Learn how to say many common phrases that people use every day to introduce themselves
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| INTRODUCTION |
| Brandon: Hi everyone, Brandon here, and welcome to CzechClass101.com. This is Basic Bootcamp Lesson 1 - Self Introductions - Basic Greetings in Czech. This is the first in a five-part series that will help you ease your way into Czech. |
| Martin: Ahoj, já jsem Martin. I’m Martin! In this series, we’ll go over all the basics that will really help you to understand Czech. |
| Brandon: And we’ll have fun doing it! In this lesson, you’ll learn how to introduce yourself and ask someone their name! This conversation is between strangers. |
| Martin: The language they are using is polite, because they don’t know each other. But it is not overly formal because they will use their first names, not surnames. |
| Brandon Let’s listen to the conversation. |
| DIALOGUE |
| Adam: Ahoj. Já jsem Adam. Jak se jmenuješ ty? |
| Mary: Ahoj Adame. Já jsem Mary. |
| Adam: Rád tě poznávám. |
| Mary: Já taky. |
| Brandon: Let’s hear the conversation one time slowly. |
| Adam: Ahoj. Já jsem Adam. Jak se jmenuješ ty? |
| Mary: Ahoj Adame. Já jsem Mary. |
| Adam: Rád tě poznávám. |
| Mary: Já taky. |
| Brandon: Now let’s hear it with the English translation. |
| Adam: Ahoj. Já jsem Adam. Jak se jmenuješ ty? |
| Brandon: Hello. My name is Adam. What’s your name? |
| Mary: Ahoj Adame. Já jsem Mary. |
| Brandon: Hello Adam. My name is Mary. |
| Adam: Rád tě poznávám. |
| Brandon: Pleased to meet you. |
| Mary: Já taky. |
| Brandon: Me too. |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Brandon: So Martin, what do people in the Czech Republic do when they first meet? Is there any sort of custom? |
| Martin: For the first time, it’s enough to shake hands for both men and women, when they’re introducing themselves. |
| Brandon: Is shaking hands a must in the Czech Republic? |
| Martin: In business situations, yes. But in daily life, this isn’t really that big of a deal. Even though people often do do this in daily life - it just depends on the circumstances when they meet the other person. |
| Brandon: What about kissing or hugging? Is that common in the Czech Republic? |
| Martin: Kisses on the cheek are now more common among young people, particularly young men to young women, when they meet for the first time. But not all women are comfortable with this. Hugging is only for friends or family members, not for people in formal situations. |
| Brandon: So handshakes and smiles are the safest for first meetings, right? |
| Martin: Yes, that’s right. |
| Brandon: Sounds easy to me! Okay, now let’s take a look at the vocabulary for this lesson. |
| VOCAB LIST |
| Brandon: Let's take a look at the vocabulary for this lesson. |
| The first word we shall see is: |
| Martin: dobrý den [natural native speed] |
| Brandon: hello (formal) |
| Martin: dobrý den [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Martin: dobrý den [natural native speed] |
| Next: |
| Martin: ahoj [natural native speed] |
| Brandon: hello (informal) |
| Martin: ahoj [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Martin: ahoj [natural native speed] |
| Next: |
| Martin: já [natural native speed] |
| Brandon: I |
| Martin: já [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Martin: já [natural native speed] |
| Next: |
| Martin: jméno [natural native speed] |
| Brandon: name |
| Martin: jméno [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Martin: jméno [natural native speed] |
| Next: |
| Martin: být [natural native speed] |
| Brandon: to be |
| Martin: být [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Martin: být [natural native speed] |
| Next: |
| Martin: co [natural native speed] |
| Brandon: what |
| Martin: co [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Martin: co [natural native speed] |
| Next: |
| Martin: vy [natural native speed] |
| Brandon: you (formal) |
| Martin: vy [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Martin: vy [natural native speed] |
| Next: |
| Martin: ty [natural native speed] |
| Brandon: you (informal) |
| Martin: ty [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Martin: ty [natural native speed] |
| Next: |
| Martin: moc [natural native speed] |
| Brandon: very |
| Martin: moc [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Martin: moc [natural native speed] |
| Next: |
| Martin: rád [natural native speed] |
| Brandon: glad |
| Martin: rád [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Martin: rád [natural native speed] |
| Next: |
| Martin: Poznat / sejít se [natural native speed] |
| Brandon: to meet |
| Martin: Poznat / sejít se [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Martin: Poznat / sejít se [natural native speed] |
| Next: |
| Martin: s [natural native speed] |
| Brandon: with, to |
| Martin: s [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Martin: s [natural native speed] |
| And Last: |
| Martin: mě taky [natural native speed] |
| Brandon: me too (formal) |
| Martin: mě taky [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Martin: mě taky [natural native speed] |
| KEY VOCAB AND PHRASES |
| Brandon: Let’s take a closer look at some of the words and phrases from this lesson. |
| Martin: The first word is Dobrý den. |
| Brandon: This means “hello”. |
| Martin: But listeners, please be aware that Dobrý den is used in formal situations. |
| Brandon: What do you say in an informal situation? |
| Martin: You can say “Ahoj”. Between friends, you only use “ahoj”. And for very close friends, you can also say “čau” when you come or leave. |
| Brandon: I see. Can you say the phrases again, please? |
| Martin: Sure. First, the formal one - Dobrý den - (slow) Dobrý den |
| Brandon: And the informal “hello” is..? |
| Martin: Ahoj, čau / (slow) Ahoj, čau |
| Brandon: Great. Now the next phrase is “Nice to meet you” in Czech. |
| Martin: Which is … Rád Vás poznávám. This is for a formal situation. When it’s an informal situation, you can say “Rád tě poznávám”. Both mean “I’m glad to meet you”. |
| Brandon: Okay. Let’s break it down. |
| Martin: Sure thing! First you say “Rád” meaning "Glad" |
| Brandon: And the next part… |
| Martin: If it’s a formal expression, you can say “Vás” meaning “you”. If it’s informal, you can use the informal pronoun “tě ” meaning “you”. |
| Brandon: Both mean “you.” |
| Martin: Right. “Vás” is formal, while “tě” is informal. |
| Brandon: The informal pronoun is generally used to address a man or woman around your age or younger. |
| Martin: And next we have the verb poznávám meaning “to meet.” |
| Brandon: So altogether, we have.. |
| Martin: Rád Vás poznávám. Or Rád tě poznávám. |
| Brandon: Listeners, listen and repeat. First the formal way to say ‘I’m glad to meet you.’ |
| Martin: Rád Vás poznávám |
| (Pause) |
| Brandon: And next, the informal one.. |
| Martin: Rád tě poznávám. |
| (Pause) |
| Brandon: Okay. Now, how do you reply when someone says ‘I’m glad to meet you’? |
| Martin: In that case, you can say.. Já taky. This means “Me too.” |
| Brandon: Okay, Let’s break it down. |
| Martin: The first word “Já” means “I”. And the next word “taky” means “also” or “too” |
| Brandon: So it literally means ‘I, too.’ |
| Martin: That’s right. Já taky |
| Brandon: Listeners, listen and repeat. Say ‘Me too.” |
| Martin: Já taky (3 seconds) Já taky. |
| Brandon: Alright, that’s not too hard, is it? Okay, now onto the grammar. |
Lesson focus |
|---|
| Brandon: In this lesson, you’ll learn how to introduce yourself and ask someone their name in Czech. Martin, how do you say ‘What’s your name?’ in Czech? |
| Martin: Jak se jmenujete? |
| Brandon: meaning ‘What’s your name?’ Can you break it down? |
| Martin: Sure. The first word jak means “how” (slow) Jak |
| Brandon: And next? |
| Martin: Next up is ‘se’ which means ‘yourself.’ (slow) Se. |
| Brandon: So the first two words mean ‘How yourself’? |
| Martin: That’s right. ‘Jak se’ |
| Brandon: And the next one is..? |
| Martin: jmenujete (slow) jmenujete |
| Brandon: It means something like ‘to be name.’ Can you say the phrase ‘What’s your name?’ again? |
| Martin: Sure. Jak se jmenujete? (slow) Jak se jmenujete? |
| Brandon: This phrase is for a formal situation. What about an informal one? |
| Martin: If you want to say ‘What’s your name?’ informally, simply replace the verb jmenujete with jmenuješ. |
| Brandon: Both mean ‘to be named’ but the latter verb is an informal one. |
| Martin: That’s right. jmenujete is formal, jmenuješ is for informal. |
| Brandon: Okay. Let’s listen to them again one by one. First, the formal way to say ‘What’s your name?’ is..? |
| Martin: Jak se jmenujete? (slow) Jak se jmenujete? |
| Brandon: And the informal phrase is..? |
| Martin: Jak se jmenuješ? {pause} Jak se jmenuješ? |
| Brandon: Okay, so now, how do you answer this question? |
| Martin: It’s very simple. First you can say..“Já jsem” |
| Brandon: which means ‘My name is..’ |
| Martin: Then, say your name. For example, if you want to say ‘My name is Martin’ you can say.. “Já jsem Martin”. |
| Brandon: My name is Martin. |
| Martin: (slow) Já jsem Martin. (normal) Já jsem Martin. |
| Brandon: Great. |
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Outro |
| Brandon: Okay. And that’s all for this lesson! Listeners, you can check the lesson notes to reinforce what you’ve learned in this lesson. And if you have any questions or comments, leave us a post at CzechClass101.com. |
| Martin: We’re happy to help! Thanks for listening, everyone. Ahoj! |
| Brandon: See you next time! |
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