Meaning
The current day.
Cultural Background
Slovaks often use 'dnes' to emphasize the importance of the present moment in hospitality. If you visit someone, they might say 'Dnes musíte ochutnať náš koláč' (Today you must taste our cake). In many folk songs, 'dnes' is used to contrast the joy of a wedding day or a festival with the hard work of the rest of the year. The hashtag #dnesjem (Today I eat) is one of the most popular Slovak tags on Instagram, showing a national obsession with sharing food photos. In Bratislava and surrounding areas, the use of 'dneska' is so prevalent that 'dnes' can sometimes sound slightly stiff or overly formal in a pub setting.
Start your sentences with Dnes
In Slovak, putting 'Dnes' at the very beginning is a very natural way to set the topic of your sentence.
Avoid Dneska in emails
Even if you are friendly with a colleague, 'dnes' is safer for professional emails than 'dneska'.
Meaning
The current day.
Start your sentences with Dnes
In Slovak, putting 'Dnes' at the very beginning is a very natural way to set the topic of your sentence.
Avoid Dneska in emails
Even if you are friendly with a colleague, 'dnes' is safer for professional emails than 'dneska'.
The #dnes trend
If you want to sound like a local on social media, use the #dnes prefixes for your photos (e.g., #dnescitam for what you are reading).
Test Yourself
Fill in the blank with the correct word for 'today'.
_____ je pondelok.
The sentence means 'Today is Monday'.
Which word is the informal version of 'dnes'?
Ahoj, čo robíš _____?
'Dneska' is the common informal variant used among friends.
Match the Slovak word with its English translation.
Match the following:
These are the four basic temporal anchors in Slovak.
Complete the dialogue.
A: Aké je _____ počasie? B: _____ je slnečno.
When asking about the weather for the whole day, 'dnes' is the most natural choice.
🎉 Score: /4
Visual Learning Aids
Dnes vs. Teraz
Practice Bank
4 exercises_____ je pondelok.
The sentence means 'Today is Monday'.
Ahoj, čo robíš _____?
'Dneska' is the common informal variant used among friends.
Match each item on the left with its pair on the right:
These are the four basic temporal anchors in Slovak.
A: Aké je _____ počasie? B: _____ je slnečno.
When asking about the weather for the whole day, 'dnes' is the most natural choice.
🎉 Score: /4
Frequently Asked Questions
10 questionsYes, but it is considered colloquial. It is perfectly fine for speaking, but avoid it in formal writing.
Usually, you would say 'dnes večer' (today evening) to be specific about tonight.
'Dnes' is an adverb (Today I go), while 'dnešok' is a noun (Today was good).
You say 'od dnes' or more formally 'od dnešného dňa'.
No, 'dnes' is an adverb and remains the same regardless of the sentence structure.
Yes, you can say 'Dnes som bol v obchode' (Today I was in the shop) to refer to an event that happened earlier on the same day.
There isn't a single opposite, but 'inokedy' (at another time) or 'včera/zajtra' are the temporal contrasts.
This is a very informal, dialectal variation found in some parts of Slovakia, but it is not standard.
Yes, in sentences like 'Dnes je všetko drahé' (Today/Nowadays everything is expensive).
Yes, the 'n' palatalizes the 'd' in standard Slovak pronunciation.
Related Phrases
zajtra
contrasttomorrow
včera
contrastyesterday
dneska
informaltoday (casual)
dnešný
specialized formtoday's (adjective)
dodnes
builds onuntil today
v dnešnej dobe
specialized formnowadays
