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Slovenian is one of the rare languages that has the grammatical number dual – it is used specifically for two objects or persons. But there are, ironically, also exceptions where we use plural instead of dual for two things. These are even body parts, biological functions, such as parents, pieces of clothing and footwear (pairs), and some other objects, such as earrings, uhani. Nevertheless, we can still use the dual for pairs, but only when we want to emphasize two things.

GenderSingularDual – used only when emphasizedPlural – used for pairsEnglish
EVEN BODY PARTS
Fnoganoginogelegs
Frokarokirokearms
Nuhoušesiušesaears
Nokoočesiočieyes
Framaramirameshoulders
Nlicelicilicacheeks
OBJECTS
Muhanuhanauhaniearrings
BIOLOGICAL FUNCTIONS
Mstaršstaršastaršiparents
PIECES OF CLOTHES OR FOOTWEAR
Frokavicarokavicirokavicegloves
Fnogavicanogavicinogavicesocks
Mrokavrokavarokavisleeves
Mčeveljčevljačevljishoes

F = feminine, N = neuter, M = masculine

rokavice

Examples of use:

OČI (eyes)

Plural: Maja ima lepe oči. – Maja has beautiful eyes.

Emphasized:  Naprezal je obe očesi. – He strained both eyes.

ROKE (arms)

Plural: Kako nežne roke imaš! – What soft hands you have!

Emphasized: Luka si je poškodoval obe roki. – Luka injured both his arms.

UŠESA (ears)

Plural: Bolijo me ušesa. – My ears hurt.

Emphasized: Bolita me obe ušesi. – Both my ears hurt.

LICA (cheeks)

Plural: Sonja ima rdeča lica. – Sonja has red cheeks.

Emphasized: Sonja ima obe lici rdeči. – Sonja has both cheeks red.

UHANI (earrings)

Plural: Kako lepi uhani! – What beautiful earrings!

Emphasized: Izgubila sem oba uhana. – I lost both earrings.

ROKAVICE (gloves)

Plural: Zebe me v roke. Potrebujem rokavice. – My hands are freezing. I need gloves.

Emphasized: Obe rokavici sta raztrgani. – Both gloves are ragged.

ROKAVI (sleeves)

Plural: Rokavi so predolgi. – Sleeves are too long.

Emphasized: Oba rokava sta predolga. – Both sleeves are too long.

STARŠI (parents)

Plural: Moji starši so doma. – My parents are at home.

Emphasized: Oba starša sta doma. – Both parents are at home.

ČEVLJI (shoes)

Plural: To so zimski čevlji. – These are winter shoes.

Emphasized: Oba čevlja je vrgel proč. – He threw away both shoes.

When we use the dual to emphasize two things, we usually use the word obe (F, N) or oba (M), meaning both. Number two can also be used for emphasizing two things (dve očesi, dve nogi, dva uhana). We also need to conjugate verbs in dual and adapt adjectival or pronominal endings to the number of a noun:

Plural: Copati so topli. – Slippers are warm.

Dual: Oba copata sta topla. – Both slippers are warm.

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