When the day breaks

Welcome to a fresh edition of SoundCzech, our Czech language mini-series in which you can learn new phrases with the help of song lyrics. Today we’ll hear a song by Jana Kratochvílová called V stínu kapradiny – in the shadow of the fern and the phrase to listen out for is když lámal se den.

Photo: Barbora Kmentová

Když lámal se den literally means when the day started breaking – a poetic expression referring to dusk. And the word we will be looking at is lámat–meaning to break. In many ways the word is used similarly as in English – zlomit srdce means to break someone’s heart. You can break a leg, zlomit si nohu, a pen, zlomit tužku, or your neck – in fact the expression zlom vaz is the Czech equivalent to break a leg.

If someone is physically strong Czechs will say mohl by skály lámat– meaning he could break or crush rocks. Or else it is possible to use the expression lamželezo–someone strong enough to break iron. Lámat necopřes koleno, means to break something over your knee –in other words to force something with brute strength. And lámat nad někým hůl means to write someone off, to give up on someone – and translates literally as breaking a stick over someone.

There are many other expressions stemming from the word break –hlavolam–is a brain teaser, something that is head-racking or head-breaking as we say. Lámat si hlavunad problémem is to rack your brains over a problem –and lámat rekordy means to break records.

You may hear the phrase když dojde na lámání chleba– literally when they start breaking the bread – in other words when push comes to shove. Někoho nalomit is to be successful in persuading someone to do what you want – to bend them in favour of a plan. And finally there is the phrase mluvil lámanou angličtinou– he spoke in broken English.