I don't strike the right note with you
Welcome to SoundCzech, Radio Prague's Czech language series in which you can learn useful phrases with the help of song lyrics. Today's phrase is from a song called "Levandulová" meaning "The Lavender Girl" and is sung by the country's best known chanson singer Hana Hegerova. And the phrase to listen out for today is "nekapu ti do noty".
"Kápnout někomu do noty" means to strike the right note with someone. For instance when you give someone exactly what they want for their birthday or prepare just the right food for lunch. When someone says "kápla jsi mi do noty" they are saying "this is just what I needed" or "this is exactly what I wanted to hear". Hana Hegerova sings "nekapu ti do noty" - meaning "I don't strike the right note with you":
The phrase "kápnout někomu do noty" can relate either to an isolated incident - when someone says or does something to your liking - or to a long-term state of affairs when two people hit it off together and are compatible. "Kápli jsme si do noty" means "we hit it off right away" or "we get on like a house on fire". "Nekápli jsme si do noty" means we didn't get on at all, we are very different. Similarly, "sedli jsme si" means "we are well-suited", while "nesedli jsme si" means we didn't take to one another at first sight or right from the start. Now listen to the phrase once again:
If you strike the right note with someone - and get on really well with them you can also say "on je má krevní skupina" - he has the same blood group as me - we feel the same way about things or we like the same things. A simpler way of saying the same thing is "to je můj člověk" - "he's my kind of guy". On the other hand if you do not like someone you can say "toho nemusím" - which means "I don't need to be around people like him". Here's Hana Hegerova again with "nekapu ti do noty" - I don't strike the right note with you.
I hope there's someone out there who knows "jak vám kápnout do noty" - in other words how to make you happy. And as few people of the other kind as possible. This is DL saying thanks for learning Czech with me and nashledanou.
