Learn how to ask about something using Czech question words that mean "when," "where," and the like
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| INTRODUCTION |
| Michael: Hi everyone, and welcome back to CzechClass101.com. This is Absolute Beginner Season 1 Lesson 13 - Where’s the Nearest Bathroom in the Czech Republic? Michael here. |
| Martin: Ahoj. I'm Martin. |
| Michael: In this lesson, you’ll learn how to ask “where” and “when” something is. This conversation takes place at Tom and Irina's house. |
| Martin: It's between Tom, Irina, and Martin. |
| Michael: The speakers know each other, so they’ll be using informal Czech. Okay, let's listen to the conversation. |
| DIALOGUE |
| Tomáš: Bylo to výborný! |
| Martin: Už jsem plnej. Omluvte mě. Kde je toaleta? |
| Irena: Ta je támhle. |
| Martin: Támhle? Díky. |
| Michael: Listen to the conversation one time slowly. |
| Tomáš: Bylo to výborný! |
| Martin: Už jsem plnej. Omluvte mě. Kde je toaleta? |
| Irena: Ta je támhle. |
| Martin: Támhle? Díky. |
| Michael: Listen to the conversation with the English translation. |
| Tomáš: It was very delicious! |
| Martin: I'm full now. Umm, excuse me. Where's the bathroom? |
| Irena: The bathroom is over there. |
| Martin: Over there? Thanks. |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Michael: Being able to ask where the bathroom is in another language is really important! Martin could you help us sort it out in Czech? |
| Martin: Sure, in the dialogue we heard toaleta, meaning “toilet,” which is used in day-to-day spoken Czech. In a more casual context you may hear záchod or Vé Cé. |
| Michael: Which can be translated as “loo” and "WC.", respectively. |
| Martin: Záchod can be freely used among friends, family, or at a friend's house, and also in public, but it’s better to use toaleta at places like restaurants, hospitals, or other public places. |
| Michael: How are public toilets marked in the Czech Republic? |
| Martin: Public toilets are always marked as "WC" or Toaleta, or with a male or female picture. It may also be written in English. If the sign is in Czech, you may see Dámy |
| Michael: Which stand for “ladies” and “women,” |
| Martin: or Páni or muži |
| Michael: Which stands for “gentlemen” and “men.” Are public toilets paid toilets? |
| Martin: Some public toilets may require payment, while others are free. |
| Michael: Is there anything else we should know? |
| Martin: Yes, something unusual is that in the Czech Republic, public toilets are a popular target for graffiti artists, which is a phenomenon that has become a topic for linguistic and sociological research. |
| Michael: That’s interesting! What’s the Czech for “public toilets”? |
| Martin: veřejné toalety, or veřejné záchody |
| Michael: Okay, now onto the vocab. |
| VOCAB LIST |
| Michael: Let’s take a look at the vocabulary from this lesson. The first word is.. |
| Martin: bylo to [natural native speed] |
| Michael: it was |
| Martin: bylo to[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Martin: bylo to [natural native speed] |
| Michael: Next we have.. |
| Martin: už [natural native speed] |
| Michael: already, yet |
| Martin: už[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Martin: už [natural native speed] |
| Michael: Next we have.. |
| Martin: plná [natural native speed] |
| Michael: full, filled, crowded, corpulent |
| Martin: plná[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Martin: plná [natural native speed] |
| Michael: Next we have.. |
| Martin: omluvit [natural native speed] |
| Michael: to excuse, to apologize |
| Martin: omluvit[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Martin: omluvit [natural native speed] |
| Michael: Next we have.. |
| Martin: toaleta [natural native speed] |
| Michael: toilet, lavatory, bathroom, closet, make-up table, evening gown, dress |
| Martin: toaleta [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Martin: toaleta [natural native speed] |
| Michael: Next we have.. |
| Martin: támhle [natural native speed] |
| Michael: over there, that way |
| Martin: támhle[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Martin: támhle [natural native speed] |
| KEY VOCAB AND PHRASES |
| Michael: Let's have a closer look at some of the words and phrases from this lesson. The first word is.. |
| Martin: plnej |
| Michael: meaning "full,” “filled,” “crowded,” or “corpulent." |
| Martin: Please note that Plnej is the spoken form, while the written form is plný. It can also mean “plump" when talking about the body, like when saying plná postava |
| Michael:which means “corpulent body” |
| Martin: Other uses can be plné jízdné or plnej nos |
| Michael: respectively meaning “full fare” and “full nose,” as in “stuffy.” |
| Martin: You can also say Práce na plný ůvazek. |
| Michael: ..which means "A full-time job." Okay, what's the next word? |
| Martin: už, |
| Michael: meaning "already,” “yet,” “longer,” “any more,” “as early,” or “as far back as." |
| Martin: In positive sentences, už usually means "already." In negative sentences, už means "any more” or “longer," and in questions už means "yet." For example, you can say už jsi tam byla? |
| Michael: which means “Have you been there yet?” In terms of time, it can also mean "as far as," "as early as," or "as late as." |
| Martin: Right. In Czech grammar, už can also act as a particle in various phrases, such as Dost už! |
| Michael: meaning “That's enough!” Martin, can you give us an example? |
| Martin: Sure. For example, you can say.. Už toho mám dost! |
| Michael: .. which means "I've had enough of this!" Okay, what's the next word? |
| Martin: toaleta |
| Michael: meaning "toilet,” “lavatory,” “bathroom,” “closet,” “make-up table,” or even “evening gown” or “dress." |
| Martin: As you can see, toaleta is a noun that has several meanings in Czech. |
| Michael: The first one is taking care of one's appearance by washing, combing your hair, and getting dressed. The second is toilet as in a restroom, the place, and there is one other meaning that’s similar referring to the actual toilet itself. |
| Martin: Right, and another meaning is “evening gown'' or ''evening dress.'' Toaleta or toaletka can also indicate a room table with a mirror and compartment for make-up. Finally, please remember that in spoken Czech, toaleta becomes záchod. |
| Michael: Can you give us an example using this word? |
| Martin: Sure. For example, Jít na záchod. |
| Michael: .. which means "To go to the toilet." Okay, now onto the grammar. |
Lesson focus |
|---|
| Michael: In this lesson you'll learn how to ask about something using the questions “when” and “where” in Czech. Let’s start by saying that in the Czech language, location and the direction of motion are expressed differently. |
| Martin: Right. Location is kde and direction is kam, |
| Michael: ...which in English are both translated as “where.” Questions about location are generally connected to static verbs such as “to be,” “to work,” and “to live,” and questions about direction are connected to dynamic verbs such as “to go” or “to fly.” |
| Martin: We can translate kde as “where” and kam as “where to.” |
| Michael: This is the main difference, but it doesn’t mean that you can’t use other verbs. Let’s take a closer look. |
| Martin: Like in the dialogue, you can say Kde je toaleta prosím? |
| Michael: which means “Where is the toilet, please?” |
| Martin: You can also say Kde je tady bankomat? |
| Michael: “Where is an ATM here?” |
| Martin: As a bonus, you may add nejbližší, meaning “the closest” as in Kde je tu nejbližší pošta? |
| Michael: meaning “Where is the closest post office?” Now let’s see questions with different verbs that aren’t static. |
| Martin: Okay. For example, you can say Kde koupím lístek na tramvaj? |
| Michael: “Where can I buy a tram ticket?” |
| Martin: Also Kde si můžu omýt ruce? |
| Michael: “Where can I wash my hands?” What about the “where” indicating direction? |
| Martin: Here are a couple of examples with dynamic verbs - Kam chodíte na oběd? |
| Michael: meaning “Where do you usually go for lunch?” |
| Martin: Kam poletíš v létě? |
| Michael: “Where will you fly in summer?” |
| Martin: Here are some examples with different verbs, such as, Kam si mám sednout? |
| Michael: “Where shall I sit?” |
| Martin: Kam si můžu odložit? |
| Michael:“Where can I put my clothes?” Okay, now let’s look at how to ask about time. |
| Martin: You’ll use kdy or v kolik hodin, |
| Michael: Which mean “when” and “at what time” respectively. |
| Martin: Both sentences have the same meaning, but the word for “time,” hodin, can often be omitted in Czech sentences because the phrase v kolik already indicates “time.” |
| Michael: Can you give us an example of both cases? |
| Martin: You may say V kolik hodin otvíraji? or V kolik otvírají? |
| Michael: Both mean “What time do they open?” |
| Martin: Here is another V kolik hodin se setkáme? or V kolik se setkáme? |
| Michael: meaning “What time shall we meet?” All those examples used “What time,” so can you give us an example of asking “when”? |
| Martin: Yes, for example you could ask, Kdy to bude? |
| Michael: “When will it be?” This sentence can be used, for example, when asking about an event. What’s a possible answer? |
| Martin: příští týden |
| Michael: meaning “next week.” Now that we have covered both “where” and “when”, can we go over the other WH questions? What is Czech for “what”? |
| Martin: co or jaký |
| Michael: How about “who’’? |
| Martin: “Who” is kdo, which needs to be declined according to the context. |
| Michael: Can you give us an example? |
| Martin: Here is an example with the locative case, O kom mluvíte? |
| Michael: meaning “Who are you talking about?” Listeners, please check the complete conjugation in the lesson notes. What’s the Czech for “why”? |
| Martin: Proč |
| Michael: Can you give us an example? |
| Martin: Sure, Proč brečíš? |
| Michael: “Why are you crying?” |
Outro |
| Michael: Okay, that’s all for this lesson. Thank you for listening, everyone, and we’ll see you next time! Bye! |
| Martin: Děkuji. |
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