The 26 funniest Czech expressions (and how to use them)
1. A Czech will not tell you to “go to hell/fuck off”…they will ask you to “go to the woods!” (Do háje/ Do Prčic).
2. A Czech does not blame things on “bad karma”…it’s more like “to shit in one’s shoes.” (Nasrat si do bot).
3. Czechs don’t “gate crash” or “party crash”…instead they “rub themselves in somewhere.” (Vetřít se někam).
4. For Czechs, something isn’t, “all Greek to me” but instead “a Spanish village to me.” (Je to pro mne španĕlská vesnice).
5. A Czech won’t say “It’s apples and oranges”…instead, it’s “a different kind of coffee.” (To je jiné kafe).
6. Czechs won’t call someone “absent minded”…they will say that person is “staring into stupid.” (čumět doblba).
7. Czechs don’t wake up “at the crack of dawn” …they “get up with the chickens.” (Vstávat se slepicemi).
8. Czechs don’t order a “hot breakfast”…they prefer “breakfast on a fork” (Snídaně na vidličku).
9. Czechs don’t get “speechless”…they “have a dumpling in one’s throat..” (Mít knedlík v krku).
10. Czechs won’t say, “something’s fishy”…they will just outright tell you “it stinks.” (Smrdět).
11. Czechs will not say, “excuse me” if they would like to pass…they will ask you to “mind your backs!” (S dovolením).
12. A Czech will not admit to “besting” you…they will say they’ve “pushed you into their pocket.” (Strčit někoho do kapsy).
13. Czechs don’t “get into a pickle”… they are more likely “to be in the rice.” (Být v rejži).
14. Czechs don’t “kill two birds with one stone”…they “kill two flies with one hit.” (Zabít dvě mouchy jednou ranou).
15. Czechs won’t say someone or something is “as useful as ”…they describe it more “as useful as an overcoat for the dead.” (Platný jak mrtvýmu zimník).
16. Czechs won’t say something is “messy”…it’s more like a “brothel.” (bordel).
17. Czechs don’t “put pressure” on you…they “put the knife on someone’s throat.” (Dát někomu nůž na krk).
18. Czechs will not reply, “No thank you”…they would rather say, “not for the moment.” (Zatím ne/nic).
19. Czechs don’t go to “stag parties/bachelor parties”…they go on a “men’s ride.” (Pánská jízda)
20. In the Czech Republic, it won’t “rain cats and dogs”… it “rains as if from a watering can” or “it’s raining wheelbarrows.”(Lije jako z konve/ Padají trakaře).
21. Czechs don’t “cross their fingers” to wish good luck on someone…they “hold one’s thumbs.” (Držet (někomu) palce).
22. Czechs don’t “walkin into the lion’s den”…they “pat a snake with bare feet.” (Hladit hada bosou nohou).
23. Czechs don’t know a person or a place “like the back of my hand”…they “know something like one’s own shoes.” (Znát něco jako své boty).
24. Czechs don’t “beat around the bush”…they “walk around hot porridge” (Chodit kolem horké kaše).
25. Czechs don’t get “fed up”…they “have their teeth full of it.” (Mám toho plné zuby).
26. Czechs will not wish you good luck by saying, “break a leg”…they will ask you rather to “break your neck.” (Zlom vaz).
July 5, 2018
