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 So, you're home from your mission. You're living at home or going to college and you begin to realize "People here don't speak Czech!!" Before you panic, here is the Czech Grammar page to give you tips on how to remember those darn cases.
Quick Navigation
| Section 1 - Grammar | Section 2 - Helpful Hints | Section 3 - Missionary Helpers |
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| Part 1 - Nouns | Part 1 - Pronounciation | Part 1 - NaS Oddíl 4 |
| Part 2 - Plural | Part 2 - Pronounciation Problems | Part 2 - Korouhev Pravdy |
| Part 3 - Adjectives |
Section 1 - Grammar
Part 1 - Nouns
Mužský Rod
| Nominative | Pán | Muž | Hrad | Stroj |
| Genative | -a | -e | -u | -e |
| Dative | -u, -ovi | -i, -ovi | -u | -i |
| Accusative | -a | -e | - | - |
| Vocative | -e | -i | -e | -i |
| Locative | -u, -ovi | -i, -ovi | -ě, -u | -i |
| Instrumental | -em | -em | -em | -em |
Ženský Rod
| Nominative | Žena | Růže | Píseň | Kost |
| Genative | -y | - | -ně | -i |
| Dative | -ě | -i | -ni | -i |
| Accusative | -u | -i | - | - |
| Vocative | -o | -e | -ni | -i |
| Locative | -ě | -i | -i | -i |
| Instrumental | -ou | -í | -ní | -í |
Střední Rod
| Nominative | Město | Moře | Náměstí | Kuře |
| Genative | -a | - | - | -te |
| Dative | -u | -i | - | -ti |
| Accusative | - | - | - | - |
| Vocative | - | - | - | - |
| Locative | -ě | -i | - | -ti |
| Instrumental | -em | -em | -m | -tem |
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Part 2 - Plurals
Množné Číslo Mužského Rodu
| Nominative | Páni,-ové | Muži,-ové | Hrady | Stroje |
| Genative | -ů | -ů | -ů | -ů |
| Dative | -ům | -ům | -ům | -ům |
| Accusative | -y | -e | -y | -e |
| Vocative | -i, -ové | -i, ové | -y | -e |
| Locative | -ech | -ích | -ech, -ích | ích |
| Instrumental | -y | -i | -y | -i |
Množné Číslo Ženského Rodu
| Nominative | Ženy | Růže | Písně | Kosti |
| Genative | žen | -í | -í | -í |
| Dative | -ám | -ím | -ím | -em |
| Accusative | -y | -e | -ě | -i |
| Vocative | -y | -e | -ě | -i |
| Locative | -ách | -ích | -ích | -ech |
| Instrumental | -ami | -emi | -emi | -mi |
Množné Číslo Středního Rodu
| Nominative | Města | Moře | Náměstí | Kuřata |
| Genative | měst | -í | -í | -at |
| Dative | -ům | -ím | -ím | -atům |
| Accusative | -a | -e | -í | -ata |
| Vocative | -a | -e | -í | -ata |
| Locative | -ech | -ích | -ích | -atech |
| Instrumental | -y | -i | -ími | -ati |
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Part 3 - Adjectives
Tvrdý
| Muž. | Pl. | Žen. | Pl. | Stř. | Pl. |
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| Nom | mladý | živ- í
neživ-é | mladá | -é | mladé | -á |
| Gen | -ého | -ých | -é | -ých | -ého | -ých |
| Dat | -ému | -ým | -é | -ým | -ému | -ým |
| Acc | živ- ého
neživ-ý | -é | -ou | -é | -é | -á |
| Voc | -ý | živ- í
neživ-é | -á | -é | -é | -á |
| Loc | -ém | -ých | -é | -ých | -ém | -ých |
| Inst | -ým | -ými | -ou | -ými | -ým | -ými |
Měkký
| Muž. | Pl. | Žen. | Pl. | Stř. | Pl. |
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| Nom | jarní | - í | jarní | -í | jarní | -í |
| Gen | -ího | -ích | -í | -ích | -ího | -ích |
| Dat | -ímu | -ím | -í | -ím | -ímu | -ím |
| Acc | živ- ího
neživ-í | -í | -í | -í | -í | -í |
| Voc | -í | - í | -í | -í | -í | -í |
| Loc | -ím | -ích | -í | -ích | -ím | -ích |
| Inst | -ím | -ími | -í | -ím | -ím | -ím |
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Section 2 - Helpful Hints
Part 1 - Pronounciation
Part 1 is mainly for pre-missionaries or people who are trying to learn Czech. If you already know the language, you can probably just skip this part.
Czech is phoenetic. What you see is what you say. So, if I don't mention it here, you can pretty much guess that it's going to sound the way you think it should.
That said, let me introduce you to the vowels.
Vowel English Example Czech Example
a ah as in father kniha
e eh as in men žena
o oh as in no okno
u oo as in shoe muž
i/y ee as in pizza cirkev
When a vowel has a čárka (meaning é,í,á,ý,ú,ó), it doesn't change the sound of the vowel. It simply elongates the vowel slightly.
The other mark of which you should be aware is the haček (or ˇ that mark). It is used to soften consenants (š,č,ť,ž,ň,ď,ř) and one vowel (ě). In some cases, what this means in practical terms is that instead of forming the consenant with the tip of your tongue against the back of your teeth (say, "T, D, N"), you form it by bringing the middle of your tongue to the front of your mouth, right behind your teeth, and keep the front of your tongue down (ť,ď,ň).
In other cases (C, S, Z), it turns the normal sound of the consenant into other sounds that we are familiar with. Č is equivilant to the English CH sound. Š is equivilant to SH. And Ž is equivilant to the 's' sound in the word pleasure.
The vowel e sometimes gets a haček too. When it does, it makes the sound 'yeh' as in the 'y' in 'yellow.' (ex: měkký).
A couple more tips:
- ch is one letter in Czech. When you see them together, they are always pronounced like the ch in Loch Ness in the back of your throat.
- c is pronounced ts like the sound in pizza
- ů is an elongated u sound
- j is pronounced yeh like in the word yak
We still haven't talked about that pesky ř. Mainly because there's no equivilent to it in English. The best way to describe it is by saying a flipped 'r' sound and a 'ž' sound at the same time. Do you get it? Probably not. You really need to hear someone do it to really understand. Sorry.
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Part 2 - Pronounciation Problems
I thought that since I only served in the Czech Rep for 6 months before going to Slovakia, I would let a more reliable source tell you about missionary problems in Czech. Michael Vit from Brno sent this document to Rob Moore and he shared it with me. It's a list of mistakes that he noticed missionaries making all the time. Click here to download it.
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Section 3 - Missionary Helpers
Part 1 - NaS Oddíl 4 D&C Section 4
1. Nyní viz, nádherné dílo je připraveno, aby vzešlo mezi dětmi člověka.
2. Pročež, ó vy, kteří vstupujete do služeb Boha, hleďte, ať mu sloužíte celým svým srdcem, mocí, myslí a silou, abyste mohli stát bez úhony před Bohem v poslední den.
3. Pročež, máte-li touhu sloužiti Bohu, jste k tomuto dílu povoláni.
4. Neboť, hleďte: pole je již připraveno ke žním, a kdo bude žit s plným úsilím, ten shromáždí zásobu, aby nezahynul, nýbrž získal spásu pro svou duši.
5. A víra, naděje, milosrdenství a láska, a oko upřené na slávu Boží uschopňují ho pro toto dílo.
6. Pamatujte na víru, ctnost, vědomost, střídmost, trpělivost, bratrskou laskavost, bohabojnost, milosrdenství, pokoru, píli.
7. Proste a obdržíte, tlučte a bude vám otevřeno. Amen.
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Part 2 - Korouhev Pravdy The Standard of Truth
"Korouhev pravdy byla vztyčena; žádná bezbožná ruka nemůže zastavit pokrok tohoto díla; pronásledování může běsnit, nepřátelé se mohou spiknout, armády shromáždit, pomluvy mohou hanobit, ale Boží pravda půjde směle, vznešeně a nezávisle dál, dokud nepronikne každý světadíl, nenavštíví každý kraj, nezaplaví každou zemi a dokud ji každý neuslyší, dokud nebude dosaženo Božích záměrů a velký Jehova neřekne, že dílo je dokonáno."
--Joseph Smith
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Questions or comments about this page? Email Steve Danielson
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