Learn how to show concern and talk about your life
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| INTRODUCTION |
| Michael: Hi everyone, and welcome back to CzechClass101.com. This is Absolute Beginner Season 1 Lesson 6 - Catching Up with an Old Friend in the Czech Republic. Michael here. |
| Martin: Ahoj. I'm Martin. |
| Michael: In this lesson, you’ll learn how to say “long time no see.” This conversation takes place at the airport, where two friends are reuniting. |
| Martin: It's between Tom and Martin. |
| Michael: The speakers have known each other for a long time and are friends, so they’re using informal language. Okay, let's listen to the conversation. |
| DIALOGUE |
| [na letisti] |
| Tomáš: Čau, Martine? Jsi to ty? |
| Martin: Tome! Nazdar, dlouho jsem tě neviděl! |
| Tomáš: No to jo, hodně dlouho! Jak se máš? |
| Martin: Jo, jo, dobře. Jen jsem unavenej. Byla to dlouhá cesta z Japonska sem. |
| Michael: Listen to the conversation one time slowly. |
| [na letisti] |
| Tomáš: Čau, Martine? Jsi to ty? |
| Martin: Tome! Nazdar, dlouho jsem tě neviděl! |
| Tomáš: No to jo, hodně dlouho! Jak se máš? |
| Martin: Jo, jo, dobře. Jen jsem unavenej. Byla to dlouhá cesta z Japonska sem. |
| Michael: Listen to the conversation with the English translation. |
| [at airport] |
| Tomáš: Hey, Martin? Is that you? |
| Martin: Tom! Hi, haven't seen you for a long time! |
| Tomáš: Yeah, a very long time! How are you doing? |
| Martin: Yeah, I'm fine, just tired. It was a long journey from Japan to here. |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Michael: Martin, would you say Czech people like to socialize? |
| Martin: Yes, I think we like to meet up with our friends and families. While meeting with friends often takes place outside in restaurants or bars, family reunions mostly happen at home. |
| Michael: Do family reunions happen often? |
| Martin: The frequency depends on how far they live from each other. If it's not too far, weekly gatherings aren't unusual. Birthdays, anniversaries, weddings, or general holidays like Christmas and Easter are always good reasons to visit relatives. |
| Michael: Many people also meet their friends on a weekly basis for a drink or dinner out. If these friends are coming from far away, they often get invited home too. Is there a related expression we should learn here? |
| Martin: Yes, it’s probably worth knowing how you invite someone over. That’s Přijďte k nám na navštěvu! |
| Michael: meaning "Come visit us!". Could you repeat it more slowly? |
| Martin: [Slowly] Přijďte k nám na navštěvu! |
| VOCAB LIST |
| Michael: Let’s take a look at the vocabulary from this lesson. The first word is.. |
| Martin: čau [natural native speed] |
| Michael: Hello, Bye |
| Martin: čau[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Martin: čau [natural native speed] |
| Michael: Next we have.. |
| Martin: nazdar [natural native speed] |
| Michael: Hi, bye |
| Martin: nazdar[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Martin: nazdar [natural native speed] |
| Michael: Next we have.. |
| Martin: dlouho [natural native speed] |
| Michael: long, for a long time |
| Martin: dlouho[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Martin: dlouho [natural native speed] |
| Michael: Next we have.. |
| Martin: vidět [natural native speed] |
| Michael: to see |
| Martin: vidět[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Martin: vidět [natural native speed] |
| Michael: Next we have.. |
| Martin: hodně [natural native speed] |
| Michael: a lot, many |
| Martin: hodně[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Martin: hodně [natural native speed] |
| Michael: Next we have.. |
| Martin: unavený [natural native speed] |
| Michael: tired |
| Martin: unavený[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Martin: unavený [natural native speed] |
| Michael: Next we have.. |
| Martin: dlouhý [natural native speed] |
| Michael: long |
| Martin: dlouhý[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Martin: dlouhý [natural native speed] |
| Michael: Next we have.. |
| Martin: cesta [natural native speed] |
| Michael: road |
| Martin: cesta[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Martin: cesta [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: hodně |
| Michael: meaning "a lot, many, plenty, much." |
| Martin: Unlike the English equivalent, hodně is not dependent on countable or uncountable nouns. |
| Michael: You use it when you’re expressing that there is a lot of something. The "something" can be any substance, a countable or uncountable amount, touchable or untouchable. |
| Martin: It can be used for any amount of anything. For example, Hodně...vody |
| Michael: Which means “water” |
| Martin: cukru |
| Michael: “sugar” |
| Martin: času |
| Michael: “time” |
| Martin: lidí |
| Michael: Meaning “people” and so on. Can you give us an example using this word? |
| Martin: Sure. For example, you can say... Hodně mlíka, prosím. |
| Michael: ..which means "Lots of milk, please." Okay, what's the next word? |
| Martin: no to jo |
| Michael: meaning "yeah, that's right." Hmm, this sounds a little tricky. |
| Martin: Ah yes, because in Czech No is a colloquial “yes,” a way of agreeing with another person. To is “it” or “this,” and jo is “yeah.” |
| Michael: The actual meaning is "yeah, that's right'', or ''well, yeah.'' You use this when you’re agreeing with another person and what he or she is saying. |
| Martin: No to jo is also a confirmation with another person that the two of you have the same opinion. In other words, it’s saying "you’re right." |
| Michael: Can you give us an example using this word? |
| Martin: Sure. For example, you can say.. No to jo, to máš pravdu. |
| Michael: .. which means "Yeah, you are right. " Okay, what's the next word? |
| Martin: It’s nazdar |
| Michael: which means "hey, hi." We've already seen this in earlier lessons. It’s a casual greeting like "hi" or "hey," or "bye." It can be used only with friends or family, or with kids. |
| Martin: Another use of this word is as an exclamation or interjection, no nazdar. |
| Michael: When somebody says that, it’s like saying '"oh dear," or "blimey," or "Jesus." |
| Martin: This phrase can also be used when you feel surprised about something. For example, no nazdar, co budeš dělat? |
| Michael: “Oh dear, what will you do?” Can you give us an example using this word as a greeting? |
| Martin: Sure. For example, you can say.. Nazdar, už jsem tady! |
| Michael: .. which means "Hey, I'm here now." Okay, now onto the grammar. |
Lesson focus |
|---|
| Michael: In this lesson you'll learn which expressions to use when you’re catching up with an old friend in the Czech Republic. |
| Martin: The most common greeting when you’re meeting somebody after a long time starts with Ahoj, jak se máš? |
| Michael: Which means “Hi, how are you?” |
| Martin: or Ahoj, jak se daří? |
| Michael: “Hi, how are you doing?” Both expressions have exactly the same meaning in this context, but you used two different verbs, right? |
| Martin: That’s right. In Ahoj, jak se máš? there is Máš se which is the infinitive of mít se meaning “to be doing.” In Ahoj, jak se daří? we had Daří se which is the infinitive of dařit se meaning “to do well, to flourish, to prosper, to thrive.” |
| Michael: Se is the accusative form of reflexive pronoun meaning "oneself" which further corresponds to the English "myself, yourself, herself, himself, ourselves, yourselves, or themselves." |
| Martin: Right. Dařit se can further be applied to flowers, animals, or trees because of its broad meaning. For example Téhle kytce se daří dobře. |
| Michael: Which means “This plant is flourishing.” The next expression, “long time no see,” has a few variations, right? |
| Martin: It does. First, let’s see the informal version. If you’re a male you have to say Dlouho jsem tě neviděl , and if you’re a female it’s Dlouho jsem tě neviděla. |
| Michael: Both mean “I haven't seen you for a long time.” In a formal situation, what can we say? |
| Martin: If you’re a male you have to say Dlouho jsem Vás neviděl, and if you’re a female it’s Dlouho jsem Vás neviděla. |
| Michael: Is there any other way you can say the same thing? |
| Martin: In an informal situation, you can also say Tebe jsem dlouho neviděl! |
| Michael: meaning “You, I haven’t seen for a long time!” In this case we’re emphasizing the word “you” by putting it at the beginning of the sentence. |
| Martin: Right, and it’s useful if you want to emphasize the fact that it is this specific person that we haven’t seen for a long time. |
| Michael: Okay, could you repeat it? |
| Martin: Tebe jsem dlouho neviděl! As you may have noticed, all the sentences introduced omit the subject já, |
| Michael: meaning “I.” That’s because the subject is evident from the verb, |
| Martin: in this case jsem, the singular first person conjugation of the verb být, “to be.” |
| Michael: It’s an important verb, so let’s review the full conjugation. |
| Martin: já jsem |
| Michael: “I am” |
| Martin: ty jsi or the formal version Vy jste |
| Michael: both meaning “you are” |
| Martin: on je, ona je |
| Michael: “he is, she is” |
| Martin: my jsme |
| Michael:“we are” |
| Martin: vy jste |
| Michael: “you are” |
| Martin: oni jsou |
| Michael: “they are” |
| Martin: We can also say dlouho jsme se neviděli . |
| Michael: meaning “We haven’t seen each other for a long time” |
| Martin: jsme applies to the plural my, meaning “we.” So from the context, even without the subject my, it becomes clear that it can only be my because of the connection jsme. |
| Michael: Ok, now let’s see what can we say as a response. |
| Martin: When you’re agreeing with the other person that you haven’t seen each other for a long time, you can say No to jo, |
| Michael: Meaning “Yeah, that’s right” or “You’re right.” |
| Martin: Please remember that No has the same meaning as “yeah” and to jo is “that’s right.” |
| Michael: Also, don’t forget that this phrase is a casual phrase and you can use it in informal and semi-formal situations. It’s not appropriate to use it in highly formal situations, though. |
| Martin: Both parts of the phrase can also be used separately, with no as only "yes" and to jo as only "that’s right." |
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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