee/ dead
š -sh- as in she, e.g. šesť /shesty/ six
ž -t- in tune, like spitting through your front teeth, e.g. dosť /dost/
w enough becomes -v- a.s. in van (found only in foreign words),e.g. WC /v~tse/ WC
ž like -s- in pleasure, e.g. žena /zhe-na/ woman

Select Glossary

Numbers
0 nula 6 sest 12 dvanást
1 jeden 7 sedem 20 dvadsat
2 dva 8 osem 30 tridsat
3 tri 9 devat 100 sto
4 styri 10 desat 1000 tisíc
5 pat 11 jedenast 2000 dvetisíc

Days of the Week
Monday - pondelok Friday - piatok
Tuesday - utorok Saturday - sobota
Wednesday - streda Sunday - nedela
Thursday - stvrtok Weekend – víkend

Months
January - januar July - jul
February - február August - august
March - marec September - september
April - apríl October - október
May - maj November - november
June - jun December - december

Basic phrases
Please Prosim
Thank you Dakujem Vam (Ti)
Good morning Dobre rano!
Good day/hello Dobry den!
Good night Dobru noc!
Hi Ahoj! Cau! (familiar)
Goodbye Dovidenia! Cau! (familiar)
Cheers! Na zdravie!
Yes/No Ano/Nie
Excuse mel/I'm sorry Prepáčte!
Bon appetite! Dobru chut!
You`re welcome. Prosim
Not at all! Niet za co!
Welcome! Vítajte!
Excuse me, do you speak English? Prepacte, hovoríie po anglicky?
Do you understand? Rozumiete?
I don`t understand Nerozumiem
I don`t understand Slovak Nerozumiem po slovensky
Please write it down for me Napiste mi to prosim
I beg your pardon! Prosim?
Where is...? Kde je...?
Could you help me? Mohli by ste mi pomoct?
What does...mean? Co znamena...?
How much is it? Kollko to stoji?
What is your name? Ako sa volate?
My name is XX Volam sa XX
Nice to meet you Tesí ma
How are you? Ako sa mate? (mas)
Take care! Majte sa dobre!
Is there a phone box near here? Je tu niekde telefonna budka?
Where is the bathroom? Kde je toaleta (WC)?
What time is it? Kolko je hodin?
Where is my luggage? Kde je moja batozina?
Would you call a taxi for me, please? Zavolate mi prosim taxik?
How far is it to.......? Ako daleko je to do.......?
Can you tell us when to get off? Mozete nam povedat, kde mame vystupit?
What is the fare? Kolko stoji listok?

Useful phrases at a restaurant
Máae jedalny listok v anglictine? Do you have an English menu?
Prosim, zaplatim! The bill, please
Je tento stoI rezervovaný? Is this table reserved?
Mozeme poprosit... May we have...
Ponahlame sa We are in a hurry

Food and Drink

Napoje Drinks
mineráana voda mineral water
cista voda tap water
jablkovy dzus apple juice
pomarancový dzus orange juice
kava coffee
caj tea

Predjedlo appetizers
Polievka soups
zemiaková potato
sosovicová lentil
hovadzia beef
hrachova pea
slepacia chicken
paradajkova tomato
zeleninova vegetable

Hlavne jedlo Main course
maso Meat
sunka ham
cevabcici spiced meat balls
hovadzie beef
pecienka liver
kacica duck
klobasy sausages
kuracie chicken
salam salami
slanina bacon
telacie veal
bravcove pork
morcacie turkey
Ryby Fish
kapor carp
makrela mackerei
pstruh trout
treska cod

Zelenina Vegetables
zemiaky potatoes
cibuľa onion
cesnak garlic
huby, šampiňóny mushrooms
hrach pea
karfiól cauliflower
paradajka tomato
špenát spinach
kapusta cabbage
paprika pepper
šalát salad

Ovocie Fruits
banán banana
broskyňa peach
citrón lemon
hrozno grapes
hruška pear
jablko apple
marhuľa apricot
pomaranč orange
čerešne cherry

Prílohy Extras
ryža rice
opekané zemiaky roasted potatoes
varené zemiaky boiled potatoes
hranolky chips
chlieb bread
pečivo bread roll
maslo butter
syr cheese
džem jam
vajíčko egg
niva soft blue cheese
oštiepok smoked curd
tvaroh curd cheese
soľ salt
korenie pepper (spice)