They say that living in Russia today is not fashionable and expensive. Many brave and desperate go to live and work abroad in distant countries, but many of us, possessing a certain sentimentality and fearing nostalgia, prefer to leave, but not far away. Where to? That's right, to Europe! They choose a closer country, and preferably a Slavic one. One of these is the Czech Republic.

Do I need to know them

Having arrived here, you need to say something, but how? Is it difficult to learn at least a minimum of Czech phrases? By the way, Czech is one of the richest Slavic languages ​​in the world. For comparison - in Russian today there are about 130 thousand words, and in Czech - more than 250 thousand. Phrases in Czech are intuitive for us, Slavs, although many words have a certain cunning. For example, Russian word“Beautiful” sounds like “terrible” in Czech, the word “fresh” sounds like “callous” and the like.

But not only those who left their homeland will have to pore over a textbook in Czech. Today, learning this language has become easy fashion trend from the Russians. For those who know some other Slavic language, it will be even easier to understand Czechs and learn a few phrases in Czech.

Many go to the Czech Republic to get an education. This is one of the few European countries where you can study free of charge, and the quality of the knowledge gained will be the highest level on a global scale. Therefore, future students are obliged to know the basic phrases like no other.

Where come in handy

Everyone who deals with translations will need the Czech language - guides, diplomats, translators working both in the country and abroad.

It will not be difficult for tourists to learn a few phrases in Czech. Both the service staff at the hotel and the waiter in the restaurant will be pleased to hear the phrase on native language... And if you, God forbid, get lost in the city, general phrases will help you understand how to get to the right address, because the language will bring you to Kiev. A Czech not difficult at all, and learning it is not only easy, but also fun, especially in a friendly company!

For those who go on vacation to the Czech capital, it will be very useful to familiarize yourself with our detailed manual, available here, which explains in detail how to properly organize your trip to Prague so that it is interesting, safe and does not go beyond your budget. In a few minutes, it will take you to read the article, you will learn how to save a significant amount of money without straining at all.

Will Czechs understand Russian?

The Czech Republic is one of the most popular destinations for Russians, and most Czechs living in tourist areas will understand us perfectly. And in other cities there should be no problems ... Opening of borders after the collapse Soviet Union contributed to the influx of emigrants to the Czech Republic, and many Russians, Ukrainians and Belarusians left to live in this country. So Russians will be understood in a restaurant, in a shop, and on the street. The main thing when communicating is not to forget that kindness and a smile on your face is a disarming tool for starting absolutely any communication.

Today, the study of the Czech language is gradually becoming fashionable among our compatriots. And the reason for this is not least the fact that Czech belongs to the West Slavic language group, which means that it has a lot in common with Russian. In just a few minutes of your stay in the Czech Republic, you will begin to understand the meaning of many signs, the meaning of individual words and expressions, and after a few days you will probably be able to exchange a couple of phrases with the locals.
Especially lucky for those who know some other Slavic language, for example Ukrainian: these travelers will be able to understand almost fluently most conversations on everyday topics.
And yet, before diving into the language environment, let's take a closer look at its features.

All Slavic languages ​​have one common source - the Old Church Slavonic language, which was spread by the well-known Cyril and Methodius. However, if the Russian alphabet inherited the so-called Cyrillic spelling of letters, then in the Czech Republic, as a European country, they began to use the Latin alphabet, adapting it to the peculiarities of the local pre-existing language with the help of superscripts - apostrophes and acute. Apostrophes were placed over the consonants to indicate their hardness (for example, the word lekař (doctor) sounds like "lekarsh") and over the vowel "e" to indicate the softness of the preceding consonant. Acuts, which look like an accent mark, are used to denote long vowels (á, é, í, ó, ý). A small circle (ů) was placed above it to represent the long “u”. These rules exist in the Czech language to this day.
Unlike Russian, the Czech language has retained a large number of archaic forms. For example, in addition to the six main cases of nouns, it also contains the so-called vocative case, the analogue of which in Russian is the address.

A few words about the peculiarities of pronunciation in the Czech language. First of all, it should be noted that, unlike Russian, the stress here always falls on the first syllable (in polysyllabic words there is an additional stress). Now about what sounds correspond to individual letters:
the letter "c" corresponds to the sound [c],
č is pronounced as [h],
the combination of letters ch means one sound - [x],
the sound of the letter "h" resembles Ukrainian [g], which in Russian was preserved in the exclamation "Wow!",
"Ř" denotes either the sound [hw] or [rsh], depending on its position in the word,
"Š" sounds like [w],
"Ž" sounds like [f],
"J" sounds like [th],
the letter "ň" corresponds to the sound [нь].
In addition, there is great amount the nuances associated with pronunciation, which are simply not possible to talk about within one article.

It would be nice, of course, to know a few words and phrases that can be useful in different situations - when communicating with the staff of a hotel, restaurant, store and others.
Here is a small phrasebook containing the most common ones:

Everyday
Good morning! - Dobré ráno! [Good early!]
Good day! - Dobrý den! [Dobri Dan!]
How are you / are you doing? - Jak se mate / maš? [Yak se mate / mash?]
Thank you, good - Děkuji, dobře
My name is ... - Jmenuji se ... [Ymenui se ...]
Goodbye! - Na shledanou! [To the skladanow!]
Morning - Ráno [Early]
Afternoon - Odpoledne [Odpoledne]
Evening - Večer
Night - Noc
Today - Dnes [Dnes]
Yesterday - Včera [Vchera]
Tomorrow - Zitra [Zitra]
Do you speak Russian (English, German)? - Mluvíte ruština (anglicky, německy?)
I don't understand - Nerozumím [Ne rozumim]
Please repeat one more time - Řekněte to ještě jadnou, prosim
Thank you - Děkuji [Diekuy]
Please - Prosim [Please]
Who / what - Kdo / co [Gdo / tso]
What - Jaký [Yaki]
Where / where - Kde / kam [Where / kam]
How / how much - Jak / kolik [Yak / colic]
How long / when? - Jak dlouho / kdy? [Yak dlougo / gdy]
Why? - Proč? [Other?]
How is it in Czech? - Jak ten to česky? [Yak ten what is it?]
could you help me? - Můžete mi pomoci? [Man, help me?]
Yes / no - Ano / ne [Ano / not]
Sorry - Promiňte [Prominte]

Tourist
Is there information for tourists here? - Je tu turistická informace? [Ie tu tourist information?]
I need a city plan / hotel list - Máte plan města / seznam hotelů? [Mate plan mnesta / seasons want]
When does the museum / church / exhibition open? - Kdy je otevřeny museum / kostel / výstava? [Where are the museums / kostel / exhibitions?]

In the shop
Where can I find… ? - Kde dostanu ...? [Where will I get it ...?]
What is the price? - Kolik to stoji? [Colic then stand there?]
It's too expensive - To je moc drahé
Dislikes / likes - Ne / libi [Ne / libi]
Do you have this item in a different color / size? - Máte to ještě v jiné barvě / velikosti? [Mate then yeshtie in ine barvie / greatness?]
I take it - Vezmu si to [Vesmu si to]
Give me 100 g of cheese / 1 kg of oranges - Dejte mi deset deka sýra / jadno kilo pomerančů
Do you have newspapers? - Máte noviny? [Mate new?]

In the restaurant
Menu, please - Jidelní listek, prosím
Bread - Chléb [Bread]
Tea - Čaj [Tea]
Coffee - Káva [Kava]
With milk / sugar - S mlékem / cukrem [With mlék / cukrem]
Orange juice - Pomerančova št'áva [Pomerančova shtyava]
White / red / rose wine - Vino bile / Červené / Růžové
Lemonade - Limonáda [Lemonade]
Beer - Pivo [Beer]
Water - Voda [Water]
Mineral water - Mineralní voda [Minerania water]
Soup - Polévka
Fish - Ryba [Fish]
Meat - Maso [Maso]
Salad - Salát [Salad]
Dessert - Dezert [Dezert]
Fruit - Ovoce
Ice Cream - Zmrzlina [Zmrzlina]
Breakfast - Snidaně
Lunch - Oběd
Dinner - Večeře
Bill please - Účet prosím

At the hotel
I ordered a room from you - Mám u vás reservaci
Do you have a double room? - Máte volný dvoulůžkovy pokoj? [Mate, are the two-lunge rest free?]
With a balcony - S balkónem? [From Balcony]
With shower and toilet - Se sprchou a WC [Se sprchou a vetse]
What is the room rate per night? - Kolik stojí pokoj na noc? [Colic stand still?]
With breakfast? - Se snidani? [Will we get it?]
Can I look around the room? - Mohu se podívat na pokoj? [Can I say goodbye to the rest?]
Is there another room? - Máte ještě jiný pokoj? [Mate yeshtie iny peace?]
Where can I park? - Kde mohu parkovat? [Where can I park?]
Bring my luggage, please - Můžete donést moje zavazadlo na pokoj prosím? [Muzhete mi donest my back to rest, please?]

Different situations
Where is the bank / exchange office here? - Kde je tady bank / vyméný punkt? [Where ye tady bank / udder item?]
Where is the phone? - Kdye mogu telefonovat? [Where can I phone?]
Where can I buy a phone card? - Kde mohu dostat telefonni kartu? [Where can I get a telephone card?]
I need a doctor / dentist - Potřebuji lékaře / zubaře [Potřebuji lékaře / zubaře]
Call an ambulance / police - Zavolejte prosím zachrannu službu / policii
Where is the police station? - Kde je policejní komisařství? [Where are the police officers of the commission?]
They stole me ... - Ukradli mně ... [They stole my ...]

Download and print a phrasebook (.doc format) that will be useful to you on your trip.

A bit of history
Each national language is directly related both to a single person who speaks it, and to the entire people as a whole. And, like people, it tends to change over time - to develop or, conversely, to fade, to experience the influence of other languages, to transform its own rules in every possible way, and so on.
Before finding its current appearance, the Czech language underwent many different reforms and improvements. However, the most interesting fact from its history is, perhaps, the fact that it became the official state language twice. First, in the 15th century, after the basic literary norms and rules were formed, and then at the beginning of the twentieth century. Why did this happen, you ask. The thing is that at the beginning of the 17th century, after the fatal battle at White Mountain, the Czech Republic for three centuries was part of the powerful Austro-Hungarian Empire, which was ruled by representatives german house Habsburgs. In order to strengthen their power in the captured states, the Habsburgs tried to strengthen the influence of the German language in these territories. Despite the fact that members of the government were chosen from the circles of the German nobility, the main population of the Czech Republic still spoke their native language, moreover, it continued to develop: books and treatises in Czech were published, grammatical rules were formed, and at the end of the 19th century it was published the first Czech encyclopedia.
By the way, traces of the historical past are noticeable in the Czech Republic to this day: there are still tourists who speak German understand better than those who speak English. In 1918, the Austro-Hungarian Empire collapsed, the independent Republic of Czechoslovakia was founded, and two years later the Czech language (more precisely, Czechoslovakian) again acquired the status of an official one.

Deceit words
Despite the fact that Russian and Czech languages ​​have a very strong similarity in vocabulary and the meaning of most words can be determined simply by intuition, there are many so-called deceiving words in Czech. Such words sound or are written in almost the same way as in Russian, but they have a completely different meaning. For example, the word "stůl" means a table, "čerstvý" means fresh, and "smetana" means cream. Most often, the difference in values ​​is just a slight bewilderment, but there are times when it causes the stormy fun of our fellow citizens. This is not surprising, because when you find out that in order to buy a fashionable dress in a store, you need to ask for a robe (Czech. "Roba"), the phrase "pleasant smell" does not exist in principle, because the word "zapach" means a stench (when the spirits in Czech sound like "stinkers"), and "pitomec" is not a pet at all, but a fool - it is simply not possible to restrain a smile.

Interesting statistics
Many linguists argue that language statistics are not as useless as they might seem at first glance. In particular, according to the ratings of the frequency of use of certain parts of speech, or even their percentage, one can get some (albeit incomplete) idea of ​​the psychology of people speaking a particular language.
What it is, the national character of the Czech people, we will leave the right to judge you. We have selected here the results of some statistical studies of the Czech language and seasoned them with some interesting linguistic facts.

The most commonly used words in the Czech language are:
a (conjunctions "and", "a" and "but"), být (to be, to be), ten (that, this), v (prepositions "on", "on", "in"), on (pronoun " he "), na (prepositions" to "," in "," for "," from "), že (prepositions" from "," from "), s (se) (preposition" s "), z (ze ) (preposition "from"), který (which, which).

The most common nouns in the Czech language are:
pan (pán) (lord (before the surname)), život (life), člověk (person), práce (labor, business), ruka (hand), den (day, date), zem (země) (country), lidé (people), doba (period, century, time), hlava (head).

The most common Czech verbs are:
být (to be), mít (to have, to possess), moci (to be able, to be able), muset (to be obliged to do something, to have to), vědět (to know, to be able), chtít (to want, to wish), jít (to go ), říci (to say), vidět (to see), dát se (to start, for example, dat se do pláče - to start crying).

The most common adjectives in the Czech language are:
celý (whole, whole, full), velký (veliký) (large), nový (new), starý (old), český (Czech, Czech), dobrý (good, kind), malý (small), možný ( possible, feasible, probable), živý (živ) (lively, vigorous, temperamental).

If we talk about the frequency of use
Most synonyms describe character hardness: pevný, trvanlivý, odolný, solidní, bytelný, nezdolný, nezmarný, silný, tuhý, kompaktní, hutný, nehybný, nepohyblivý, stanovený, nezměnitelný, neměnný ustálený , nezlomný, nezdolný, neoblomný, nesmlouvavý, houževnatý, sukovitý, neochvějný, rázný, rozhodný, důrazný, odhodlaný, energický, průbojný, prýůrazný, tvrd.
Longest word without vowels: scvrnklý (shriveled, wrinkled).
Longest word that can be read from right to left: nepochopen (misunderstanding).

As for the frequency of use different parts speech in the Czech language, the popularity rating here is as follows: the first place was taken by nouns (38.93%), the second was by verbs (27.05%), the third by adjectives (20.98%), the fourth - by adverbs (9 , 04%), the rest of the places with a small gap from each other were divided by pronouns, numerals, conjunctions and prepositions. And Czechs use interjections least of all - there are only 0.36% of them. Here are some interesting statistics!

In a Czech lesson:

- What is the Czech word for cow?

- Krava.

- And how will the "road" be?

- Draga.

- And the "magpie" how will it be?

— …(!!!)

"Strch prst skrz krk"- a normal person will hardly survive. Do you think I'm making it up? This phrase really exists in the Czech language and is translated as "stick your finger through your throat" ... So I say, a normal person would never think of such a thing.

Terrible TELKIN

The first year in Prague was especially difficult for me. If only because my acquaintances called me exclusively "pritelkina" - a girlfriend. The Slavic brothers did not realize how insulting and even indecent this word sounds in the Russian manner. And when I was asked where my cattle were, I was completely speechless. “No, guys, this is too much. I can still be a bedside-table, but what does it have to do with cattle-toot? " If you are asked about "cattle" or, even worse, about "cattle" - know that we are talking about the place of residence. And if they say that you live in a nice “barrack”, all the more you shouldn't be offended, because in Czech “barrack” is a house. Among Czechs, in general, the highest degree of praise is one capacious word. When a guy wants to compliment a girl, he says, "Oh, how awful you are!" Have you already imagined an awful little thing that lives with cattle in a barrack?

Meat processing plant "Pisek"

Being Russian in Prague is generally very difficult. You seem to buy vegetables, and they give you fruit (“sheep” in Czech means fruit). Instead of a side dish, you can get toadstool. Try to eat it! And although the green sticky mass is actually buckwheat, Czech buckwheat looks really like a toadstool. It's better not to go to grocery stores at all: is it possible to buy food at Poravini? Namely, this is what Czech grocery stores are called. Moreover, the bread there is still “stale” (fresh in Czech), and the sausages are mainly produced at the “Pisek meat-packing plant”. The apotheosis of Czech cuisine is “sour butts salad” (“butts” - cucumbers). Are you salivating already?

And how will it be?

Words like “soap” (that is, soap), “letadlo” (airplane), “hodidlo” (foot), “washed” (sink), “saddle” (seat, what did you think?), Turned out to be flowers in comparison with what I had to hear in the first year of my life in Prague. By the way, I wonder what the word for “jam” is in Czech? Once, while peacefully riding a catamaran, I heard hoarse cries: “Shame! Padla! “A boat was sailing right at us with the catamaran, and the helmsman was shouting obscene words at the top of his lungs. Well, who would not be offended if they called him a bastard, and even shameful? Wow! I remembered these words and harbored a grudge against all Czechs. When the right moment came (I was just cheated in the restaurant), I decided to take revenge, and at the same time show my updated vocabulary... Well, she gave it to the waiter, shaking her head reproachfully: “Shame, you bastard…” He looked at me for a long time in bewilderment. It turned out that "bastard" is just an oar, and "shame" is attention. The man in the boat shouted “Careful, oars!”, Wanting to keep me from being hit by the oar.

Popular

What are you doing ?!

In general, the Czech language is fraught with many surprises. For example, English-speaking tourists get into a fight for the fact that a courteous Czech salesman thanked them for their purchase. "Thank you very much" in Czech sounds something like this: "Dicke Moutz", which, when pronounced quickly, gives the English "Dick e Mouse". And a simple clarification “What are you?” Sounds deadly for an Englishman, because “Fact yo?”. What is good for a Czech is a red rag for an English speaker. Another “masterpiece” of the Czech language is Vietnamese Czech. There are plenty of Asians in Prague, and everyone, of course, has their own pronunciation. So, leaving their store, you will hear goodbye "nassano" - "goodbye" that is, in Czech "goodbye" - "inherited", but what can you do with the Vietnamese? Nassano, so nassano.

Smelly perfume and funny odpad

“The lady is fragrant all over. They say she stinks. Linguistic information: in the Czech Republic, perfume is a "stink" - this is how Boris Goldberg writes about the Czech language. And I confirm his observation. If you want to compliment the aroma of food, for example, do not rush to compliment “how delicious it smells.” “Smell” is very pleasant for the Czech sense of smell, but “smell” is associated with something rotten and disgusting. Therefore, all girls in the Czech Republic stink of perfume, and garbage bins smell. By the way, trash cans (well, since they smell delicious) and are called accordingly - “odpad.” If “odpad” is mixed, then it is simply called “funny odpad.” Fans of Russian slang really like words like “grab” (understand ), “Palivo” (fuel), “sranda” (no-no, this is a joke), “mraz” (frost) and “mzda” (payment) .And many of our tourists still cannot forget the advertising slogan on the billboard of Coca -cola: "Finished the creature" (this is not what you thought, it means "perfect creation").

Super-Vaclav rushes to the rescue

The readers of Cosmopolitan probably got the impression that incomprehensible gop-style people live in the Czech Republic, or rather bydly. But this is not at all true! Czechs are a very friendly and well-mannered people. She was convinced of this herself when she took the dog out for a walk. It is customary in Europe to collect "dog waste" in a special bag and put it in the trash (we remember that trash bins in the Czech Republic are "odpad"). Violators of this rule are monitored by a superhero, more precisely Super-Vaclav (we are in the Czech Republic He makes the owners pick up "weapons of mass destruction" with their hands and carry them home, while those who do not do this are coated with these very weapons, while smiling amiably and saying "Dick e Mouse", "Dick e Mouse", "Fact yo? ".
Choose expressions when walking around Prague! And “Shame! Police varue "(" Attention! Police warn ").