Dialogue

Vocabulary (Review)

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Lesson Notes

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Lesson Transcript

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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Martin: Master words in your My Wordbank by practicing with Flashcards.
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Martin: While you learn to recognize words by sight!
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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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