Learn quite a few phrases you can use to understand the culture better
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| INTRODUCTION |
| Brandon: Hi everyone, I’m Brandon, and welcome back to CzechClass101.com. This is Basic Bootcamp Lesson 3: - Useful Phrases for Learning Czech. This is the third in a five-part series that will help you ease your way into Czech. |
| Martin: Ahoj, já jsem Martin. Hi, I’m Martin. |
| Brandon: In this lesson, you’ll learn several essential phrases to help you learn Czech! |
| Martin: Yes, you can use these phrases when you are at a loss for words, or caught in a confusing situation. |
| Brandon: These phrases will help you avoid or resolve misunderstandings wherever you are in the Czech Republic. Okay, Let’s listen to the conversation. |
| DIALOGUE |
| A Promiňte, prosím, jak se řekne česky “Biscuit”? |
| B Sušenka. |
| A Promiňte, nezachytil jsem to. Můžete to zopakovat? |
| B Sušenka. |
| A Můžete mluvit pomaleji? |
| B Su-šen-ka |
| A Mohl / mohla byste mi to napsat česky?. |
| Brandon: Let’s hear the conversation one time slowly. |
| A Promiňte, prosím, jak se řekne česky “Biscuit”? |
| B Sušenka. |
| A Promiňte, nezachytil jsem to. Můžete to zopakovat? |
| B Sušenka. |
| A Můžete mluvit pomaleji? |
| B Su-šen-ka |
| A Mohl / mohla byste mi to napsat česky?. |
| Brandon: Now let’s hear it with the English translation. |
| A Promiňte, prosím, jak se řekne česky “Biscuit”? |
| Brandon: Excuse me, how do you say “Biscuit” in Czech? |
| B Sušenka. |
| Brandon: Sušenka. |
| A Promiňte, nezachytil jsem to. Můžete to zopakovat? |
| Brandon: I'm sorry, I didn’t catch it. Could you repeat it? |
| B Sušenka. |
| Brandon: Sušenka. |
| A Můžete mluvit pomaleji? |
| Brandon: Could you speak slower, please? |
| B Su-šen-ka |
| Brandon: Su-šen-ka. |
| A Mohl / mohla byste mi to napsat česky?. |
| Brandon: Could you write it for me in Czech, please? |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Brandon: I think that after listening to the lesson, our listeners will be able to survive in the Czech Republic without anyone helping them, or even a dictionary! |
| Martin: That’s right. Actually, I believe asking someone what something is in their native language, is the best way to make a friend. |
| Brandon: That’s right. Especially in the Czech Republic, this will be very true because Czech people like foreigners who try to use Czech to communicate. |
| Martin: And they will also share more useful tips about the town they’re in, or places to go, which you won’t find in the guidebook. |
| Brandon: That’s right. 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: promiňte [natural native speed] |
| Brandon: Excuse me/ I’m sorry |
| Martin: promiňte [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Martin: promiňte [natural native speed] |
| Next: |
| Martin: jak [natural native speed] |
| Brandon: how |
| Martin: jak [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Martin: jak [natural native speed] |
| Next: |
| Martin: říct [natural native speed] |
| Brandon: to say, to tell |
| Martin: říct [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Martin: říct [natural native speed] |
| Next: |
| Martin: česky [natural native speed] |
| Brandon: in the Czech language |
| Martin: česky [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Martin: česky [natural native speed] |
| Next: |
| Martin: nezachytit [natural native speed] |
| Brandon: not to catch |
| Martin: nezachytit [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Martin: nezachytit [natural native speed] |
| Next: |
| Martin: prosím [natural native speed] |
| Brandon: please |
| Martin: prosím [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Martin: prosím [natural native speed] |
| Next: |
| Martin: zopakovat [natural native speed] |
| Brandon: to repeat |
| Martin: zopakovat [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Martin: zopakovat [natural native speed] |
| Next: |
| Martin: pomaleji [natural native speed] |
| Brandon: a little slower |
| Martin: pomaleji [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Martin: pomaleji [natural native speed] |
| Next: |
| Martin: mi [natural native speed] |
| Brandon: for me, to me |
| Martin: mi [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Martin: mi [natural native speed] |
| And Last: |
| Martin: napsat [natural native speed] |
| Brandon: to write down |
| Martin: napsat [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Martin: napsat [natural native speed] |
| KEY VOCAB AND PHRASES |
| Brandon: Let’s take a closer look at the usage of some of the words and phrases from this lesson. What’s the first word? |
| Martin: The first word ‘promiňte’, and it means something like ‘Excuse me.’ |
| Brandon: So you can use it when you have to get through the crowd, or need to get someone’s attention. Can you say the phrase again? |
| Martin: “Promiňte”, (slow) “Promiňte” |
| Brandon: How do you use this phrase when you’re asking a question? |
| Martin: You can simply add it in the beginning of a sentence. For example, “Promiňte, kolik je hodin?” |
| Brandon: “Excuse me. What time is it?” |
| Martin: Promiňte is the polite form. If you’re speaking to your friend or possibly to a young person, you can use the informal form, which is promiň. So the whole sentence again is Promiň, kolik je hodin? |
| Brandon: Okay, can you give us another example? |
| Martin: Sure. Let’s say you’re having dinner at a Czech restaurant, and you want one more soup. You can say.. “Promiňte prosím, ještě jednu polévku.” |
| Brandon: “Excuse me, one more soup please.” |
| Martin: In the sentence, I used the word prosím, meaning “please.” |
| Brandon: That’s another magic word that can make a sentence more polite. Okay, now onto the grammar. |
Lesson focus |
|---|
| Brandon: In this lesson, you’ll learn some essential phrases that will help you learn Czech. |
| Martin: The first phrase we had was, Promiňte, jak se řekne česky--[something]----? (slow) Promiňte, jak se řekne česky- [something]-----? |
| Brandon: "Excuse me, how do we say [something]….. in Czech?" Hmm, it seems like a long sentence. |
| Martin: But don’t worry. Let me break down the sentence so that you can remember it easily. |
| Brandon: Okay. What’s the first word? |
| Martin: The first word is Promiňte, which means "Excuse me.” |
| Brandon: What’s next? |
| Martin: The next word is... jak. which means "how." |
| Brandon: Okay, and next is… |
| Martin: se řekne |
| Brandon: which means "To say”. |
| Martin: Right. So “Promiňte jak se řekne” means, “Excuse me. How do you say..” |
| Brandon: Okay. The next one is.. |
| Martin: Česky. It means “in the Czech language.” |
| Brandon: So the phrase literally means “Excuse me. How do you say in the Czech language.” |
| Martin: Right. Then, you can add the English name for the object after that. |
| Brandon: Okay. Can you repeat the phrase? |
| Martin: Sure. Promiňte, jak se řekne česky--[something]----? (slow) Promiňte, jak se řekne česky----[something]---? |
| Brandon: Using these words, you can ask someone how to say something in Czech. |
| Martin: That’s right. |
| Brandon: OK, what’s “How do you say “computer” in Czech?” |
| Martin: In Czech, that’s.. Jak se řekne česky “computer”? |
| Brandon: The first part of the sentence literally means ‘How to say in Czech..” then, Martin: added the English word ‘Computer.” Can you say it again? |
| Martin: Sure. (slow) Jak se řekne česky “computer”? / (normal) Jak se řekne česky “computer”? |
| Brandon: Alright. Let’s move on to the next phrase. When you’re not sure what someone said, what could you say in Czech? |
| Martin: Nezachytil jsem to. If you’re a woman, you can say Nezachytila jsem to. |
| Brandon: Can you repeat the phrase? First, the masculine form. |
| Martin: (slow) Nezachytil jsem to / (normal) Nezachytil jsem to |
| Brandon: And what about the feminine form? |
| Martin: (slow) Nezachytila jsem to / (normal) Nezachytila jsem to |
| Brandon: Okay. What if you want to ask someone to repeat it? |
| Martin: In that case, you can say.. Můžete mi to zopakovat? (slow) Můžete mi to zopakovat? |
| Brandon: Can you break down the phrase? |
| Martin: Sure. The first word “Můžete” means “can you?” and “mi” means “to me”. So “Můžete mi” literally means “Can you to me?” |
| Brandon: And then? |
| Martin: Then, we have the word to, which means “it” and the verb “zopakovat” means “to repeat.” |
| Brandon: Okay. So it literally means “Can you repeat it to me?” |
| Martin: That’s right. (slow) Můžete mi to zopakovat? (normal) Můžete mi to zopakovat? (natural speed) |
| Brandon: What if you want to ask the other person to read it slowly? |
| Martin: You can say.. Mluvte trochu pomaleji, prosím. (slow) Mluvte trochu pomaleji, prosím. |
| Brandon: It means “Speak a little slower, please.” |
| Martin: The first word is the conjugated form of the verb “mluvit” meaning “to say.” When a verb is with “te”, it becomes more polite. So the word Mluvte is the polite way to say the verb mluvit, meaning “to say”. |
| Brandon: If it’s an informal situation, then we can use the verb as it is, right? |
| Martin: That’s right. After Mluvte, we have the word “trochu” meaning “a little” and “pomaleji” meaning “slower”. |
| Brandon: Okay. Can you repeat the phrase? |
| Martin: (slow) Mluvte trochu pomaleji, prosím. (normal) Mluvte trochu pomaleji, prosím. |
| Brandon: Okay. And we have one more sentence left. If the other person says the word slowly several times, and you still don’t get it, what can you do? |
| Martin: In that case, you can say “Write that down in Czech for me, please”. In Czech, this is.. Mohl byste mi to napsat česky? If you’re speaking to a woman, you can say.. Mohla byste mi to napsat česky? |
| Brandon: The difference is the verb at the beginning. |
| Martin: Right. The word Mohl is the masculine form, and the word Mohla is the feminine. |
| Brandon: Can you break down the phrase? |
| Martin: Sure. “Mohl byste” and “mohla byste” mean something like “Could you?” Then we have “mi” which means “for me” and “to” meaning “it”. So “Mohl byste mi to “ literally means “Could you, to me, it”? |
| Brandon: Okay. What about the next one? |
| Martin: Then, we have the verb ‘napsat’ meaning ‘to write’ Then we have the word “česky” meaning “in Czech”. |
| Brandon: Altogether, we have. |
| Martin: Mohl byste mi to napsat česky? |
| Brandon: “Could you write it down for me in Czech?” And if you’re speaking to a woman, you’ll say.. |
| Martin: Mohla byste mi to napsat česky? |
| Brandon: Listeners, make sure to check the PDF lesson notes, where you can learn more about the phrases that we covered in this lesson. |
| MARKETING PIECE |
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| Brandon: Go to CzechClass101.com now, and try My Wordbank and Flashcards today! |
Outro |
| Brandon: Okay, great! I think we’ve covered them all, so that’s it for this lesson. |
| Martin: Thanks for listening, everyone. |
| Brandon: And we’ll see you next time! |
| Martin: Ahoj! |
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