Spoken Czech (obecná čeština)
dobrej, mlíko, vokno, s kamarádama
In short
Step outside and you'll hear To je dobrej nápad instead of dobrý, and mlíko instead of mléko. This is obecná čeština, everyday spoken Czech, mostly from Prague and Bohemia. Here you learn to recognise it and turn it back into the standard form you'd write.
- dobrej → dobrýý / í becomes ej
- mlíko → mlékoé becomes í / ý
- vokno → oknoa v- before o-
- s kamarádama → s kamarádyinstrumental plural -ma
Full explanation
| Spoken | Standard | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| dobrej, bejt, mlejn | dobrý, být, mlýn | ý / í → ej |
| mlíko, polívka, dobrý pivo | mléko, polévka, dobré pivo | é → í / ý |
| vokno, voko, votevřít | okno, oko, otevřít | v- before o- |
| s dobrejma lidma | s dobrými lidmi | instrumental plural → -ma |
| ty nový auta, ty nový lidi | ta nová auta, ti noví lidé | one plural adjective form: -ý |
| řek, moh, nes | řekl, mohl, nesl | the -l drops after a consonant |
| sem, seš, sme, ste | jsem, jsi, jsme, jste | no j-; jsi → seš |
| dělaj, maj | dělají, mají | shorter they form |
| jo, dyť, teda | ano, vždyť, tedy | everyday words |
Where do you hear it? Everywhere in Bohemia, including Prague, and in films and on TV. In Moravia people use it much less: they often keep standard dobré mléko, and cities like Brno and Ostrava have their own flavours. See the Grammar guide for those.
Use the standard forms when you write: emails, forms, exams. Spoken forms are perfectly fine in a pub or with friends, and understanding them will make your life in Czechia much easier.