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

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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

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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

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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?

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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.

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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!

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Days of the week    
Monday Pondělí Po
Tuesday Úterý Út
Wednesday Středa St
Thursday Čtvrtek Čt
Friday Pátek
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

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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.

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