Čeština

Czech

Slavic

FamilySlavic Speakers~10.7M ScriptLatin CountriesCzech Republic (Czechia), Slovakia (Czech minority), USA + Canada diaspora Official inCzech Republic, EU Vitalitysafe ISO 639-3ces

Czech (Čeština) is a West Slavic language with ~10.7M speakers — sole official language of the Czech Republic. Sister to Slovak (mutually intelligible at conversational level) and Polish (West Slavic). Distinguished by syllabic consonants (vlk "wolf", smrt "death" — words without vowels), 7-case system, and complex aspect system (perfective/imperfective verb pairs). Latin orthography with diacritic háček (č, š, ž, ř, etc.) — Jan Hus 1410 reform replaced earlier digraphs. The unique consonant /r̝/ written ř is famously difficult for non-native speakers.

Where it is spoken

20 core words in Czech

Water

voda

/ˈvoda/

Fire

oheň

/ˈoɦɛɲ/

Sun

slunce

/ˈslunt͡sɛ/

Moon

měsíc

/ˈmɲɛsiːt͡s/

Mother

matka

/ˈmatka/

Father

otec

/ˈotɛt͡s/

Eat

jíst

/jiːst/

Drink

pít

/piːt/

Love

láska

/ˈlaːska/

Heart

srdce

/ˈsr̩t͡sɛ/

Tree

strom

/strom/

House

dům

/duːm/

Dog

pes

/pɛs/

Cat

kočka

/ˈkot͡ʃka/

Hand

ruka

/ˈruka/

Eye

oko

/ˈoko/

Hello

ahoj

/ˈaɦoj/

Thank you

děkuji

/ˈɟɛkuji/

One

jeden

/ˈjɛdɛn/

Good

dobrý

/ˈdobriː/

Sources

Words compared

Compared with related Slavic languages

Meaning CzechSlovakBosnianCroatianRusynSerbianUpper Sorbian
Water voda /ˈvoda/ voda /ˈvoda/ voda /ˈvoda/ voda /ˈʋoda/ вода /ˈvoda/ вода /ˈʋoda/ woda /ˈvɔda/
Fire oheň /ˈoɦɛɲ/ oheň /ˈoɦeɲ/ vatra /ˈvatra/ vatra /ˈʋatra/ огень /ˈohenʲ/ ватра /ˈʋatra/ woheń /ˈvɔhɛɲ/
Sun slunce /ˈslunt͡sɛ/ slnko /ˈsl̩nko/ sunce /ˈsunt͡se/ sunce /ˈsuːnt͡se/ сонце /ˈsont͡se/ сунце /ˈsunt͡se/ słónco /ˈswʊnt͡sɔ/
Moon měsíc /ˈmɲɛsiːt͡s/ mesiac /ˈmɛsɪat͡s/ mjesec /ˈmjɛset͡s/ mjesec /ˈmjeseːt͡s/ місяць /ˈmʲisʲat͡sʲ/ месец /ˈmɛsɛt͡s/ měsac /ˈmʲɛsat͡s/
Mother matka /ˈmatka/ matka /ˈmatka/ majka /ˈmajka/ majka /ˈmaːjka/ мати /ˈmati/ мајка /ˈmajka/ mać /mat͡ɕ/
Father otec /ˈotɛt͡s/ otec /ˈotɛt͡s/ otac /ˈotat͡s/ otac /ˈotat͡s/ отець /ˈotet͡sʲ/ отац /ˈotat͡s/ nan /nan/
Eat jíst /jiːst/ jesť /jɛsc/ jesti /ˈjɛsti/ jesti /ˈjɛsti/ їсти /ˈjisti/ јести /ˈjɛsti/ jěsć /jɛst͡ɕ/
Drink pít /piːt/ piť /pɪc/ piti /ˈpiti/ piti /ˈpiːti/ пити /ˈpiti/ пити /ˈpiti/ pić /pit͡ɕ/
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Word order compared

Compare with major world languages

Czech
chci vyzkoušet oblek který jsem viděl v obchodě naproti hotelu
Я хочу примерить костюм который я увидел в магазине напротив отеля
أنا أريد أن أجرب بدلة رأيتها في محل مقابل الفندق
试穿 酒店 对面的 商店 看到的 那套西装
I want to try on a suit I saw ‌in a shop across from the hotel
Ich möchte einen Anzug anprobieren den ich in einem Geschäft gegenüber vom Hotel gesehen habe
मैं होटल के सामने एक दुकान में देखा सूट को पहनकर देखना चाहता हूँ
私は ホテルの 向かいの お店 見た スーツを 試着 したいです

Compare with closely-related languages

Я хачу прымерыць касцюм які я бачыў у краме насупраць гатэля
Czech
chci vyzkoušet oblek který jsem viděl v obchodě naproti hotelu
Азъ хощѫ искоусити ризѫ ѭже видѣхъ въ коупѣтельници прѣмо гостиници
Я хочу примерить костюм который я увидел в магазине напротив отеля
Ја желим да пробам одело које сам видео у продавници преко пута хотела

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