Learn how to introduce yourself
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| INTRODUCTION |
| Michael: Hi everyone, and welcome back to CzechClass101.com. This is Absolute Beginner, Season 1 Lesson 2 - Introducing Yourself in the Czech Republic. Michael here. |
| Martin: Ahoj. I'm Martin. |
| Michael: In this lesson, you’ll learn more about Czech Greetings, and especially how to say your name. This conversation takes place at a party where two people are introduced to each other. |
| Martin: It's between Tom and Mary. |
| Michael: The speakers do not know each other, so they’ll be using formal Czech. Okay, let's listen to the conversation. |
| DIALOGUE |
| Tomáš: Já jsem Tom. |
| Marie: Já jsem Mary. |
| Tomáš: Těší mě. |
| Marie: Také mě těší. |
| Michael: Listen to the conversation one time slowly. |
| Tomáš: Já jsem Tom. |
| Marie: Já jsem Mary. |
| Tomáš: Těší mě. |
| Marie: Také mě těší. |
| Michael: Listen to the conversation with the English translation. |
| Tomáš: My name is Tom. |
| Marie: I'm Mary. |
| Tomáš: It's a pleasure to meet you. |
| Marie: It's a pleasure to meet you too. |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Michael: Martin, how do Czech people usually choose a name for their child? |
| Martin: Well, there are set regulations about naming children in the Czech Republic, and ordinary people seem to prefer old Czech names. But a recent trend for celebrities is to give their children unusual names, even names that seem exotic. |
| Michael: So do the regulations mean people can’t give their children foreign names? |
| Martin: No, the names can be either Czech or foreign, but their origin has to be verified as already existing in the world, and they must comply with the Czech language regulations. A completely new name can’t be made. Names can’t be mispronounced, abbreviated in any way, or used in their diminutive or domestic forms. |
| Michael: I see. Can someone have more than one name? |
| Martin: A maximum of two given names can be registered. |
| Michael: What are the most popular names nowadays? |
| Martin: According to a 2013 survey, the most popular names for boys were Jakub, Jan, Matyáš, and Matěj, while for girls, the top names were Ema, Eliška, Tereza, and Adéla. |
| Michael: That’s interesting. What is a useful expression we can learn here? |
| Martin: For example, you can say Jak se jmenujou vaše děti? |
| Michael: Which means "What are the names of your children?" Okay, now onto the vocab. |
| VOCAB LIST |
| Michael: Let’s take a look at the vocabulary from this lesson. The first word is.. |
| Martin: já [natural native speed] |
| Michael: I |
| Martin: já [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Martin: já [natural native speed] |
| Michael: Next we have.. |
| Martin: být [natural native speed] |
| Michael: to be |
| Martin: být [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Martin: být [natural native speed] |
| Michael: Next we have.. |
| Martin: těšit se [natural native speed] |
| Michael: to be looking forward to something, to be pleased |
| Martin: těšit se [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Martin: těšit se [natural native speed] |
| Michael: Next we have.. |
| Martin: také [natural native speed] |
| Michael: also, too |
| Martin: také [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Martin: také [natural native speed] |
| KEY VOCAB AND PHRASES |
| Michael: Let's have a closer look at the usage of some of the words and phrases from this lesson. The first word is.. |
| Martin: Těšit se, |
| Michael: meaning "to please,” “to look forward to something,” or “to comfort." |
| Martin: Těšit can have several meanings. On its own, těšit means "to please." When the personal pronoun mě is added, the meaning changes into "it is a pleasure for me." When we add the reflexive pronoun se, the meaning becomes "to be looking forward to something." Těšit can also mean "to comfort" if used as těšit někoho, meaning “to comfort somebody.” |
| Michael: Let’s give the listeners some shortcuts for using this verb correctly. What do you say when you meet somebody for the first time? |
| Martin: You can say Těší mě |
| Michael: Meaning “pleased to meet you.” How about when someone is looking forward to something? |
| Martin: Těším se |
| Michael: Meaning “I look forward to.” And what about when you’re comforting somebody? |
| Martin: That’s Těšit někoho. For example, Těšila mě maminka, |
| Michael: Meaning “My mom was comforting me.” Can you give us another practical example using this word? |
| Martin: Sure. For example, you can say.. Těšit se na Vánoce. |
| Michael: ..which means "Look forward to Christmas. " Okay, what's the next phrase? |
| Martin: Já jsem |
| Michael: meaning "I am." |
| Martin: Jsem is the conjugated form of the infinitive "to be." You use this phrase when you’re talking about yourself as the speaker. |
| Michael: Please note that in Czech, the subject pronouns are often omitted because the subjects of verbs are used more for emphasis. Let’s review the entire conjugation for the verb “to be.” |
| Martin: Já jsem |
| Michael: “I am” |
| Martin: ty jsi |
| Michael: “you are” |
| Martin: on je, ona je |
| Michael: “he is,” “she is” |
| Martin: my jsme |
| Michael: “we are” |
| Martin: oni jsou |
| Michael: “they are” |
| Martin: vy jste |
| Michael: “you are.” Can you give us an example using this verb? |
| Martin: Sure. For example, you can say.. Já jsem manželka Ondry. |
| Michael: .. which means "I'm Ondra's wife. " Okay, now onto the grammar. |
Lesson focus |
|---|
| Michael: In this lesson you'll learn more about how to introduce yourself in Czech. Let’s start with the formal greetings. |
| Martin: In Czech there are a few different greetings you can use in formal situations. The first we’ll see is Dobrý den. Dobrý den literally means "good day," but is translated as "hello". |
| Michael: In Czech this is a formal greeting which is used as a general greeting in public places, when talking to strangers, elderly people, superiors and so on. |
| Martin: Right! The next is Dobré ráno, meaning “good morning.” It’s used exclusively from the morning until midday. |
| Michael: This one can be used in both formal as well as informal situations. |
| Martin: Exactly! |
| Michael: What greeting can we use in the afternoon? |
| Martin: Dobré odpoledne, meaning “good afternoon,” is used from midday until early evening. But it’s not used as frequently as dobrý den, which has become the more common greeting throughout the day. |
| Michael: The last formal greeting is... |
| Martin: Dobrý večer, meaning “good evening,” which is used from the time it gets dark outside. This is still a frequently used greeting. |
| Michael: Let’s also have a quick review of informal greetings. |
| Martin: They are Ahoj, Čau, and Nazdar. All these can be used not only when you’re meeting somebody, but also when you’re leaving, in the same way as ‘’goodbye’’ or ‘’bye.’’ |
| Michael: Now let’s move on to a formal self-introduction. |
| Martin: Okay. Let’s say my name is Tomáš Novotný, I could say Dobrý den, já jsem Tomáš Novotný. Těší mě. |
| Michael: which means “Hello, I'm Tomas Novotny, nice to meet you.” |
| Martin: The reply to this introduction could be Dobrý den, Novotný. Těší mě. |
| Michael: “Hello, Novotny. Nice to meet you.” We used a full name in this case, right? |
| Martin: That’s right. In formal greetings, it’s necessary to introduce ourselves either by our full name including our surname, or just by surname. It’s also possible to skip já jsem and give your name directly. Těší mě, meaning “nice to meet you,” always has to follow. |
| Michael: What about informal introductions? |
| Martin: You can simply say Ahoj, já jsem Tomáš, těší mě. |
| Michael: Which means “Hello, I'm Tomas, nice to meet you.” |
| Martin: You can substitute Ahoj with Čau or Nazdar. Also, an alternative to těší mě is rád tě poznávám, which literally means “I’m glad to be meeting you.” |
| Michael: So basically the same as “pleased to meet you.” In this case we should pay attention to gender, right? |
| Martin: That’s right. Rád tě poznávám is male speech. Ráda tě poznávám is female speech. |
| Michael: What happens with formal greetings? |
| Martin: In formal greetings, the informal “you,” tě, in rád tě poznávám needs to be changed to Vás, the formal “you.” It becomes Rád Vás poznávám, again, meaning “pleased to meet you.” Please remember that Vás is the accusative form of personal pronoun Vy, meaning “you,” which is used in formal speech towards people we need to show respect for. |
| Michael: Listeners, don’t forget that you can find all these details in the lesson notes! Finally, keep in mind that in the Czech Republic, it's a good habit to shake right hands while introducing yourself. |
| Martin: If you want to simplify your introduction, you can just say Těší mě plus your name and a handshake. |
| Michael: Good to know! Let’s have some more examples before we wrap up. |
| Martin: Ahoj, já jsem Petr, rád tě poznávám. |
| Michael: "Hi, I'm Petr, pleased to meet you. " |
| Martin: Here’s a good example for a woman introducing herself informally. Ahoj, já jsem Blanka, ráda tě poznávám. |
| Michael: "Hi, I'm Blanka, pleased to meet you." |
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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