
Czech phrasebook Travel Guide
From Wikitravel
Czech is a Slavonic language, closely related to Slovak and Polish. Spoken by over 10 million people, Czech is the official language of the Czech Republic.
Czech belongs to the "synthetic" language group, which means that unlike English and other "analytical" languages, different grammatical aspects are expressed in one word by changing the structure of that word - adding an ending or prefix, modifying the core of the word, etc. In analytical languages such as English, the same is achieved by using separate auxiliary verbs, pronouns or adjectives while the actual word remains unchanged. In Czech, one word is often sufficient to express what English can only achieve by using multiple words.
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Pronunciation guide
Vowels
The accent doesn't mean a vowel is stressed. It means it's long.
- a
- like 'a' in "barn"
- e
- like 'e' in "red"
- ě
- like 'ye' in "yet"
- i
- like 'i' in "machine"
- o
- like 'o' in "mole"
- u
- like 'ou' in "you"
- ů
- same as 'u', but corresponds to 'o' in other languages
- y
- same as 'i'
Consonants
- b
- like 'b' in "bed"
- c
- like 'ts' in "tsunami"
- č
- like 'ch' in "child"
- d
- like 'd' in "dog"
- ď
- like 'd' in "duty"
- f
- like 'f' in "for"
- g
- like 'g' in "go"
- h
- like 'h' in "help"
- ch
- like 'kh' in "Mikhail"
- j
- like 'y' in "yell"
- k
- like 'k' in "king"
- l
- like 'l' in "love"
- m
- like 'm' in "mother"
- n
- like 'n' in "nice"
- ň
- like 'ñ' in Spanish "señor"
- p
- like 'p' in "pig"
- q
- like 'q' in "quest" (very rare)
- r
- like Scottish 'r' (a.k.a. rolling 'r')
- ř
- like 'r' in "try", the tip of your tongue should vibrate loosely. Not unlike "diversion". (very difficult for foreigners, even the young Czechs have to learn it).
- s
- like 's' in "his"
- š
- like 'sh' in "cash"
- t
- like 't' in "top"
- ť
- like 'ti' in "Tatiana"
- v
- like 'v' in "victory"
- w
- like 'v' in "victor" (rarely used in Czech words, however used in German-originated proper nouns or words of Polish origin)
- x
- like 'cks' in "kicks"
- z
- like 'z' in "zebra"
- ž
- like 'j' in french "Jacques"
Digraphs
- sh
- not like the "sh" in "ship" but rather 's' followed by 'h' as in glasshouse.
Phrase list
Basics
- Hello.
- Dobrý den. (Dobree den)
- Hello. (informal)
- Ahoj. (Ahoy)
- How are you?
- Jak se máš? (Yuk seh maash?)
- Fine, thank you.
- Dobře, děkuji. (Dobrzhe, dyekuooyih.)
- What is your name?
- Jak se jmenuješ? (Yuk say menooyesh?)
- My name is ______ .
- Jmenuji se ______ . (Ymenuyoo seh _____.)
- Nice to meet you.
- Těší mě. (Tyehshee mnyeh.)
- Please.
- Prosím (Proseem)
- Thank you.
- Děkuji. (Dyekooyih.)
- You're welcome.
- Rádo se stalo. (Raado seh stulo.)
- Yes.
- Ano. (Uhnoh.)
- No.
- Ne. (Neh.)
- Excuse me, I am sorry. (getting attention)
- Promiňte (Prominyteh.)
- Goodbye
- Na shledanou (Naskhlehdano-oo.)
- I can't speak Czech [well].
- Neumím [moc dobře] mluvit česky (Neh-oomeem [mots dobrzheh] mloovit cheskee.)
- Do you speak English?
- Mluvíte anglicky? (Mlooveeteh unglitskee?)
- Is there someone here who speaks English?
- Je tady někdo, kdo mluví anglicky? (Yeh tuhdih nyegdo gdo mloovee uhnglitskee?)
- Help!
- Pomoc! (Pomots!)
- Look out!
- Pozor! (Pozor!)
- Good morning.
- Dobré ráno (Dobray raano.)
- Good evening.
- Dobrý večer (Dobree vecher.)
- Good night.
- Dobrou noc (Dobro-oo nohts.)
- I don't understand.
- Nerozumím (Nehrozumeem)
- Where is the toilet?
- Kde je záchod? (Gde ye zaakhot?)
Problems
- Leave me alone.
- Nechte mě být. (NEHKH-teh myeh beet)
- Don't touch me!
- Nedotýkejte se mě! (NEH-doh-tee-keh-yehteh!)
- I'll call the police.
- Zavolám policii (ZAH-voh-laam POH-lee-tsee)
- Police!
- Policie! (POH-lee-tsee-eh!)
- Stop! Thief!
- Stůj, (stooyeh) zloděj! (ZLOH-dyehy!)
- I need your help.
- Potřebuji vaši pomoc. (POHT-rgeh-boo-yee POH-mots)
- It's an emergency.
- To je nebezpečí. (toh yeh NEH-behz-peh-chee)
- I'm lost.
- Jsem ztracen (YEH-sehm ZTRAH-tsehn)
- I lost my bag.
- Ztratil jsem tašku (ZTRAH-til yeh-sehm TAHSH-koo)
- I lost my wallet.
- Ztratil jsem peněženku (ZTRAH-til yeh-sehm PEH-ehh-zhehn-koo)
- I'm sick .
- Je mi špatně. (yeh mee SHPAH-tnehh)
- I've been injured.
- Jsem zraněn (YEH-sehm ZRAH-nehhn)
- I need a doctor.
- Potřebuji doktora (POHT-rgeh-boo-yee DOHK-toh-rah)
- Can I use your phone?
- Mohu použít váš telefon? (MOH-hoo pwoh-zheet vaash TEH-leh-fohn?)
Numbers
- 1
- jeden/jedna
- 2
- dva/dvě
- 3
- tři
- 4
- čtyři
- 5
- pět
- 6
- šest
- 7
- sedm
- 8
- osm
- 9
- devět
- 10
- deset
- 11
- jedenáct
- 12
- dvanáct
- 13
- třináct
- 14
- čtrnáct
- 15
- patnáct
- 16
- šestnáct
- 17
- sedmnáct
- 18
- osmnáct
- 19
- devatenáct
- 20
- dvacet
- 21
- dvacet jedna
- 22
- dvacet dva
- 23
- dvacet tři
- 30
- třicet
- 40
- čtyřicet
- 50
- padesát
- 60
- šedesát
- 70
- sedmdesát
- 80
- osmdesát
- 90
- devadesát
- 100
- sto
- 175
- sto sedmdesát pět
- 200
- dvě stě
- 300
- tři sta
- 1000
- tisíc
- 2000
- dva tisíce
- 3758
- tři tisíce sedm set padesát osm
- 1,000,000
- milion
- 1,000,000,000
- miliarda
- 1,000,000,000,000
- bilion
- number _____ (train, bus, etc.)
- číslo _____ (cheeslo)
- half
- půl
- less (than)
- méně (než)
- more (than)
- více (než)
Time
Clock time
Duration
Days
- today
- dnes
- tonight
- dnes večer
- yesterday
- včera
- yesternight
- včera v noci
- the day before yesterday
- předevčírem
- tomorrow
- zítra
- the day after tomorrow
- pozítří
- this week
- tento týden
- last week
- minulý týden
- next week
- příští týden
Monday is viewed as the first day in week in the Czech Republic.
- Monday
- pondělí
- Tuesday
- úterý
- Wednesday
- středa
- Thursday
- čtvrtek
- Friday
- pátek
- Saturday
- sobota
- Sunday
- neděle
Months
- January
- leden
- February
- únor
- March
- březen
- April
- duben
- May
- květen
- June
- červen
- July
- červenec
- August
- srpen
- September
- září
- October
- říjen
- November
- listopad
- December
- prosinec
Colors
- black
- černá
- white
- bílá
- gray
- šedá
- red
- červená
- blue
- modrá
- yellow
- žlutá
- green
- zelená
- orange
- oranžová
- purple
- fialová
- brown
- hnědá
Transportation
Bus and train
- How much is a ticket to _____?
- Kolik stojí jízdenka do _____? (...)
- One ticket to _____, please.
- Jednu jízdenku do _____, prosím. (...)
- Where does this train/bus go?
- Kam jede tento vlak/autobus? (...)
- Where is the train/bus to _____?
- Kde je vlak/autobus do _____? (...)
- Does this train/bus stop in _____?
- Staví tento vlak/autobus v _____? (...)
- When does the train/bus for _____ leave?
- Kdy odjíždí vlak/autobus do _____? (...)
- When will this train/bus arrive in _____?
- Kdy tento vlak/autobus přijede do _____? (...)
- Next stop
- _____. : Příští zastávka: _____. (...)
Directions
- How do I get to _____ ?
- Jak se dostanu do/k/na _____ ? (...)
- ...the train station?
- ...na vlakové nádraží? (...)
- ...the bus station?
- ...na autobusové nádraží? (...)
- ...the airport?
- ...na letiště? (...)
- ...downtown?
- ...do centra? (...)
- ...the youth hostel?
- ...do hostelu? (...)
- ...the _____ hotel?
- ...do hotelu _____? (...)
- ...the American/Canadian/Australian/British consulate?
- ...k americkému/kanadskému/australskému/britskému konzulátu? (...)
- Where are there a lot of...
- Kde je tam mnoho... (...)
- ...hotels?
- ...hotelů? (...)
- ...restaurants?
- ...restaurací? (...)
- ...bars?
- ...barů? (...)
- ...sites to see?
- ...míst k vidění? (...)
- Can you show me on the map?
- Můžete mi ukázat na mapě? (...)
- street
- ulice (...)
- Turn left.
- Odbočte vlevo. (...)
- Turn right.
- Odbočte vpravo. (...)
- left
- vlevo (...)
- right
- vpravo (...)
- straight ahead
- rovně (...)
- towards the _____
- směrem k _____ (...)
- past the _____
- za _____ (...)
- before the _____
- před _____ (...)
- Watch for the _____.
- Hledejte _____. (...)
- intersection
- křižovatka (...)
- north
- sever (...)
- south
- jih (...)
- east
- východ (...)
- west
- západ (...)
- uphill
- nahoru (...)
- downhill
- dolů (...)
Taxi
- Taxi!
- Taxi! (...)
- Take me to _____, please.
- Vezměte mě do/k/na _____, prosím. (...)
- How much does it cost to get to _____?
- Kolik to stojí do/k/na _____? (...)
- Take me there, please.
- Vezměte mě tam, prosím. (...)
Lodging
Money
Eating
Bars
- Do you serve alcohol?
- Podáváte alkohol? (...)
- Is there table service?
- Je tu obsluha? (...)
- A beer/two beers, please.
- (Jedno) pivo/dvě piva, prosím. (...)
- Becherovka, please.
- Becherovku, prosím. (...)
- A glass of red/white wine, please.
- Červené/bílé víno, prosím. (...)
- Half a litre, please.
- Půllitr, prosím. (...)
- A bottle, please.
- Láhev, prosím. (...)
- _____ (hard liquor) and _____ (mixer), please.
- _____ a _____, prosím. (...)
- whiskey
- whiskey (...)
- vodka
- vodka (...)
- rum
- rum (...)
- water
- voda (...)
- club soda
- limonáda (...)
- tonic water
- tonik (...)
- orange juice
- pomerančový džus (...)
- Coke (soda)
- kola (...)
- Do you have any bar snacks?
- Máte něco pro chuť? (...)
- One more, please.
- Ještě jedno, prosím. (...)
- Another round, please.
- Ještě jednou, prosím. (...)
- When is closing time?
- Kdy zavíráte? (...)
- Cheers!
- Na zdraví! (...)