Nouns

Substantives denote persons, animals, objects, properties and processes.

They are classified as follows:

Declension of nouns

Slovak nouns follow several different declension patterns. Each gender (masculine, feminine, neuter) has its own patterns of declension, represented by model nouns. In order to use Slovak nouns correctly, we need to know both the gender of the noun, and also the declension pattern that it follows.

Example: The noun mama is declined according to the model of žena.

Also: babka, vnučka, dcéra, rodina, priateľka...

The noun chlapec is declined according to the model of chlap.

Also: vnuk, dedko, otec, syn, priateľ, študent, muž...

Noun declensions

Masculine

Hint:

Living masculine nouns are declined in the singular according to the model of chlap, and in the plural according to the model of dub (if the noun ends in a hard or bilabial consonant), or according to the model of stroj (if the noun ends in a soft consonant).

Model chlap

The following nouns are declined like chlap:

• living masculine nouns ending in a consonant or -o:
  chlapec, otec, syn, dedo, Jano, pes, vnuk, spolužiak
• only in singular form - animal nouns:
  pes, vlk, vták, lev, medveď, kôň

Note: Words in the nominative plural can also end with -ovia (synovia, otcovia, dedovia...) and -ia (učitelia, bratia...).

Model hrdina

The following nouns are declined like hrdina:

• (Living) masculine nouns ending in -a:
  sudca, sluha, hokejista, huslista

Note: Words ending in –ista have the ending -i (huslisti, hokejisti...) in the nominative plural.

Model dub

The following nouns are declined like dub:

• (non-living) masculine substantives ending with a hard or bilabial consonant:
  potok, dom, strom, obraz, autobus, trolejbus, pondelok, utorok, štvrtok, piatok
• only in plural form — animal nouns ending with a hard or neutral consonant:
  slon, had, vlk, lev

Model stroj

The following nouns are declined like stroj:

• (non-living) masculine nouns ending in a soft consonant:
  kôš, oheň, nôž, čaj, počítač, dážď, máj, kameň
• only in plural form — animal nouns that end in a soft consonant:
  medveď, kôň, mravec

Model kuli

The following nouns are declined like kuli:

• masculine nouns that are foreign loanwords, masculine names and surnames ending with the vowels i, y, í, e, é, ä, ű, ö, ő:
  pony, grizly, abbé, Škultéty, Goethe, Krčméry, Nietsche

Feminine

Hint:

Model žena

The following nouns are declined like žena:

• feminine nouns ending in -a. The -a ending is preceded by a hard or bilabial consonant.:
  mama, dcéra, vnučka, rodina, kniha, cesta, voda, ruka, noha, hlava, streda, sobota

Note: When we add no ending in the genitive plural, the root is elongated.

• mama - mám
• kniha - kníh
• ruka - rúk
• noha - nôh

Model ulica

The following nouns are declined like ulica:

• Feminine nouns ending in -a. The vowel -a is preceded by a soft consonant.:
  práca, stanica, schôdza, tabuľa, ruža, cibuľa, vaňa, fľaša, nedeľa, chvíľa

Note: When we add no ending in the genitive plural, the root is elongated.

• stanica - staníc
• tabuľa - tabúľ
• fľaša - fliaš
• chvíľa - chvíľ

Model dlaň

The following nouns are declined like dlaň:

• Feminine nouns ending with a consonant. In the nominative plural, they end in -e (dlane).:
  pieseň, loď, báseň, reportáž, posteľ, predpoveď

Model kosť

The following nouns are declined like kosť:

• feminine nouns ending ina consonant. In the nominative plural, they end in -i (kosti).:
  vec, noc, step, pomoc, zmes, radosť, krv

Model gazdiná

The following nouns are declined like gazdiná:

• feminine nouns – only a few words that always designate people, mostly from the feudal period.:
  princezná, kráľovná, cisárovná, šľachtičná, stryná

Model idea

The conjugation pattern of idea is sometimes used. The following nouns are declined like idea:

• Feminine nouns that are foreign loanwords ending in -ea, -oa, -ua:
  orchidea, Andrea, aloa, Nikaragua, Ikea

The words mať (mother) and pani (Mrs.) have their own declensions.

Note: The noun pani is declined only when it stands alone. When combined with a proper noun it is not declined.

• to je pani Malá
• ideme od pani Malej
• ideme k pani Malej
• vidím pani Malú

Neuter

Hint:

Model mesto

The following words are declined according to the model of mesto:

• Neuter nouns ending in -o:
  auto, koleso, jablko, Slovensko, kakao, drevo, dielo, vedro, oko, ucho, brucho, mydlo
• Foreign loanwords ending in -on or -um:
  epiteton, múzeum

Model srdce

The following words are declined according to the model of srdce:

• Neuter substantives ending in -e:
  vajce, more, nástupište, pole

Model vysvedčenie

The following nouns are declined like vysvedčenie:

• Neuter nouns ending in -ie:
  lístie, stretnutie, zahraničie, námestie, umenie

Note: The suffixes are always long, the rhythmic rule is not observed.

Model dievča

The following nouns are declined like dievča:

• Neuter nouns ending in -a or -ä:
  dieťa, zviera, páža, knieža, mláďa, kura, žriebä

Note: The word dieťa has the following forms in the plural:
deti, detí, deťom, deti, o deťoch, s deťmi.

Plural-only nouns (pluralia tantum)

Some nouns only have a plural form, though they refer to a single object.

• tie nohavice, tie plavky, tie šaty, tie okuliare, tie nožnice, tie pľúca, tie Košice

• Čo je to? To sú okuliare.
• Aké sú okuliare? Okuliare sú nové.
• Čie sú to okuliare? Okuliare sú mamine.
• Tie okuliare sú nové a mamine.

These nouns do not have a singular form; they only have a plural form They are called plural-only nouns or pluralia tantum, and are only declined in the plural.

Plural-only nouns (pluralia tantum):

jedny nohavice

dvoje nohavice

Distinguish between:

Plural-only nouns (pluralia tantum) are often used in geographic names.

• mesto Košice
• mesto Levice
• mesto Trenčianske Teplice
• pohorie Vysoké Tatry
• pohorie Nízke Tatry
• Alpy, Benátky, Atény, Piešťany, Donovaly, Kúty...

Names of professions in the feminine

Names of professions in the feminine are formed using the suffix -ka:

• lekár - lekárka
• predavač - predavačka
• kuchár - kuchárka
• učiteľ - učiteľka
• podnikateľ - podnikateľka
• kuchár - kuchárka
• pekár - pekárka
• manažér - manažérka
• sekretár - sekretárka
• policajt - policajtka
• prekladateľ - prekladateľka
• fotograf - fotografka

If a profession in the masculine has the ending -k, the consonant -k will change to -č, followed by the suffix –ka:

• právnik - právnička
• pokladník - pokladníčka
• čašník - čašníčka
• tanečník - tanečníčka
• lekárnik - lekárnička
• informatik - informatička
• chemik - chemička

Diminutives

In conversations with children, we often use diminutives and informal names:

• Kde máš autíčka, Janko?
• Páči sa ti tento domček pre bábiky?
• Aké krásne dieťatko!
• Kde máš mamičku?
• etc.

dom

domček

strom

stromček

auto

autíčko

posteľ

postieľka

More than one diminutive can sometimes be derived from one word, e.g.:

• Zuzana - Zuzka, Zuzička, Zuzanka...
• ruka - rúčka, ručička...
• mama - mamka, mamička, mamulienka...
• otec - otecko
• tato - tatko, tatíčko

Verbal nouns

Verbal nouns represent actions (like verbs), but have the form of nouns. Verbal nouns usually end in -ing in English. They are very easy to form in Slovak: detach the –ť ending from the infinitive form of the verb písať (to write), and add the suffix -nie or –tie to construct the verbal noun písanie (writing). All verbal nouns have neuter gender and are declined like vysvedčenie. The rhythmic rule applies: zapnúť - zapnutie.

Attention:
kresliť - kreslenie, vidieť - videnie, zapnúť - zapnutie, vypnúť - vypnutie