#learn czech

You can now learn languages with LangGuessr! Pick your level from 1 to 20, from the most common to the most obscure words, translate the words you know and memorise the ones you don't.

This is a learning method I developed to work best for myself, if it works for any of you then all the better!

List of languages currently available (more coming soon!):

(langblr reactivation challenge day 4)

czech - spanish - english

brambory - patatas - potatoes brokolice - brócoli - broccoli celer - apio - celery cibule - cebolla - onion česnek - ajo - garlic čočka - lentejas - lentils fazole - frijoles - beans houba - seta - mushroom hrášek - guisantes - peas chřest - espárragos - asparagus kapusta - repollo - cabbage kukuřice - maíz - corn květák - coliflor - cauliflower lilek, baklažán - berenjena - eggplant mrkev - zanahoria - carrot okurka - pepino - cucumber paprika - pimiento - bell pepper petržel - perejil - parsley pórek - puerro - leek špenát - espinaca - spinach

In this lesson you’re going to learn how to ask the question “What is this?” and responses you can give to this question.

What is this? What is that?

Co je to? - What is this?

Co je tamto? - What is that?

In Czech language it is possible to translate the sentence exactly as it is in English. Meaning: 

Co - What

Je - is (3rd person, singular)

To - this

Tamto - that

If you are asking the question and pointing at more than one thing, you ask the same way! That means that if you want to say “What are those?”you are still going to say Co je tamto?

It must sound a bit weird but believe me, it is natural in Czech.

As you will find out in the next lessons, in Czech we use conjugations and declensions to determine whether the noun is a subject or subject and to whom the verb points to. Therefore it is possible, in some cases, to change the structure of the sentence (usually to emphasize a specific detail). It can happen you’ll encounter very often Co to je? which is the same as Co je to?

Remember though, that in most cases the sentence structure is SVO (subject-verb-object) as in English.

This is.../That is...

This is where things get a bit complicated because unlike when asking the question, when replying, you need to differentiate between plural and sigular.

Let’s look at the singular first:

To je ... - This is...

Tamto je ... - That is...

It works just as in English!

Now when the refered noun is in plural:

To jsou ... - These are...

Tamto jsou ... - Those are...

Unlike in English, the pronouns haven’t changed. Only the verb did because as I said before, we conjugate verbs depending on the subject of the sentence.

Jsou - are (3rd person, plural)

Vocabulary and examples

Let’s look at how we can use this grammar in practice. First let’s learn some new vocabulary.

Unfortunally there is no one way of making plural in Czech so I am going to put the plurals in brackets after the noun. You’ll learn more about plural nouns in the future so for now let’s not think about it too much.

Pes (psi) - Dog

Kočka (kočky) - Cat

Pták (ptáci) - Bird

Dům (domy) - House

Fotka (fotky) - Photo

Kniha (knihy) - Book

Telefon (telefony) - Phone/Mobile phones

Počítač (počítače) - Computer

Láhev (láhve) - Bottle

Klíč (klíče) - Key

Look at this dialogue. Did you understand everything? Let me know!

A: Ahoj! B: Ahoj! A: Co to je? B: To jsou knihy. A: A co je tamto? B: Tamto je počítač.

A - and (it can be used the same way as in English - for conecting either two words or two sentences)

As you can notice, there are also no articles in Czech language. It might be a bit weird in the beginning but you don’t have to put anything before a noun, it can stand on its own.

Practice

Try to translate these sentences into Czech! 

What is that?

Those are photos.

This is a phone.

These are bottles.

That is a key.

This is a cat.

What is this?

That is a dog.

These are birds.

Those are houses.

This is a book.

These are computers.

bílá (white) + černá (black) = šedá (gray)

červená (red) + modrá (blue) = fialová (purple) červená + bílá = růžová (pink) červená + žlutá (yellow) = oranžová (orange) modrá + žlutá = zelená (green) červená + žlutá + modrá = hnědá (brown) hnědá + bílá = béžová (beige) You can add tmavě (dark) or světle (light) before a colour to be more precise (e.g. tmavě zelená, světle modrá)

Some sentences from Duolingo:

1. Moje oblíbená barva je žlutá, ale auto chci světle modré —My favourite colour is yellow, but i want a light blue car 2. Jejich dům má červenou barvu —Her house is red 3. Nemám růžové věci —I don't have pink things 4. Máš raději zelenou nebo žlutou? —Do you prefer green or yellow? 5. Chceš černý čaj? —Do you want black tea?

Some questions from Wikiversity: (https://en.wikiversity.org/wiki/Czech_Language/Colors):

Jakou to má barvu? — What colour is it? Jakou má to auto barvu? — What colour is that car? Jaké barvy se ti líbí? — What colours do you like?

Some of my sentences (please don't hesitate to correct me, I'm very much still a total beginner):

Krize kosí podniky v centru Prahy. Největší vlna krachů přijde na podzim

Krize (f) = crisis

kosí → kosit = mow, cut - in this case it means eliminate

podniky (m,pl) → podnik = businesses

v centru (n) → centrum = in centre

Prahy (f) → Praha

Největší = the biggest

vlna (f) = wave

krachů (m,pl) → krach = bankruptcies

přijde → přijít = come, arrive