Become a Virtual Tourist Member Today!  Sign Up for Free | Sign In

Language, Prague

Search:
email to friend | help
Home » Travel Guides » Europe » Czech Republic » Hlavni Mesto Praha » Prague » Local Customs » Language Reviews

Prague Travel Guide

czech flag - Prague
czech flag
by orlikins
Prague Local Customs: Travel tips and advice posted by real travelers and Prague locals.
Language
• 7 Photos
• 21 Reviews

Sponsored Links for Prague

Hilton Prague Old Town
Modern luxury Art Deco Hotel in central Prague. Book online now!

Prague Old Town hotels
New opening special offers Double room price starting at €79

Prague Hotels
Get Our Best Price Guarantee on All Hotels in Prague at Expedia.

Hotel in Prague
Luxury & trendy hotels in Prague. Reserve easily online your hotel!

4* Hotel Elegant Prague
Four Star Hotel 15 min to Centre of Prague. Parking. Book and Save!


Sort By:  Most Recent | Best Rated
Language: Language Barriers
  • Tip Rating:
  • Languages can be a barrier if you let them... - Prague
    Languages can be a barrier if
    you let them...
    by M0B1US
    Send Photo to a Friend
    For most of us westerners the Czech language will be a completely new experience with few if any words proving familiar to begin with… Although English is spoken in Prague in ever increasing numbers, to not even make an effort to learn a few words of Czech is an affront to the people that live here in my mind. It takes little effort to learn a few simple phrases such as ‘please’, ‘hello’ and ‘thank you’ and your experience in Prague will be greatly enriched by doing so as the locals will be very pleased (or amused) by your polite efforts. It never ceases to amaze me the amount of ignorant tourists out there that actually expect everyone in a foreign country to speak English! Some basics: Please/You're welcome: Prosim (PROH-seem) Thank you: Dekuji Vahm (Dyeh-koo-yih vahm) Hello: Dobry den (DO-bree-den) Goodbye: Nashledanou (NAH-sleh-dah-noh-oo) Yes: Ano (AH-no) No: Ne (neh) And now for an essential phrase you cannot do without in Prague: Dam si jedno pivo prosim: Can I have a beer please! For more, ‘czech’ out Local Lingo ;-)

    Leave a Comment


    Add to Your Trip Planner  Post a Question  Write a Tip on  Language
    Rate      Not Helpful  1   2   3   4   5  Very Helpful
    Language: Prosim!
  • Tip Rating:
  • everyone says "Prosim," all...the....time. they pick up their cell phones and say, "prosim?" they give you your change back and say, "prosim!" so what does prosim mean? according to my guidebook, it means please. but it seems like they use it for hello and thank you and all sorts of other stuff. i don't really know for sure, but it's a really big word - big like aloha or coca cola or something. if you'd like to say it too, it sounds like pro-seem. roll the 'r'.

    Leave a Comment


    Add to Your Trip Planner  Post a Question  Write a Tip on  Language
    Rate      Not Helpful  1   2   3   4   5  Very Helpful
    Language: Language
  • Tip Rating:
  • I found that not very many people in Prague speak a lot of English, so learning some Czech will probably be useful. Locals generally respond very well if you at least recognise the effort they have made for you, even if you only know a word or two of Czech. Here are some useful phrases: Hello - Dobrý den Yes - Ano No - Ne Please - Prosím Thank you - Děkuji We found that most Czechs are more than happy to give an impromptu lesson in Czech - one taxi driver even listed off several phrases when we asked him, and then made us repeat them all in turn so that he could correct our pronounciation :) That was the best taxi journey I've ever been on. Don't be too daunted if Czech looks too confusing - many Czechs speak German as a second language so if you did German at school, now is the perfect opportunity to go up into the attic and dust off all your old exercise books!

    Leave a Comment

  • Website: http://www.locallingo.com/

  • Add to Your Trip Planner  Post a Question  Write a Tip on  Language
    Rate      Not Helpful  1   2   3   4   5  Very Helpful
    Language: Do not worry of frowning faces
  • Tip Rating:
  • In generall czech people are very weak in foreign languages. So if you ask someone for help you may see frowning face. This does not mean any signs of hostility but simply a person does not understand and does not want to communicate. Due to communist era a lot of especially older people do speak only a little bit of russian. It is much more better with young generation who can speak at least basic of english or german. In Prague it should not be problem to order in english or german in restaurants especially in the centre. In the countryside it might be more problem to speak with a stuff but menus are usually in two languages. The more west the more german language, of course, due to boarders with Germany. I would reccommend to learn few word which warm up the people faces, they will be happy to hear you trying to pronounce czech words. There is an english - czech dictionary web site.

  • Website: http://slovnik.seznam.cz/sl.fcgi

  • Add to Your Trip Planner  Post a Question  Write a Tip on  Language
    Rate      Not Helpful  1   2   3   4   5  Very Helpful
    Language: A few words will take you a long way...
  • Tip Rating:
  • Czech is not an easy language to learn, but making the effort to learn to say Hello, Please and Thank you, really is worth the trouble. Locals will be pleasantly surprised and you might get a smile or a new friend just for trying... Hello = Dobry den Please = Prosím Thank you = De Kuji Vám

    Leave a Comment


    Add to Your Trip Planner  Post a Question  Write a Tip on  Language
    Rate      Not Helpful  1   2   3   4   5  Very Helpful
    Language: Learn a few basic Czech words
  • Tip Rating:
  • Just as in any country, local people really appreciate when you make an effort to speak their language. Even if it is just the word "hello" or "thank you", so learn a few basic words. They will really value your attempt to learn Czech, and as they are generally very friendly people, will easily help you and share a lot of things with you. Even if English is the international language, Czech is still theirs so don't expect to have menus in English, or for them to understand everything you say. It might seem like a very obvious tip to some of you, but trust me, I have witnessed many times tourists complaining and saying "How can they not have a menu in English!!!!"

    Leave a Comment


    Add to Your Trip Planner  Post a Question  Write a Tip on  Language
    Rate      Not Helpful  1   2   3   4   5  Very Helpful
    Language: Language can be a bit of a...
  • Tip Rating:
  • Updated By acemj on December 11, 2003
  • Email Me
  • See My Prague Page
  • Send to a Friend
  • Language can be a bit of a barrier, but you might do well speaking a little German. Czech is very difficult and I found that even with a book of 'useful' phrases, they weren't very useful the way I was pronouncing them!! Some of the younger people will speak English, but don't count on it. Here are the very basics: Yes: Ano (AH-no) No: ne (neh) Please/You're welcome: Prosim (PROH-seem) Thank you: Dekuji (Dyeh-koo-yih) Hello: Dobry den (DO-bree-den) Goodbye: Nashledanou (NAH-sleh-dah-noh-oo)

    Leave a Comment


    Add to Your Trip Planner  Post a Question  Write a Tip on  Language
    Rate      Not Helpful  1   2   3   4   5  Very Helpful
    Language: Czech language is very hard...
  • Tip Rating:
  • Czech language is very hard (sometimes even natives don't speak well) so you'll need dictionaries. But some 'usefull' phrases, which you can find in that books, are mostly wrong and they don't exactly mean what they are suppose to. So many young people speak English and German (mostly teenagers and businessmen), a lot of people speak Russian, but don't try to talk to them by using that language. Many people don't like Russians so much because of some historical events so when you'll talk to them in Russian they'll simply walk away or tell you that they don't understand. The best way how to get some informations is to go to one of the many INFO kiosks in downtown or just go to some restaurant and ask the waiter - most of them speak English.

    Leave a Comment


    Add to Your Trip Planner  Post a Question  Write a Tip on  Language
    Rate      Not Helpful  1   2   3   4   5  Very Helpful
    Language: In my opinion, Slavic...
  • Tip Rating:
  • In my opinion, Slavic languages are very difficult to learn, especially if one has not learned the pure Russian form. Just a few words you should learn before going there (not everyone in the world speaks English, you know): Ano=Yes Ne=No Ahoj=Hello Dobre rano=Good morning Dobre den=Good day Ahoj=Goodbye Pardon=Excuse me/Pardon me Lituju=sorry Prosim=Please Dekuju=Thank you

    Leave a Comment


    Add to Your Trip Planner  Post a Question  Write a Tip on  Language
    Rate      Not Helpful  1   2   3   4   5  Very Helpful
    Language: Prosim
  • Tip Rating:
  • So, I bought a Praha lanyard, a KGB (We're Still Watching You!) t-shirt, and a Praha bottle opener at the souvenir shop beside the bridge tower. The young lady at the cashier said to me, "Prosim." I asked her what it meant. She said it means thank you or hello. I said to her, "I thought thank you was "Dekuji." She said, "Yes." So now I'm confused... I asked her one more question, "What does Bes Do Perdele mean?" She was sipping on some water at that time and I had her blowing water/chunks through her nostrils. Hahaha! She couldn't tell me what it meant. Everyone in that souvenir shop was laughing so hard! I told my Czech co-worker my story when I got back and he said that it's even harder for women to translate it to men. So remember, always learn a few useful verses (for comedic effect) when visiting other countries.


    Add to Your Trip Planner  Post a Question  Write a Tip on  Language
    Rate      Not Helpful  1   2   3   4   5  Very Helpful
    More Prague Tips
    Overview
     
    General Tips
    Tips: 971 - Photos: 809
    Restaurants
    Tips: 1,504 - Photos: 958
    Hotels and Accommodations
    Tips: 1,083 - Photos: 570
    Things To Do
    Tips: 5,272 - Photos: 4,924
    Nightlife
    Tips: 641 - Photos: 383
    Off the Beaten Path
    Tips: 798 - Photos: 705
    Tourist Traps
    Tips: 323 - Photos: 146
    Warnings or Dangers
    Tips: 471 - Photos: 162
    Transportation
    Tips: 690 - Photos: 424
    Local Customs
    Tips: 350 - Photos: 249
    Packing Lists
    Tips: 112 - Photos: 50
    Shopping
    Tips: 285 - Photos: 200
    Sports Travel
    Tips: 44 - Photos: 32
    Flights
    Tips: 65 - Photos: 38

    More Sponsored Links for Prague

    European Flights
    Lufthansa Offers Low Airfares - Book & Fly Now!

    350 Hotels in Prague
    Book your hotel in Prague online. No reservation fee. Great rates!

    Prague Hotels
    Book your Prague hotel online. Low rates on over 225,000 hotels!

    Search Hotels
    Find the best room rates
    All Prague Hotels

    Check-In Date:


    Check-Out Date:


    Guests



    Hotels by OneTime.com




    Find:        Matching:  Advanced