Můj přítel Yetti

Welcome to another edition of SoundCzech – Radio Prague’s Czech language series in which you can learn Czech phrases through song lyrics. Today, we’ll be listening to a tune by the folk singer Karel Plíhal called Můj přítel Yetti, or my friend the Yeti.

The phrase to listen out for is “Můj přítel.”

“Můj přítel” literally means “my friend” and it is used, unsurprisingly, to describe someone with whom you have a personal relationship. In this rather playful song, Karel Plíhal sings about “Můj přítel Yetti” or his friend the Yeti, who comes into his room only at night, because “ve dne se neodváží blíž” or “during the day, he doesn’t dare come near.”

There are several things to remember about the word přítel. For example, when a girl says “Můj přítel,” she is likely not talking about her friend, but her boyfriend. And when a guy says moje “přítelkyně,”– the female ending for the word “friend” – it is likely he is talking about his girlfriend. So is it fair to say that přítel is only used to describe friendships between the same sex? The answer is yes, unless we use the plural of the word “přátele.” But a more common word for friend is “kamarád” or the more vernacular “kámoš.”“Jdu s kámošem na pivo,” means I am going with my male friend for a beer. “Jdu s kámoškou“ or “s kamarádkou” is the female version of the same word.

So if a girl tells you that her friend of the opposite sex is her “kamarád,” it is pretty clear that they are not attached. The same goes for the other way round – if a guy tells you that his female friend is his “kamarádka” then you can be certain that is not his girlfriend – at least yet. Hopefully that will help you avoid any awkward misunderstandings!

And I am afraid that’s all we have time for today. If you need to go through these phrases again, you can check this and any other previous lesson on our website www.radio.cz. Thank you for listening and nashledanou!