ככה תפצחו בקלות את השפה הצ'כית (Easy Hacks To Learn Czech for Hebrew and English Speakers)

 חוּמוּס (Hummus, food) / Humus [ɦʊmʊs]

You probably know hummus as a delicious Middle-Eastern dish, but in the Czech context, humus has nothing to do with the popular savory spread. Its name is derived from Latin and it refers to “compost.“ Moreover, in slang it could refer to something that is discussing. 

"Fuj, to je ale humus!"   Ew, that is disgusting!

Note: The Czech letter “h“ is a voiced glottal fricative whose pronunciation is closer to the initial letter “h“ in the English word “healthy“ than the voiceless “ח.“

סקודה/ Škoda [ˈʃkoda] Damage, pity

Now, this is not exactly a false friend, but given the popularity of this brand around the world, I decided to add it to our list. Škoda means literally „damage“ or „pity“. When you feel regret for something, you can say „To je škoda“. If you wonder why you are driving a car called „damage“, Škoda is a common Czech surname, and does not speak for the quality of the brand. In fact, I am quite a fan of this car.

How would you translate the following sentence?  „Líbí se ti Praha? Ne? Škoda!

 Find the answer in in the description of the next episode.

Sources: 

Vltava: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wwd51vB7Uow

Plzen: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Synagogue_(Plze%C5%88)

Picture: Sinai Guez, podcaster

Answers Ep. 3:

a.  I like a talented brother

b. I do not like an untalented brother. 

c.  You are clumsy 

d. Dear talented student! 

Sources:

1. Little child singing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KmxxxAhmhts&t=388s

2. Kytice Czech version: https://cs.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kytice_(b%C3%A1se%C5%88)

3. ERBEN, Karel Jaromír. Kytice z pověstí národních. V Praze: Tisk a náklad Jarosl. Pospíšila, 1853. Read online: https://kramerius5.nkp.cz/view/uuid:1eb82210-15e9-11dd-9d3a-000d606f5dc6?page=uuid:71694210-26e5-11e8-8220-005056827e51

4. Intro picture: Noon Day Witch from Narodni Galerie Praha  https://sbirky.ngprague.cz/dielo/CZE:NG.K_64571

Word Count: 27. Hebrew/Czech

                      מָלֵא (full)/ malé (small)

Klubovna pub official web page: 

(Btw, I heard that most movies in Klubovna are in English! :)))  

http://www.klubovna.povalec.cz/?fbclid=IwAR16ksk-tFGzaM1m11PT6tFfLuYtf29UQ6PrA3R_nlV45tCaNDMmgJzFF_8

Answers to exercise ep. 9:

1. Líbí se mi ten pán.

2. Mám rád pána. 

3. Líbí se mi ten hrad.      

4. Mám rád hrad.

6 Líbí se mi ta žena.     

7. Mám rád ženu.      

8. Líbí se mi to pivo.        

9. Mám rád pivo.    

Sources: 

Czech pub song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z7k4-aqqFWI

List of countries by beer consumption per capita: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_beer_consumption_per_capita

Czech cases, check out the chart: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Czech_declension#:~:text=As%20with%20many%20other%20Slavic,one%20place%20in%20each%20paradigm.

Use nominative with líbí se mi.

Use accusative with mám rád.

Exercise: add the correct form of the noun in the brackets.

1. Líbí se mi ten ______________  (Pán )                   I líke that man.     Masculine animate 

2. Mám rád        ______________ (pán)                     I like a man.         Masculine animate

3. Líbí se mi ten  ______________   (hrad)                 I like the castle.    Masculine inanimate

4. Mám rád  ______________    (hrad)                       I like a castle.       Masculine inanimate                

6 Líbí se mi  ta ______________   (žena)                   I like the woman.   Feminine

7. Mám rád ______________ (žena)                           I like a woman.      Feminine  

8. Líbí se mi to______________  (pivo)                      I like the beer.       Neutral   

Mám rád ______________ (pivo)                               I like beer.             Neutral  

Exercise Episode 8 Solutions:

Líbí se mi TEN táta.              

Nelíbí se mi TEN brácha.  

Líbí se mi TEN sýr.             

Líbí se mi TA máma.          

Líbí se mi TA sestra. 

Líbí se mi TO avokádo.

Líbí se mi TO mango.

Exercise: Add "ten", "ta", "to"

1.  Táta: father, masculine

Líbí se mi________táta.              I like the father.

2. Brácha, or bratr (more formal): brother, masculine

Nelíbí se mi ________ brácha.   I don't like that brother.

3. Sýr:  cheese, masculine

Líbí se mi _________ sýr.               I like the cheese.

4. Máma: mother, feminine 

Líbí se mi ___________ máma.          I like the mother.

5. Sestra: sister, feminine

Líbí se mi ___________sestra.  I like the sister.

6. Avokádo, mango, neutral words tend to end with "o". What would you add, "ten","ta", or "to"?

 Líbí se mi_________avokádo.

Líbí se mi____________mango.

Word count: 

26. Hebrew/Czech

סִיר (pot) / Sýr (cheese)

If you happen to pass by Olomouc, you must try : http://www.tvaruzkovacukrarna.cz/

The official webpage: https://www.tvaruzky.cz/?lang=en

Today we will practice what we've learned in episodes 1-5! Just to make sure that you remember. :)

Hebrew/ Czech

25. Hebrew Name: לִיבַּת.  / Líbat, to kiss

Sources:

Libat:  http://www.allhebrewnames.com/hebnames/en/name_details.seam?nameID=3974

Ceska televize: https://ct24.ceskatelevize.cz/domaci/1409987-posledni-den-v-dubnu-patri-carodejnicim-na-hranici

Answers ep. 4.:

Líbí se ti Praha? Ne? Škoda!  -  Do you like Prague? No? Pity!

What do Czech words “kus” and “neshika” have in common?

Word count episodes 1- 3:

21. Kus ( [kʊs], a piece)

In this section we are going to take a look at words that have a negative meaning in one language, but in another language the meaning is positive. One such an example is the word “kus.” While in Hebrew “kus” is a cuss word, in Czech you may use it in every polite conversation. “Kus” means a piece of something. In a real life situation, you may go to the fruit section in a supermarket and see a label “avokado, 39Kč/ 1 kus”. That means that you should be careful, this is the price per piece, not per kilo.

Czech numbers:

* I will record the pronunciation of these numbers ASAP.

22. Nešika

The noun neshika means “a kiss” in Hebrew, but in Czech it refers to someone who is clumsy. Look at the sentence below. How would you translate this sentence? You will find the correct answer in the audio:

a. Brácha je nešika.  My brother has butter-fingers.

When looking at the Czech noun nešika, the suffix “ne- ” negates the word, it gives the word a negative meaning. The positive adjective "to be talented"  is “šikovný” for male singular, “šikovná” for female singular, and “šikovné” for neutral gender.

Male gender:  Šikovný student         -        a talented male student

Female Gender: Šikovná studentka  -         a talented female student

Neutral Gender: Šikovné dítě           -        a talented child

Notice that the “ý” ending of an adjective refers to the male singular form, the “á” ending refers to the female singular form, and “é“ in the expression "šikovné dítě" forms a neutral gender. It is independent of the actual gender of objects. For instance, the word “dítě (child)” will always take the neutral gender, regardless whether the child is a girl or a boy.

We form a negation with the prefix "ne- "

Male gender:  nešikovný student         -        an un talented male student

Female Gender: nešikovná studentka  -         an untalented female student

Neutral Gender: nešikovné dítě           -        an untalented child

A small test, episodes 1 - 3: how would you translate the following sentences? Find the answers in the description of the next episode

a. Líbí se mi šikovný brácha.

b. Nelíbí se mi nešikovný brácha.

c. Jsi nešika.

d. Milý šikovný student!

Word count: 

Hebrew/Czech

19.  מִלָּה /dear (female form)

20. מַה / my, female form

In Czech, “milá” means “dear,” female form. The ending is sensitive to the noun that follows the adjective. Let’s take a look at a few Czech names to illustrate how the ending reacts to the gender. Female names: Markéta, Lada, Denisa, Helena.

j. Milá Markéta

k. Milá Lada

l. Milá Helena

The masculine form is milý. Male names: Miroslav, Marek, Pavel. Notice that they tend not to end with the wovel “a” (with some exceptions), but rather with a consonant. 

m. Milý Miroslav

n. Milý Marek

o. Milý Pavel