Learn about interjections in Czech
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Intro |
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| Antoni: What are interjections? |
| Veronika: And how are they used in Czech? |
| Antoni: At CzechClass101.com, we hear these questions often. Imagine the following situation: Karel Komárek has a surprise for his daughter, Kristýna. He says to her, |
| "Get ready, we're going on a trip." |
| Karel Komárek: Připrav se, jedeme na výlet. |
| Dialogue |
| Karel Komárek: Připrav se, jedeme na výlet. |
| Kristýna Komárková: Jupí! Jedeme na výlet! |
| Antoni: Once more with the English translation. |
| Karel Komárek: Připrav se, jedeme na výlet. |
| Antoni: "Get ready, we're going on a trip." |
| Kristýna Komárková: Jupí! Jedeme na výlet! |
| Antoni: "Hurray! We're going on a trip!" |
Lesson focus |
| Antoni: In this lesson, we will be looking at interjections in Czech. The Czech word for "interjection" is: |
| Veronika: [NORMAL] citoslovce [SLOW] citoslovce |
| [PAUSE 3 SECONDS] |
| Antoni: But what exactly is an interjection? Interjections are words that are put between other words to express a feeling or a spontaneous reaction. They can also stand on their own and are traditional parts of speech in their own right, in the same way that nouns, verbs, and other words are. In a way, interjections could even be seen as the emojis of language! |
| Antoni: One perfect example of an interjection is "Ouch!" You can combine it with other words, as in, "Ouch, that hurts!" It can stand on its own too. For instance, if you accidentally stubbed your toe, you say, |
| Veronika: [NORMAL] Au! [SLOW] Au! |
| [PAUSE 3 SECONDS] |
| Antoni: "Ouch!" As you may already know, interjections are used to express certain emotions, such as pain, disgust, fear, shock, and awe. There are also interjections that are associated with noise, food, and annoying situations. Speaking of awe, in Czech, a common interjection associated with this emotion is |
| Veronika: [NORMAL] Jú! [SLOW] Jú! |
| [PAUSE 3 SECONDS] |
| Antoni: which means "Wow," an expression you would use to show that you are very impressed or surprised by something. The opposite of this interjection would be |
| Veronika: [NORMAL] Ach jo [SLOW] Ach jo |
| [PAUSE 3 SECONDS] |
| Antoni: which means "Oh no," an expression used to show feelings of disappointment, dismay, or disapproval. To show feelings of disgust, you can use the interjection, |
| Veronika: [NORMAL] Fuj [SLOW] Fuj |
| Antoni: This is the equivalent of "Yuck," and something you would usually say when talking about food. |
| Veronika: [NORMAL] Fuj, tohle chutná hrozně! [SLOW] Fuj, tohle chutná hrozně! |
| Antoni: "Yuck, this tastes awful!" The opposite of this one would be |
| Veronika: [NORMAL] Mňam [SLOW] Mňam |
| Antoni: which means "yum" or "yummy." It’s something you would say when you taste food that’s very delicious. |
| Veronika: [NORMAL] Mňam! Tento dort je tak chutný! [SLOW] Mňam! Tento dort je tak chutný! |
| Antoni: "Yum! This cake is so tasty!" |
| [Recall 1] |
| Antoni: Let’s take a closer look at the dialogue. |
| Do you remember how Karel says "Get ready, we're going on a trip?" |
| (pause 4 seconds) |
| Veronika as Karel: Připrav se, jedeme na výlet. |
| [Recall 2] |
| Antoni: Now, let’s take a look at our second sentence. |
| Do you remember how Kristýna says "Hurray! We're going on a trip?" |
| (pause 4 seconds) |
| Veronika as Kristýna: Jupí! Jedeme na výlet! |
| Antoni: Here, Kristýna uses the interjection, |
| Veronika: Jupí |
| Antoni: It’s the equivalent of the English "yippee," "yay," or in this case, "hurray." It’s an expression you would use when you want to show that you are excited or overjoyed about something. A similar expression would be |
| Veronika: Juchú |
| Antoni: which is also an expression of happiness and excitement and is equivalent to the English "yee haw." |
| [Summary] |
| Antoni: In this lesson, we talked about common Czech interjections, and we learned that they are used to express certain emotions, such as pain, disgust, fear, shock, and awe. Most of the ones we've learned have their equivalents in English, and, just like English interjections, Czech interjections can usually stand on their own. |
| Expansion |
| Antoni: This time, let’s explore more Czech interjections starting with |
| Veronika: [NORMAL] Aha [SLOW] Aha |
| Antoni: It’s the equivalent of the English "Aha" or "I see," and is used as an exclamation of realization, such as when you say, |
| Veronika: [NORMAL] Aha. Teď už chápu. |
| Antoni: or "I see. I get it now." Another one is |
| Veronika: [NORMAL] nó [SLOW] nó |
| Antoni: an interjection that means "well," such as when you say, |
| Veronika: [NORMAL] Nó, samozřejmě mám! |
| Antoni: or "Well, of course I do!" Another Czech interjection you should be familiar with is |
| Veronika: [NORMAL] Na [SLOW] Na |
| Antoni: It’s an expression you would use when telling someone they could have more of something. Think of it as the expression "here you go," or "take this," such as when you say, |
| Veronika: [NORMAL] Na, vezmi si další. |
| Antoni: or "Come one, take another one." |
| Cultural Insight |
| Antoni: So far, we’ve covered primary interjections in Czech, or those interjections that come as single words. Secondary interjections are also common in Czech, or those that consist of multiple words. One example would be |
| Veronika: Hodně štěstí |
| Antoni: which means "Good luck!" Another one would be |
| Veronika: Žádný problém! |
| Antoni: or "No problem!" And, finally, there’s the equivalent of the famous "bon appétit," or |
| Veronika: Dobrou chuť |
| Antoni: which means "Enjoy your meal!" |
Outro |
| Antoni: Do you have any more questions? We’re here to answer them! |
| Veronika: Na shledanou! |
| Antoni: See you soon! |
| Credits: Veronika Ageiwa (Czech, Prague), Antoni (English, synthetic voice) |
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