Ways to say it
| Slovenian | Note |
|---|---|
| dobrodošli! | plural |
| dobrodošel! | masculine |
| dobrodošla! | feminine |
The phrase is used as a greeting given upon someone's arrival. While the primary way to say welcome is dobrodošli, the related noun dobrodošlica refers to the act of greeting someone's arrival and the phrase izreči dobrodošlico means to affirm or greet the arrival of someone.
Which one should you use?
dobrodošli! is the standard greeting for arrival. This is distinct from the adjective forms dobrodošel/a, which are used to describe someone who is welcome, such as in the sentence on je dobrodošel (he is welcome).
Related words
How does it change in a sentence?
Use the masculine form dobrodošel! when welcoming exactly one male person. Use the feminine form dobrodošla! when welcoming exactly one female person. The plural form dobrodošli! is used when welcoming two or more people, or when using the formal you to address a single person.
Did you know?
- While dobrodošli is used for arrivals, if you want to say 'you are welcome' after someone says 'thank you', Slovenians use a completely different phrase: prosim.
- In some traditional Slovenian rural customs, a 'welcome' was historically paired with a ritual of offering bread and salt to guests as a symbol of hospitality and friendship.
- The word dobrodošel is a compound of dobro meaning 'well' and došel meaning 'arrived'. Literally, you are telling the guest that they have 'arrived well'.
Examples in context
- Dobrodošli, gospod in gospa Novak. Veseli smo, da ste se pridružili naši slovesnosti.Welcome, Mr. and Mrs. Novak. We are glad you have joined our ceremony.
- Dobrodošel, Mark. Kako si? Veseli smo, da si prišel.Welcome, Mark. How are you? We are glad you came.
Example conversation
Rok greets Ana and her friends at the door.
- RokŽivjo, Ana! Dobrodošli!Hi, Ana! Welcome!
- AnaHvala, Rok!Thanks, Rok!
- RokPridite noter.Come inside.
- AnaHvala prav.Thank you very much.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “welcome” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
