Mini Phrase Book
The Czech Alphabeth
| Letter | Pronunciation | Example and how it might be read (if different) |
|---|---|---|
| A a | like u in but | americký (American) ameritskee; ano (yes) |
| Á á | a lengthened as in mama | velká (big) velkah |
| B b | same as in English | bratr (brother) bratr |
| C c | ts as in bats | centrum (centre) tsentrum |
| Č č | ch as in Czech | český (Czech) cheskee |
| D d | same as in English | Dobrý večer! (Good evening!) dobree vecher |
| Ď ď | like dy in duty | ďábel (demon) dyabel |
| E e | e as in pet | žena (woman) zhena |
| É é | e lengthened; like a in fair | Dobré opdoledne! (Good fternoon!) dobree ospoledne |
| Ě ě | before e; when after m an n is inserted before e | dítě (child) deetie, pěna (foam) pyena |
| F f | same as in English | Francouz (French) Frantsouz |
| G g | g as in God | galerie (gallery) galerye |
| H h | h as in hen | hrob (tomb) hrob |
| Ch ch | like the german “ch” in Bach | strach (anxiety) strah |
| I i | i as in pit; same as y | pivo (beer) |
| Í í | i lengthened as in meet; same as ý | Jiří (George) Yirzhee |
| J j | y as in yes | Jezero (lake) yezero Jan (John) yahn |
| K k | same as in English | Káva (coffee) kahva |
| L l | same as in English | láska (love) lahska |
| M m | same as in English | muž (man) muzh; město (town) mnesto |
| N n | same as in English | náměstí (town square) nahmnestee; ne (no) |
| Ň ň | y after n; like ne in new | žizen (thirst) zhizeni |
| O o | o as in los_t | rohlík (roll) _rohleek |
| Ó ó | o lengthened as in lawn or call | salónek (lounge) salohnek |
| P p | same as in English | prosím (please) proseem |
| Q q | Found only in borrowed words | quantum (quantum) |
| R r | rolled a bit, but don’t overdo it! | robot (robot) robot |
| Ř ř | pronounced sort of like an r with ž; this is the most difficult sound in Czech | Dvořák dvorzhahk |
| S s | same as in English | sedm (seven) sedm |
| Š š | sh as in shell | Št’astný (happy) shtiastny |
| T t | same as in English | tuk (fat) |
| Ť ť | like tue in Tuesday | Dobrou chuť! (bon appétit!) dobrow huti |
| U u | oo as in look | učitel (teacher) ootchitel |
| Ů ů | u lengthened; oo as in school | sůl (salt) sool |
| Ú ú | same as ů; usually used only at the beginning of a word | úleva (relief) uuleva |
| V v | same as in English | voda (water) |
| W w | same as in English, but this letter is only found in borrowed foreign words | whiska (whisky) |
| X x | Found only in foreign words | xenofob (xenophobe) |
| Y y | same as i; i as in sit | ty (you informal) tee; vy (you plural and formal) vee |
| Ý ý | y lengthened; same as í | černý (black) chernee bílý (white) beelee |
| Z z | same as in English | zámek (castle, lock) zahmek |
| Ž ž | s as in pleasure or ge as in rouge frequently spelled zh | Žízen (thirst) zhyzeny |
| Saying “Hello” | ||
|---|---|---|
| Good morning! | Dobré rano!; Dobré jitro!; | dobre rano; dobre yitro |
| Good evening! | Dobrý večer! | dobree vetcher |
| Good night! | Dobrou noc! | dobrou notz |
| Hello! (“Good day!” | Dobrý den! | dobree den |
| Hi! | Ahoj / Čau!/ Nazdar! | a-hoy / tchau / nazdar |
| Good bye! | Na shledanou! | na schledanou |
| Most frequent words / phrases | ||
|---|---|---|
| Yes | Ano (ano) | ano |
| No | Ne (ne) | ne |
| Why? | Proč? | protch |
| When? | Kdy? | kdy |
| What? Who? | Co? Kdo? | tzo / kdo |
| Rather not. | Raději ne. | radeiey ne |
| I agree. | Souhlasím. | souhlaseem |
| That’s very kind of you! | Jste velmi laskav/a. | yste velmy lascaf/a |
| Please. | Prosím. | proseem |
| Thank you. | Děkuji. | dyekuee |
| That´s all right / You are welcome. | Není zač. / Prosím. | nenee zatch |
| Excuse me. | S dovolením. | s dovoleneem |
| I’m sorry. | Prominte. / Omlouvám se. | promin’te / omlouvam se |
| On the right / to the right | Vpravo / doprava | |
| On the left / to the left | Vlevo / doleva | |
| Straight (on) | Rovně | rovnye |
| Ladies | Dámy / Ženy / Paní | dahmi / zheny / panee |
| Men | Páni / Muži | pany / muzhy |
| Do you speak English / Czech? | Mluvíte anglicky / česky? | mlooveete anglitsky / chesky |
| I don’t speak Czech / English | Nemluvím česky / anglicky. | nemluveem chesky |
| I don’t understand. | Nerozumím. | nerozumeem |
| Emergencies | ||
|---|---|---|
| Help! | Pomoc! | pomots |
| Look out! | Pozor! | pozor |
| Thief! | Zloděj! | zlod(y)ei |
| Fire! | Hoří! | horzhi |
| Are you all right? | Je ti dobře? | ye tee dobrzhe |
| Call an ambulance! | Zavolejte sanitku! | zavolayte sanitku |
| Call the police! | Zavolejte policii! | zavolayte politsee |
| Where is the police station? | Kde je policejní stanice? | kde ye politseyni stanitse |
| I have lost my documents / wallet. | Ztratil jsem doklady / peněženku. | ztratil (y)sem docklady |
| What’s your name? | ||
|---|---|---|
| My name is Jana. | Jmenuji se Jana | emenooee se yana |
| What is your name? | Jak se jmenujete? | yack se emenooiete |
| This is my friend, Pavel. | Toto je můj kamarad, Pavel | to ye muy camarad, Pavel |
| This is Mr. Rychlý. | Toto je pan Rychlý | toto ye pahn reehlee |
| This is Mrs. Rychlá, his wife. | Toto je paní Rychlá, jeho manželka | toto ye pahnee reehla, iecho manzhelcka |
| Nice to meet you | Těší mě | t(y)eshee m(y)e |
| How are you? | Jak se máte? | yak se mate |
| I’m fine, thank you. | Mám se dobře, děkuji | mahm se dobrzhe, d(y)ekooyi |
| Getting your way around | |
|---|---|
| Where can I buy tickets ? (underground, tram, bus) | Kde se prodávají jízdenky? |
| How do I get to the airport / bus / train station? | Jak se dostanu na letišti / autobusové nádraží / vlakové nádraží? |
| How much is a single ticket to….? | Kolik stojí jízdenka do…..? |
| A return ticket, please. | Zpáteční jízdenku, prosím. |
| Next stop: Můstek | Příští zastávka: Můstek. |
| Transfer to line A/B/C | Prestup na linku A/B/C |
| Get off on the right/left side facing the engine | Vystupujete vpravo/vlevo ve smeru jizdy |
| Please stop getting off and on, the doors are closing | Ukoncete prosim vystup a nastup, dvere se zaviraji |
| What is the rate per kilometer? | Jaká je sazba za kilometr? |
| Taxi: Are you free? | Jste volný? |
| Please stop here. | Prosím zastavte tady. |
| Happy journey! | Št´astnou cestu! |
| Directions | |
|---|---|
| Excuse me, where is the bus / tram / underground station? | Prosím vás, kde je stanice autobusu / tramvaje / metra? |
| Is it near? | Je to blízko? |
| Turn right / left. | Zahněte doprava / doleva. |
| Go straight, follow this sign. | Jděte prímo, po této značce. |
| How far is it? | Jak je to daleko? |
| Where is the Old Town Square? | Kde je Staroměstské náměstí? |
| Where can I find a map of the city? | Kde najdu mapu města, prosím? |
| How much is the entrance fee? | Kolik stojí lístek? |
| At the hotel | |
|---|---|
| Can you cancel / confirm my reservation? | Můžete zrušit / potvrdit mou rezervaci? |
| Do you have any rooms available? | Máte volné pokoje? |
| Fully booked / No Vacancies. | Hotel je plně obsazen. |
| I would like a single / double room. | Prosil bych jednolůžkový / dvoulůžkový pokoj. |
| I would like a room for one night / two nights. | Chtěl bych pokoj na jednu noc / na dvě noci. |
| Does the price include breakfast? | Cena zahnuje i snídani? |
| How much is a double room? | Kolik stojí dvoulůžkový pokoj? |
| The heating isn’t working | Nefunguje mi topení. |
| At the restaurant | |
|---|---|
| A table for two, please. | Stůl pro dva, prosím. |
| What will you have? | Co si dáte? |
| What would you recommend? | Co byste mi doporučil? |
| I’ll have …. | Dám si …. |
| Enjoy your meal! | Dobrou chut’! |
| I’ll have a beer please. | Dám si jedno pivo prosím. |
| That was delicious, thank you! | Bylo to vynikající, děkuji! |
| Check please! | Zaplatíme! |
| Shopping | |
|---|---|
| How much is it? | Kolik to stojí? |
| I’ll take it. | Vezmu si to. |
| Can I pay by card? | Můžu zaplatit kartou? |
| May I try it on? | Muhu si to zkusit? |
| Keep the change. | Drobné si nechte. |
| Changing money | |
|---|---|
| Where is a bank? / an exchange office | Kde je banka / směnárna? |
| I need to exchange money. | Potřebuji si vyměnit peníze. |
| I would like to change …. euro / American dollars. | Chtěl bych vyměnit ….. euro / americké dolary. |
| What is your commission? | Jakou účtujete provizi? |
| Where is a cash machine? | Kde je bankomat? |
| At the Bank | |
|---|---|
| Where is a bank? / an exchange office | Kde je banka / směnárna? |
| I need to exchange money. | Potřebuji si vyměnit peníze. |
| I would like to change …. euro / American dollars. | Chtěl bych vyměnit ….. euro / americké dolary. |
| What is your commission? | Jakou účtujete provizi? |
| Where is a cash machine? | Kde je bankomat? |
| What’s wrong? | |
|---|---|
| Out of order. | Mimo provoz. |
| Closed due to technical reasons. | Z technických důvodů zavřeno. |
| The number you are calling does not exist. | Volané číslo neexistuje. |
| May I help you? | Máte přání? |
| Stop exiting and boarding the train, the doors are closing! | Ukončete výstup a nástup, dveře se zavírají! |
| Days of the week | ||
|---|---|---|
| Monday | Pondělí | Po |
| Tuesday | Úterý | Út |
| Wednesday | Středa | St |
| Thursday | Čtvrtek | Čt |
| Friday | Pátek | Pá |
| Saturday | Sobota | So |
| Sunday | Neděle | Ne |
| Months of the Year | |
|---|---|
| January | leden |
| February | únor |
| March | březen |
| April | duben |
| May | květen |
| June | červen |
| July | červenec |
| August | srpen |
| September | září |
| October | říjen |
| November | listopad |
| December | prosinec |
| Seasons of the Year | |
|---|---|
| spring | jaro |
| summer | léto |
| fall / autumn | podzim |
| winter | zima |
| Time units | |
|---|---|
| second | sekunda |
| minute | minuta |
| hour | hodina |
| day | den |
| week | týden |
| month | měsíc |
| year | rok |
| season of the year | roční období |
| Czech numbers | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| one | jedna | 1st | first | první |
| two | dvě | 2nd | second | druhý |
| three | tři | 3rd | third | třetí |
| four | čtyři | 4th | fourth | čtvrtý |
| five | pět | 5th | fifth | pátý |
| six | šest | 6th | sixth | šestý |
| seven | sedm | 7th | seventh | sedmý |
| eight | osm | 8th | eighth | osmý |
| nine | devět | 9th | ninth | devátý |
| ten | deset | 10th | tenth | desátý |
| eleventh | jedenáct | 11th | eleventh | jedenáctý |
| twelve | dvanáct | 12th | twelfth | dvanáctý |
| thirteen | třínáct | 13th | thirteenth | třínáctý |
| twenty | dvacet | 20th | twentieth | dvacátý |
| fifty | padesat | 50th | fiftieth | padesátý |
| one hundred | sto | |||
| two hundred | dvě stě | |||
| one thousand | tisíc | |||
| five thousand | pět tisíc |
| Czech proverbs | |
|---|---|
| He laughs best who laughs last. | Kdo se smeje naposledy, ten si smeje nejlepe. |
| Make hay while the sun shines / Strike while the iron is hot. | Kuj zelezo, dokud je zhave. |
| Let bygones by bygones | Co bylo, to bylo. |
| All is well that ends well. | Konec dobry – vsechno dobre. |
| Haste makes waste. | Dvakrat mer, jednou rez. |
| It’s no use crying over spilt milk. | Pozde plakat nad rozlitym mlekem. |
| Like father, like son. | Jaky otec, takovy syn. |
| It’s raining cats and dogs. | Leje jako z konve. |
| Look before you leap. | Nerikej “hop” dokud jsi nepreskocil. |
| Practice makes perfect. | Cviceni dela mistra. |
| Rome was not built in a day. | Rim nebyl postaveny za den. |
| Speech is silver, silence is golden. | Mluviti stribro, mlceti zlato. |
| There’s no smoke without fire. | Neni koure bez ohne. |
| Birds of a feather flock together. | Vrana k vrane seda, kazdy stejneho si hleda. |
| Two heads are better than one. | Vic hlav, vic vi. |
| When in Rome do as the Romans do. | Kdo chce s vlky byti, musi s vlky vyti. |
| When the cat is away the mice will play. | Kdyz je kocour pryc, mysi maji pre. |
| First come, first served. | Kdo driv prijde, ten driv mele. |
| A friend in need is a friend indeed. | V nouzi poznas pritele. |
| To err is human, to forgive divine. | Chybovat je lidske, odpoustet bozske. |