With its verb prefixes, perfective forms, diminutives and rules for forming nouns, the Czech language can often express an idea or action much more precisely than English. Or to put it another way, there are Czech words which don’t have a single- word translation in English. One famous example: Milan Kundera has contended that the Czech word litost, defined in his novel The Book of Laughter and Forgetting as ‘a state of torment caused by a sudden insight into one’s own miserable self’, has no English, or any other language, equivalent. Here are 100 others: Advertise with Expats.cz People čecháček: a narrow-minded Czech person

fiflena: a woman obsessed with clothes

chatař: an owner of a recreational cottage and participant in the lifestyle

kverulant: a chronic complainer, a litigious person

našinec: fellow countryman, one of ours

ohyzda: an ugly person

otužilec: someone who does not feel the cold, a hardy person

smolař: a person dogged by bad luck

tajnůstkář: a secretive person Places lhota: a village established in the 13th and early 14th century. Land was granted in return for a period (6 to 8 years) of labor for the original owners. The name comes from lhóta (today lhůta) meaning a set period of time.

nároží: the space around the corner of a building

plácek: a small open space

podhradí/podzámčí: a settlement around a castle/chateau

světnice: the sitting room in a cottage which has a lot of light Nature and weather červánky: red evening clouds

huňáč: a shaggy bear

chlum: a wooded hill

jezernatý: having many lakes

letnění: drying out of ponds in summer

náledí: ice-covered ground

moknout: to be out in the rain

rozpršet se: to begin to rain hard

sopečnatý: having many volcanoes Time of day, week or year navečer/podvečer: the time between afternoon and evening, towards evening

podletí: late summer

pozítřek/pozítří: the day after tomorrow

předvčerejšek/předevčírek: the day before yesterday Advertise with Expats.cz Food-related knedlikový: rather partial to dumplings

mlsat: to eat sweets, to have a sweet tooth

překousnout: to bite in two/half

skýva: a slice of bread (poetic) Movement nadejít (někomu): to take a short cut to catch up (to somebody)

pootočit: turn a bit, to turn a half-circle

rozběhnout se: to take a run up, to start running

rozhýbat: to put in motion

vybafnout: to jump out and say boo

vyskladnit: to take out of storage

Communicating prozvonit: to call a mobile phone only to have it ring once so that the other person would call back, allowing the caller not to spend money on minutes.

přeřeknout se: to make a slip of the tongue

ráčkovat: pronounce one’s Rs incorrectly

tykat (někomu): to be on first name terms with (someone) (literally to use the informal ‘you’)

vyčíslit: to express in numbers/digits

vykat (někomu): to be on formal terms with (someone) (literally to use the formal ‘you’) Advertise with Expats.cz

Crime and harmful acts podmazat: to grease a person’s palm

postřelit: to shoot and wound

přiotrávit: to almost poison

rozstřílet: to shoot into pieces, to riddle with bullets

šmelina: black market goods

vykeťasit: to earn money on the black market Education, school and children hračička: a child fond of playing (also a DIY enthusiast)

koulovat: to have a snow ball fight, to throw snow balls

náslech: sitting in on classes

neposlucha: a disobedient child

odkoukat: to learn by watching

otrnout: to be naughty again after a telling off

poškolák: child kept after school

předtančit: to demonstrate a dance

přesezený: stiff from sitting in the same position too long

vykňourat (něco): to get (something) through whining

vykvílet (něco): to get (something) through wailing Illness and unpleasantries přeležet se: to develop bedsores

uchlastat se/upít se: to drink one’s self to death

ukýchat se: to sneeze one’s self to death

umrlčina: the smell of a dead body/dead bodies

vyhnisat: to be expelled by pus

vyprahlo: a dry feeling in the throat

zadýchat se: to lose one’s breath

zahlenit: to block with phlegm Life and aging fotrovatět: to develop a middle aged spread, to get out of shape

natrápit se: to have suffered a great deal, to have had a hard life

sešvagřit se: to become brothers-in-law Money and shopping koupěchtivý: willing, eager, keen to buy

koupěschopný: having purchasing power

podražit: to go up a little in price

prostavět: to spend/lose money on building/construction

přiobjednat: to put in an extra order Miscellaneous verbs poopravit: to correct or adjust a bit

prokreslit: to make a detailed drawing

přivstat si: to get up really (or unusually) early

rozemnout: to rub into powder between the fingers

sezpívat se: to get used to singing together

sezvánět: to call together with bells

smířit se: to come to terms

šilhat: to have a squint, to be cross-eyed. to look askance at something, to have eyes for someone

švejkovat: to play the fool, to win through clowning

umilovat se: to wear one’s self out making love Things cingrlátko: tinkling ornaments

pomlázka: Easter whips made from willow branches

kroj: folk costume

skoba: a hooked or bent nail

snář: a dream dictionary

šlendrián: a poorly made product

ucháč: a pot with big handles which resemble ears (also the name of a type of fungus) Prepositions and adverbs nevhod: at the wrong time, at an inconvenient moment

nikterak: by no means, not in any way

ob: every other, every second

odedávna: since a long time ago, from way back

odevšad: from all sides

potmě: in the dark

prozatím: for the time being Thanks to Melvyn Clarke, moderator of the Czechlist Facebook group for translators, for his original thread, which listed many of these words. Others were found in Velký Česko-Anglický Slovník by Ivan Poldauf and Velký Česko-Anglický Slovník by Josef Fronek. If you’re considering a course to learn the Czech Language, you can find a great selection right here. ** Have you found any interesting or untranslatable Czech words?



