This is the eighth post in a series on ‘Glue Phrases’ in Czech, if you want to start from the beginning start here or you view all posts in the series here.

Language Words & Phrases
Useful Phrases
How do you say … ?
Jak Řekneš?

What is this ?
Co to je?

I understand.
(Já) rozumím.

I don’t understand.
(Já) nerozumím.

Could you repeat that, please?
Můžete to prosím zopakovat.

Could you say it slowly, please?
Můžete to říct pomaleji prosím.

Glue Words
Or. / Nebo.
But. / Ale.
And. / A.
Also. / Taky.
Of course. / Samozřejmě.
Because. / Protože.

If you have any suggestions or corrections I’d love to hear from you. All credit goes to E, all mistakes are my own.

This is the seventh post in a series on ‘Glue Phrases’ in Czech, if you want to start from the beginning start here or you view all posts in the series here.

Making Plans
Do you want to … ?
Chceš … ?

I am … .
Já jsem … .

I want to … .
(Já) chci … .

I don’t want to … .
(Já) nechci … .

Examples…

Do you want to go to the shop? / Chceš jít do obchodu?
I am going for a run. / Jdu si zaběhat.
I am going for a walk. / Jdu na procházku.
I want to go for dinner. / (Já) chci večeři.
I don’t want to go to the pub. / (Já) nechci jít do hospody.

If you have any suggestions or corrections I’d love to hear from you. All credit goes to E, all mistakes are my own.

This is the sixth post in a series on ‘Glue Phrases’ in Czech, if you want to start from the beginning start here or you view all posts in the series here.

Making Arrangements
When will you be back?
Kdy budeš (ty) zpátky?

When will we meet?
Kdy se (my) potkáme?

Where will we meet?
Kde se (my) potkáme?

Where are we going?
Kam jdeme?

Who is going?
Kdo má přijít?

Call me.
Zavolej mi.

I will be back … .
(Ja) budu zpátky … .

Can you call me … ?
Můžeš mi zavolat?

I will call you … .
(Ja) zavolám (ti) … .

Examples…

I will be back before noon. / (Ja) budu zpátky dopoledne.
Can you call me in the morning? / Můžeš mi zavolat ráno.
I will call you in the afternoon. / (Ja) zavolám (ti) odpoledne.
I will call you in the evening. / (Ja) zavolám (ti) večer.

If you have any suggestions or corrections I’d love to hear from you. All credit goes to E, all mistakes are my own.

This is the fifth post in a series on Czech ‘Glue Phrases’, if you want to start from the beginning start here or you view all posts in the series here.

Offers & Requests
Things we might offer or request…

Breakfast. / Snídane.
Lunch. / Oběd.
Dinner. / Večeře.
Tea. / Čaj.
Water. / Vodu.

Would you like … ?
Dáš si / chceš … ?

I would like … .
Dám jsi / chci … ?

I don’t want.
Nechci … .

Could you pass me … .
Můžeš mi podat … ?

Can you bring me … ?
Můžeš mi donést … .

Examples…

Would you like breakfast? / Dáš jsi snídani?
Would you like lunch? / Chceš oběd?
I don’t want dinner. / Nechci večeři.
Could you pass me the tea? / Můžeš mi podat čaj.
Can you bring me water? / Můžeš mi donést vodu.

What would you like to eat?
Co chceš jíst?

What would you like to drink?
Co chceš pít?

What would you like to do?
Co chceš dělat?

If you have any suggestions or corrections I’d love to hear from you. All credit goes to E, all mistakes are my own.

This is the fourth post in a series on ‘Glue Phrases’, if you want to start from the beginning start here or you view all posts in the series here.

Lost & Found

Things you might lose, find or want…

Phone / Telefon. (sg)(m)
Keys / Klíče. (pl)(m)
Glasses / Brýle. (pl)(m)
Bread / Chléb. (sg)(m)
Salad / Salát. (sg)(m)
Ham / Šunka. (sg)(f)
Cheese / Sýr. (sg)(m)
Beer / Pivo. (sg)(n)
Wine / Víno. (sg)(n)
Glass (cup) / Pohár. (sg)(m)

Places they might be…

In the kitchen. / V kuchyni.
In the drawer. / V zásuvce.
In the bedroom. / V ložnici.
In the living room. / V obýváku.
In the bathroom. / V koupelni.
In the toilet. / Na záchodě.
On the bench. / Na drezu.
On the table. / Na stole.
On the bedside table. / Na stolku v ložnice.

Looking for things…
I can’t find … .
Nemůžu najít … .

I’ve lost … .
Ztratila jsem …. .
Be careful, ‘ztratila’ implies more finality than ‘lost’ does in common English usage.

Where is … ?
Kde je … ? (sg) / Kde jsou … ? (pl)

My.
Moje (pl) / můj (m) / moja (f) / moje (n).

Examples…

I’ve lost my phone. / Ztratila jsem telefon.
I can’t find my glasses. / Nemůžu najít moje brýle.
Where are my keys? / Kde jsou moje klíče?
Where is the bread? / Kde je chléb?

Finding things…
He / she / it.
On / ona / ono.
Used based on gender of the noun, usually omitted when answering a question.

Is / Are.
Je / Jsem.
Singular and plural, just like English

Examples…

Here it is. / Tady je.
Here they are. / Tady jsou.
They are in the kitchen. / (Oni) jsou v kuchyni. [The item is male, plural]
It is in the drawer. / (Ona) je ve zásuvce. [The item is female, singular]
They are on the table. / (Oni) je na stole. [The item neutral, plural]

Things we have…
Have we?
Máme (my) … ?

We have … .
(My) máme … ?

We don’t have … .
(My) nemáme … ?

Examples…

Have we bread? / Máme (my) chléb?
We have beer. / (My) máme pivo.
We don’t have wine. / (My) nemáme víno.

If you have any suggestions or corrections I’d love to hear from you. All credit goes to E, all mistakes are my own.

This is the third post in a series on ‘Glue Phrases’, if you want to start from the beginning start here or you view all posts in the series here.

Describing the Environment
Is it cold? / Yes, it is cold. / No, it isn’t cold.
Je zima? / Ano, je zima. / Ne, není zima.

Is it warm? / Yes, it is warm. / No, it isn’t warm.
Je teplo? / Ano, je teplo. / Ne, není teplo.

Is it raining? / Yes, it is raining. / No, it’s not raining.
Prší? / Ano, prší. / Ne, neprší.

Is it sunny? / Yes, it is sunny. / No, it’s not sunny.
Je slunečno? / Ano, je slunečno. / Ne, není slunečno.

If you have any suggestions or corrections I’d love to hear from you. All credit goes to E, all mistakes are my own.

This is the second post in a series on ‘Glue Phrases’ in Czech, if you want to start from the beginning start here or you can view all posts in the series here.

Basic Feelings
Are you cold? / Yes, I’m cold. / No, I’m not cold.
Je ti zima? / Ano, je mi zima. / Ne, není mi zima.

Are you warm? / Yes, I’m warm. / No, I’m not warm.
Je ti teplo? / Ano, Je mi teplo. / Ne, není mi teplo.

Are you tired? / Yes, I’m tired. / No, I’m not tired.
Jsi unavený? / Ano, jsem unavený. / Ne, nejsem unavený.

Are you hungry? / Yes, I’m hungry. / No, I’m not hungry.
Máš hlad? (Jsi hladový?) / Ano, jsem hladový. / Ne, nejsem hladový.

Are you thirsty? / Yes, I’m thirsty. / No, I’m not thirsty.
Máš žízeň? / Ano, mám žízeň. / Ne, nemám žízeň.

If you have any suggestions or corrections I’d love to hear from you. All credit goes to E, all mistakes are my own.

This post begins a series of eight blog posts that introduce the basic Czech language building blocks I have collected to get me using Czech day-by-day.

My on-going mission to learn to speak Czech as quickly as possible continues. I find, however, that working simply with a book is slow and at times at little uninspiring. I know that I personally learn language much better in context. This led naturally to the conclusion that, as a priority I wanted to start using Czech at home for basic day to day conversations. My feeling was that this would serve several purposes…

• Make the process of learning the language more fun and rewarding. Using Czech in simple ‘would you like a cup of tea’ type conversations brings it alive and into real life.
• Provide a vehicle for quickly adding the nouns and verbs I need most urgently to my repertoire. I feel I need a short list of basic sentences (I want to, where is, etc) in order to be able to use nouns and verbs as I learn them otherwise, again, it becomes an academic exercise.
• Begin the process of learning grammar through hearing the language. This is the only way I know for me to effectively learn grammar. Trying to learn foreign language grammar from a book is nearly impossible for me, probably due to my lack of formal knowledge of English grammar.

I have collected some really basic sentence building blocks that I hope fulfil the purposes described above. The posts will cover the following basic areas and will be published over the coming week or so.

1. Basic Feelings
2. Describing the Environment
3. Lost & Found
4. Offers & Requests
5. Making Arrangements
6. Making Plans
7. Language Words & Phrases

As part of my on-going efforts to use more Czech in daily life we recently labelled a whole bunch stuff in the house: windows, the fridge, etc. I’ve used it before and find it’s a good way to learn vocabulary as you see things repeatedly and in-context.

Sticky notes though seem to be impermanent and I suspect that there is a finite amount of time that the house, so decorated with stickies, will be tolerated. So I’ve put together a little Gliffy diagram that contains the same information.

For those who are interested, the flat shown bears a passing (though only passing) resemblance to our place in Prague.

A full size image of the diagram is shared via Gliffy here.

All credit goes to E, all mistakes are my own. Corrections welcome.

I have recently been taken with the notion, in a twist on the Pareto Principle, that when acquiring a new language or moving to / visiting a new country the greatest value comes from having 20 key survival phrases.

Thus, what follows is my Essential 20 phrases with their translations into Czech.

Corrections welcome.

Hello.
Ahoj.
Ahoj is quite informal, if you don’t know the person well use Dobrý den ‘good day’ or Dobrý večer ‘good evening’.

Good bye.
Na shledanou.

Yes.
Ano.

No.
Ne.

I’ll have … . (in a restaurant)
Dám si … .

One beer / one tea / one water, please.
Jedno pivo / jeden čaj / jednu vodu, prosím.

The bill, please.
Učet prosím.

How much does it cost?
Kolik to stoji?

Where is … ? (person / place)
Kde je … ?

Where is the bathroom?
Kde je W.C. / toaleta?

I don’t speak Czech.
Nemluvím česky.

Do you speak English?
Mluvíte anglicky?

I don’t understand.
Nerozumím.

Can you repeat that please?
Prosím, můžete to zopakovat?

Can you help me?
Můžete mi pomoct?

I’m sorry.
Omlouvám se.

No problem / It’s ok.
Nic se nestalo.

Please.
Prosím.

Thank you.
Děkuji.

Sure / you’re welcome / my pleasure.
Neni zač / prosím / rádo se stalo.

Excuse me.
Promiňte.

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10.
Jeden (m) / jedna (f) / jedno (n), dva (m) / dvě (f/n), tři, čtyři, pět, šest, sedum, osm, devět, deset.