Love and Marriage, Czech Style

Love and Marriage, Czech Style

Some of you may be in love with a Czech, some of you may want to marry a Czech. So in this ABC of Czech, we bring you the Czech words that you need to bridge the gap between love and marriage...

You may like to start with a date - rande - with the person you are interested in. If this meeting is successful, then this person will become your boyfriend - kluk - or girlfriend - dívka or holka - and you will be dating or going out with them - chodit s ním if they are a man, or chodit s ní if they are a woman.

Unlike the English language, which uses the verb "to love" to express anything from liking something a lot to being in love with someone, Czech is more specific in expressing degrees of love. You may want to start by telling your boyfriend or girlfriend that you like them - mám tě rád if you are male, mám tě ráda if you are female - and then, when you are really in love, you can say "I love you" - miluju tě".

When you have reached this stage of love, you may start thinking about marriage. To ask for one's hand in marriage is poadat o ruku, which has the same literal meaning as its English equivalent. And if you get the answer "yes" - ano - then you are an engaged couple, snoubenci.

At your wedding - svatba - marrying will be different if you are a man or a woman. For men, "to get married" is oženit se - literally " to take a wife" - and if you are a woman it is vdát se - literally "to give oneself." For those who prefer a third option, you can use the gender-neutral term vzít se - marrying each other.

Let's hope that you now find much happiness with your husband - muž or manžel, wife - žena or manželka, or simply spouse - chot'. But be warned that the Czech Republic has one of the highest rates of divorce in Europe. Divorce - that's rozvod.

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See also Living Czech.