Czech Language Institute, the guardian of Czech language usage guidelines, made available a wonderful online resource on http://prirucka.ujc.cas.cz. It's targeted at Czechs, thus the interface and many of the grammatical explanations are in Czech but even beginner learners can take advantage of the search. Just type in any word in any form, click [Hledej] and get a full listing of its other forms as in the picture below. read more »
Czech Update
The latest updates from news and events for all interested in Czech language and culture.
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Czech Language Institute makes dictionary available online
Author: Dominik Lukeš Posted: January 16th, 2009
Learn multiple Slavic languages at once with NiceTranslator
Author: Dominik Lukeš Posted: December 13th, 2008
Nicetranslator.com uses the Google Translate service to give instant response as you type and you can even choose multiple languages at once including Slovak, Polish, Russian, Slovenian, or Croatian. This could be useful for students of Slavonic languages in general but it also shows bits of sentences as you type them in. read more »
Google struggling to translate 'friends' into Czech
Author: Dominik Lukeš Posted: December 4th, 2008
Categories: Habits and customs
• Idioms
• Language
• Technology
• Vocabulary
• friend
• frienship
• idioms
• Translation
According to Zive.cz, Google.cz is asking the Czech internet community how they would like to translate the now ubiquitous word 'friend' into Czech. This is a real problem. read more »
Expand your vocabulary with this online gadget!
Author: Dominik Lukeš Posted: February 27th, 2008
I just got an early look at a great new gadget by the good people at Learnit Lists! It helps you practice 10 new words every day by putting it on your iGoogle page or in one of your social networks. read more »
Czech inventor of the 'drunk tank' dies aged 91
Author: Dominik Lukeš Posted: November 27th, 2007
Categories: About Czechs and Czech Republic
• History
• International perspectives: Czechs and the world
• Language
• Numbers, statistics, surveys and polls
• Vocabulary
• Curiosities
Záchytka is a wonderful Czech word that stands for the institution for the collection of drunken (and possibly disorderly) individual wondering city streets occasionally referred to in English as 'drunk tank' or ' read more »
Czech 'uzeniny' in branding battles
Author: Dominik Lukeš Posted: October 10th, 2007
Uzeniny is a great Czech word covering all kinds of saussage-like products and uzenář is the purveyor or producer of such meat products (you will often see 'maso a uzeniny' on Czech butchers' store fronts or supermarket sections). read more »
Learn Czech web navigation with Aktuálně
Author: Dominik Lukeš Posted: September 18th, 2007
This nascent Czech news service has finally introduced an RSS feed but even more importantly it provides its non-Czech speaking users with a handy little glossary for understanding the Czech navigation on their site. Perhaps the most important: read more »
The simple pleasures of non-Prague
Author: Dominik Lukeš Posted: August 25th, 2007
Categories: About Czechs and Czech Republic
• History
• International perspectives: Czechs and the world
• Regional Differences
• Tourism
• Vocabulary
• Curiosities
A visit to Třeboň, a small picturesque town (malebné městečko) in Southern Bohemia elicited justified outbursts of lyricism from a Seattle columnists. And he's right. The individual personality of small Czech towns is something to be experienced through a leisurely journey rather than a hectic 'been there, done that' trip. read more »
Google Announces Czech<->English dictionary - Best Online Tool Yet for Learners
Author: Dominik Lukeš Posted: December 11th, 2008
Google just released a Czech/English - English/Czech http://www.google.cz/dictionary that is the best online tool I've seen for learners. read more »
Google Translate now does Czech, makes for a useful phrasebook
Author: Dominik Lukeš Posted: May 20th, 2008
Google Translate is mainly a source of merriment when funny mistranslations occur as they do on almost any text. But if it's all you have to get the gist of a page, it is (marginally better than nothing). And now, you can get Google translate for Czech (and many other related languages). read more »
Translating Prime Minister's profanity
Author: Dominik Lukeš Posted: January 13th, 2008
Now, the prime minister Topolánek is getting sued for saying this: "Češi obvykle ale vidí všechno negativně a když k něčemu dojde, podělají se". read more »
Příkopy - Prague street in Top 20 most expensive in the world
Author: Dominik Lukeš Posted: November 15th, 2007
Categories: About Czechs and Czech Republic
• Economy
• International perspectives: Czechs and the world
• Numbers, statistics, surveys and polls
• Vocabulary
The Prague street that joins into the bottom of Wenceslas square came 20th in the world ranking of the most expensive streets in the world (down from 18th a year ago). Rents there reach 2000 EUR per square meter a year. Paradoxically, the Czech name translates literally as "on the ditches". read more »
Free pocket guide to Czech language
Author: Dominik Lukeš Posted: September 30th, 2007
Single-serving.com has come up with an easy to print and fold PDF brochure covering most of the basic phrases a tourist coming to the Czech Republic may want. The format makes it easy to carry in your pocket.
Burčák came early this year
Author: Dominik Lukeš Posted: September 7th, 2007
Categories: About Czechs and Czech Republic
• Culture
• Food and drink
• Language
• Prague
• Regional Differences
• Vocabulary
• Curiosities
• Eating Habits
• Nouns
Burčák the young wine (stum) popular in the Czech lands in the early autumn came earlier this year appearing in early August. Burčák sales in Prague kiosks around September and October is one of the joys of the Czech 'babí léto' and reminds Bohemians to remember how good it is to have Moravians part of the nation.
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More Czechs happy with public services
Author: Dominik Lukeš Posted: August 11th, 2007
Categories: Language
• Vocabulary
A new survey suggests that more (if still not most) Czechs find improvements in government-provided services. They are more responsive to people's needs but still frequently slow. This is a frequent topic of conversation and the word "úředník" means so much more than "public servant".
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