A collection of idiomatic expressions in Slovak with English equivalents and translations.
| Idioms | English versions |
|---|---|
| Ak chceš s vlkmi žiť, musíš s nimi vyť | If you want to live with wolves you have to howl with them |
| Ako sa do hory volá, tak sa z hory ozýva | What scream goes to the mountain, the same goes back |
| Božie mlyny melú pomaly, ale isto | God's mills are more insured than functional |
| Ráno múdrejšie večera | Morning is wiser than evening = one should sleep well before taking an important decision or starting a difficult task. |
| Byť v koži niekoho iného | To be in the skin of somebody else |
| Čerstvý ako rybička | Fresh as fish |
| Hodiť flintu do žita | To throw the rifle into the corn = to give up |
| Hrať sa na slepú babu | To play on a blind squaw |
| Chodiť okolo horúcej kaše | To walk around hot porridge (beat around the bush) |
| Je mi to platné ako mŕtvemu kabát | This is as useful to me as a coat to the dead |
| Je to ako hrach na stenu hádzať | It is like throwing peas on the wall |
| Je to pre mňa španielska dedina | It is all a Spanish village to me (incomprehensible) |
| Kto do teba kameňom, ty do neho chlebom | Who with a stone into you, you with a bread into him |
| Kúpiť mačku vo vreci | To by a cat in a poke |
| Liezť na nervy | To climb upon nerves |
| Lož má krátke nohy | The lie has short legs |
| Mám to v malíčku | I have got it in my little finger |
| Mať chrobáka v hlave | To have a beetle in one's mind |
| Mať z pekla šťastie | To have a fortune from the hell |
| Najlepšia obrana je útok | Best defence is offence |
| Tam je pes zakopaný | The dog is dug over there |
| Nemaľuj čerta na stenu | Don't paint the devil on the wall |
| Padli si do oka | They fallen into each other's eye |
| Pokojný ako Angličan | Calm as an Englishman |
| Remeslo má zlaté dno | A craft has a golden bottom |
| Ťahať niekoho za nos | To pull one's nose |
| Vrana k vrane sadá, rovný rovného si hľadá – | A crow is sitting by crow, an equal is looking for another equal |
| Vyšiel na psí tridsiatok | He went on a dog's thirties |
Slovak idioms compiled by Martina Spidlova
More Slovak idioms
http://www.bratvegas.sk/articles/view/35/slovak_idioms.html
Information about Slovak | Phrases | Numbers | Family words | Idioms | Tongue twisters | Tower of Babel | Learning materials
If you would like to make any corrections or additions to this page, or if you can provide recordings, please contact me.
It's all Greek to me | It's raining cats and dogs | As easy as falling off a log | A sandwich short of a picnic | It's small world | When pigs fly | Out of sight, out of mind | Crystal-clear
Czech | French | Greek | Icelandic | Russian | Slovak | Spanish | Swedish | Welsh
Phrases | Numbers | Numerals | Colours | Telling the time | Weather words | Family words | Terms of endearment | Language names | Country names | Idioms | Proverbs | Tongue twisters | Signs | Compass directions | UDHR | Tower of Babel | Songs | Omniglot | Seven dwarfs | Zodiac signs | Computer parts | Compass directions | Animal sounds
Why not share this page:
If you need to type in many different languages, the Q International Keyboard can help. It enables you to type almost any language that uses the Latin, Cyrillic or Greek alphabets, and is free.
If you like this site and find it useful, you can support it by making a donation via PayPal or Patreon, or by contributing in other ways. Omniglot is how I make my living.
Note: all links on this site to Amazon.com
Copyright © 1998–2020 Simon Ager | Email: 
| Hosted by Kualo
