| 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 |
| 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. |
| 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. |