Language

Prague

Czech is one of the Western Slavonic languages, distinguished from its neighbours (like Polish) by a series of diacritical marks introduced by the religious reformer Jan Hus in about 1410, including háceks (little hooks), which change the pronunciation of letters. Under Hapsburg rule (1620-1918), Czech was firmly suppressed; the language was revived as part of the nationalist movement in the nineteenth century.

Slightly less daunting than it looks, almost all Czech words are stressed on the first syllable. The most difficult sound is the 'r' with the hácek above it (pronounced 'rzh') – which even Czech children have to be taught to pronounce correctly.

English is rapidly becoming the second language, especially among the younger generation, and the majority of tourist services will have at least one English speaker on the staff. The older generation will be more likely to speak German. Moments of communication breakdown will arise from time to time but they will always be good-humoured. Problems can arise in Prague with the shortening of 'ano' (yes) to 'no'.

Phrases

Yes - Ano (often shortened to 'No')
No - Ne
Hello - Dobrý den
Goodbye - Na shledanou
Please - Prosím
Thank you - Dekuji
My name is … - Mé jméno je …
How are you? - Jak se máte?
I'm quite well - Jde to
I feel ill - Je mi spatne
How much does it cost? - Kolik to stojí?
Do you speak English? - Mluvíte anglicky?
I don't understand - Nerozumím
Where is … ? - Kde je … ?
Entrance - Vchod
Exit - Vychod
Danger / Warning! - Nebezpeci / Pozor!
Open - Otevreno
Closed - Zavreno
Toilets - Záchod / WC
Doctor - Lékar
Hotel - Hotel
Restaurant - Restaurace
Beer - Pivo
Wine - Víno
Menu - Listek
Today - Dnes
Tomorrow - Vcera
Monday - Pondelí
Tuesday - Úterý
Wednesday - Streda
Thursday - Ctvrtek
Friday - Pátek
Saturday - Sibita
Sunday - Nedele
One - Jeden
Two - Dva
Three - Tri
Four - Ctyri
Five - Pet
Six - Sest
Seven - Sedm
Eight - Osm
Nine - Devet
Ten - Deset
Twenty - Dvacet
Thirty - Tricet
Forty - Ctyricet
Fifty - Padesát
Sixty - Sedesát
Seventy - Sedmdesát
Eighty - Osmdesát
Ninety - Devadesát
One Hundred - Sto
One Thousand - Tisíc