Self-instruction manual for the Czech language online. Czech language from scratch: your first lesson

Czech is one of the 24 official languages ​​of the European Union. Distributed both in the Czech Republic itself and in the USA, Canada, Slovakia, Serbia, Austria, etc. The total number of native speakers of this language is 10.6 million people. Learning Czech is not difficult, since it is related to other Slavic languages. Closest to Slovak.

There are many reasons why people learn this language:

• tourism;
• education;
• Job;
• moving to this country;
• interest in culture and history.

It is worth noting that the Czech Republic provides the opportunity to get a job high paying job. Alternatively, you can study at the University of Karlovo, which was founded in 1348 and is one of the oldest universities in Central Europe.

Whatever the reason, you can be sure that knowing a foreign language opens up new boundaries for a person.

Photo of an evening Czech city.

What is important for a beginner to know?

One of distinctive features Czech is phonetics:

• The stress always falls on the first syllable;
• The alphabet uses superscript characters: apostrophe and acute. An apostrophe is placed above consonants to indicate a hard sound. Above vowels - to show the softness of the preceding consonant sound.

From a grammatical point of view, Czech is distinguished by the presence of archaic (old) forms. For example, unlike Russian, there is still a vocative case.

Pronunciation has specific features. The Czech language uses Latin letters, most of which are read as they are written.

However, some sounds require explanation. For example, h is pronounced like Ukrainian, and y is the middle sound between i and ы. It’s interesting that the Czechs themselves cannot pronounce our Russian ы.

It is difficult for both foreigners and Czechs to learn to write correctly - you can hear and understand the meaning of words incorrectly.

Czech is unusual and at the same time interesting language especially for Russian speakers. For example, the inscription in the store POZOR:SLEVA does not at all mean that there is something shameful on the left. It actually translates to "Attention: Discount". Or the word “čerstvý” (stale) does not mean, as in Russian, something spoiled (stale bread), but on the contrary, something new, fresh. Therefore, in order to correctly understand all the intricacies of this language, it is necessary to choose the right methodology and method of teaching.

Ways to learn Czech

Exist various ways for training. You can try to master the language yourself. To do this, it is important to purchase a tutorial that is suitable for you. Dictionaries and phrase books are also needed, it is advisable to find films and books in order to get used to speech that is foreign to you from the very beginning. On the other hand, you can find a tutor who will conduct classes with you once a week, and if desired, twice. It is worth noting that if there is a teacher, training goes faster, since there is an incentive to learn in the form of homework and direct practice with a native speaker. In addition, do not forget that only an experienced teacher can deliver correct pronunciation. In this case The best way for training - these are courses.

If you decide to attend language courses, it is important to find out about the details: what exactly they are ready to offer, what program the training is based on. Is there an original method, how many times a week are classes, the amount of homework and workload in class? Plus, it is important to find out whether you can study individually, at home or via Skype, in the evening or during the day.

Czech language courses in Moscow

Foreign language courses "Master Class" offer several training programs. The duration of each level of training is 48 academic hours (3 months). Upon completion of the program, a certificate is issued indicating the course and number of hours.

The training is intended both for beginners from scratch and for those who have already studied Czech. They will help you update your old knowledge or gain new knowledge, correct your pronunciation and teach you how to speak and write correctly. At individual training The methodology is built taking into account your wishes. The courses are taught by experienced certified teachers, both Russian-speaking and those for whom Czech is native.

You can choose any of the branches for learning the Czech language in Moscow, which are located next to the metro stations: Belorusskaya, Oktyabrskoye Pole and Kashirskaya.

Price for individual and group Czech language training

The price is per group.

Corporate training price

The price is per group.

Basic Czech language course

Based on rich experience in this field and the best training materials, we have created effective programs, which will allow you to develop a strong grammatical base and communication experience. You can learn Czech language basic course which includes training both in small groups and individually. Language classes Czech language in basic level are aimed at students mastering the necessary aspects of grammar, phonetics, and vocabulary.

The basic Czech language course lasts 4 months. At the end of the course, the student will be able to communicate in Czech on everyday topics, read adapted texts, and conduct simple correspondence.

The full course lasts for a year. Training is based on an individual program, based on the student’s goals (Czech for doing business, studying in higher education educational institution, communication with native speakers, learning specific vocabulary professional sphere etc.).

Educational process in the classroom

Native Czech-speaking teacher Teresa

LESSON 1 – LEKCE 1

We start the first lesson with the Czech alphabet and phonetics. Unlike the Russian language, the Czech language uses the Latin alphabet. Many letters have the same pronunciation as the Russian language, for example:

• a = a
• b = b
• c = c
• č = h
• d = d
• e = e
• ě = e
• f = f
• g = g
• ch = x
• i, y = and
• j = th
• k = k
• m = m
• n = n
• o = o
• p = p
• r = r
• s = s
• š = w
• t = t
• u = y
• v = in
• z = z
• ž = w

Some letters are either pronounced slightly differently or do not exist in Russian at all, for example:

• l = l – pronounced like the Central European “l” - neither hard nor soft;
• h = pronounced like the Ukrainian “g”;
• ř = pronounced as a voiced sound “rzh”, or as a dull sound “rsh”;
• w = in;
• x = x;
• q = que;

Having studied the alphabet and phonetics, and explained the rules of stress and vowel reduction, we begin to practice reading and learning new words, for example:

Čeština, kavárna, daň, trojúhelník, skříň, praxe, šlehačka, štěstí, žádný, řeka, moucha...

At the end of the first lesson, we will get acquainted with the basic phrases and slowly begin to form simple dialogues.

• Good day.
• Good day. Jak se máte?
• Děkuji, dobře. A vy?
• Take it easy, děkuji.
• Jak se jmenujete?
• Jmenuji se Jana Nováková. A vy?
• Já se jmenuji Karel Slaný.
• Těší mě.
• Take it easy.
• Na shledanou.
• Na shledanou.

Other Czech lessons

At the beginning of each subsequent lesson we repeat the grammar and lexicon. Then we try to speak more and use phrases that we have already learned and acquire new ones (colloquial and literary).

We are considering a new grammar that concerns verbs (present, future, past tenses), nouns, adjectives, their endings in different cases, pronouns, adverbs, prepositions...

To remember the new grammar better, we put it into practice.

Despite the fact that I am a native speaker, sometimes I need to listen to another Czech voice, because of this we first listen to simple texts, then to Czech radio. You can’t learn all the words from a textbook, so we read different articles from newspapers and magazines on any topic so that everyone can find it interesting.

In the Czech Republic? Are you going to study or work? Or maybe you are simply attracted by the sound of Czech speech? In any case, you are faced with the question “How to learn Czech?”.
In order to understand the variety of language teaching options, you first need to have an idea of ​​what the Czech language is, what group of languages ​​it belongs to, and what related roots it has with the Russian language.

About the Czech language

Study using a phrasebook, tutorial, textbook

Audio aids, radio, television, cinema

Internet, online courses

Tutor, courses, university

Language environment

The first thing your “comrades in misfortune” who are already learning it, and (especially) native speakers of this language, will do is say how difficult it is to learn it. Judge for yourself: Czech has seven cases, many combinations of unpronounceable consonants, irregular shapes plural, words whose meaning is impossible to guess based on knowledge of other languages, the difficult letter ř to pronounce, just a nightmare!

As a generally optimistic person, I try as much as possible to ignore such unhelpful comments from those who are panicked or desperate. None of these “important” messages motivated me to make new progress in my studies, so I decided to look at them from a different perspective.

Just a few hours after I started learning Czech from scratch, I have already found several reasons to say that this is not the most Difficult language. First of all, I was pleased to discover that Czech is phonetic language(the only difference is that it is not at all similar, for example, to French, and is certainly fundamentally different from English: just try to pronounce though, through, plow, dough, cough the first time without mistakes and time to think). Moreover, verb conjugation in Czech is similar to Latin languages. Since then I have learned to think differently about the difficulties and quirks of language, and perhaps you will find this way of dealing with obstacles interesting. I’m not trying to prove that Czech is “easy”, I’m trying to make it clear that by “getting hung up” on the complexities of the language, we slow ourselves down and deprive ourselves of faith in our own abilities. Fear of failure, doubt and doom to failure are the main killers of motivation, therefore Learn to learn Czech easily!

• Study Guidelines Based on Personal Experience

An excellent book that has helped me a lot is Czech: An Essential Grammar (by James Naughton, Routledge Essential Grammars). It was recommended to me once, and now I highly recommend it to you (provided, of course, that you speak English). It contains detailed information about word formation (which I will talk about later in this article), Czech grammar is very clearly explained in a direct, without unnecessary “water” form. There is no need to waste time on childish pictures and inappropriate examples; the manual explains the very essence of the language with full translations of all examples used and extensive collections of useful new vocabulary in each chapter. I needed a guide that presents the Czech language in the form of facts that are easy to understand and analyzed in detail, so this book was the best for me, but in case you want material offered in the form of lessons, then this book is not for you.

As I always mention, I always carry a phrase book in my pocket. At any time, while waiting for something, I take it out and repeat some words from the dictionary at the end, it is small enough to be able to go through all the words for a certain letter of the alphabet in 10 minutes, and at the same time, large enough to the most necessary words fit in. Phrasebooks published by Lonely Planet helped me cope with several languages, so the Czech phrasebook was of great use to me.

If you prefer to study in front of the computer, there are a number of sites that can help too! Slovnik.cz has a very detailed dictionary, but sometimes it gives too many translation options for simple words without contextual support, so I personally prefer the good old Wordreference’s Czech dictionary. I also found some excellent blogs, including Czechmatediary, which is written in both Czech and English by native Czechs living in the US.

• Czech vocabulary and its patterns

When you learn French, Spanish, etc., you come across a lot of unfamiliar words. Since Czech belongs to the Slavic group of languages, be prepared to encounter many words similar to those in Russian.

Fortunately for us, Czech does not consist of hundreds of thousands unique words, each of which will have to be memorized separately. In fact, there are a fairly limited number of basic roots, prefixes and suffixes, most of which are attached to each other according to consistent and logical rules that are easy to remember. Let me show you with an example what I mean.

Let's take 4 prefixes: v, vy, od And za(all except vy, are also prepositions) and add them to the root morpheme chod which comes from the verb chodit, go. The pretext itself v, like the prefix, means "in", so when you come across something that literally means "to go into", "to enter", you get vchod - entrance. Vý/vy means exactly the opposite, so východ - exit. Od, essentially means "from", so odchod - departure, departure, departure, departure.

You will very quickly realize with relief that great amount Czech words are formed using a small number of prefixes added to the root, and many of them have completely logical meanings. Therefore, learning new words sometimes becomes the study of not new words at all, but ones that are already quite understandable.

Although some examples require a little imagination, they still do not lose their logic if you have developed this same imagination. Let's take the prefix za in combination with chod: za can mean “behind/behind”, that is, for example, going behind the scenes, going out of sight. So, imagine: if you apologize and want to disappear from view for a while, in other words, go away, you go... to the toilet! Although all the signs in Czech say toaleta, in everyday conversation this word sounds strange, since most people, when referring to the toilet, say záchod! Yes, I know I'm going a little overboard! But you have to agree that I’m not just pulling a logical connection by the ears, this is a really interesting and memorable image! This is one of the effective and simple mnemonics that allowed me to learn thousands of Czech words with almost no effort.

In fact, the prefix + root combination is at the heart of language and actually gives you words in geometric progression. So, if you understand the meaning associated with the basic prefixes do, na, nad(e), ne, o(b), od(e), pa, po, popo, pod, pro, pře, před, při, roz, s(e), spolu, u, v( e), vy, vz, z, za, you can combine at least half of them with, say, ten basics. Thus, by learning just 10 new words, you get 10x10=100 words thanks to all the possible combinations!

When you add knowledge of suffixes to roots or prefix + root combinations, it is incredibly helpful in understanding a huge number of words without the headaches of trying to remember each word individually. For example, the suffix ař, meaning a person associated with the meaning of the root, and the word lek - medicine combined give lekař- doctor. "Film" in Czech will sound the same as in English, but filmař means the person making the film, ryba- it's a fish, but rybář- this is already a fisherman, and so on. A vast number of words can be broken down into logical components, so learning prefixes and suffixes provides a wealth of insight into language.

• Czech grammar is not so scary at all

When I was told that every word has 7 cases with different options for singular and plural, I was concerned that I would have to learn 14 “words” for each single word. But this is not the case. All we have to do is change the ending of the word (in most cases we just need to change one vowel to another, and all other changes follow stable rules, such as "h" changing to "z"). It takes a little getting used to and remembering when you need to change “o” to “a”, and which case to use in which construction. But if you do enough exercises, communicate directly with Czechs, and make mistakes in declension from time to time, they will correct you, and - believe me - you will remember it. You can definitely get used to this!

In fact, after a while it will become very natural! This may be annoying at first, but try to look at it from the language side. I'm so used to using Czech cases that now it even annoys me when people use Czech words Praha in English instead of English Prague without its declension! You can't tell in Praha(in Prague) or to Prague(to Prague); it's obvious that it will be in Praze And to Prahy!

You can object to me that it’s not easy to “fit” all this in your head, but let’s compare it with other languages: Czech did not manage to surprise me with its difficulty regarding many nuances, the inflection of nouns in particular. Irish, for example, has a genitive and a vocative, and when we change a word, we change both its ending and its beginning. In Czech, only the ending changes, but the rules are quite stable.

In French, you simply cannot use a noun without adding an article, which also requires knowledge of the gender of the word. There are no definite or indefinite articles in Czech. Moreover, in Czech there is a grammatical gender, but the gender of a particular word is easy to determine: almost always a noun ending in a consonant will be masculine, the ending “a” is inherent feminine, and “o” is a neuter ending.

There are exceptions, but they are fairly obvious and understandable. There are three genders, but remembering which gender of a noun is quite easy, especially compared to languages ​​like French, and, as I recall, German, which is much more difficult generic endings, association rules appearing much more disordered.

• The right attitude when studying is the key to success

There are no difficulties in Czech that you cannot overcome. Consonant clusters cause quite a lot of difficulties, but in Czech some consonants can behave like vowels. When you are focused and dedicated enough to the language, these “strange sounds” will very soon turn into words. Children learn this language all the time, so there are no excuses for a smart adult like you!

Of course, this post can be countered with a whole list of reasons why Czech is difficult, but why bother yourself with doubts once again? Besides these useful tips When studying, it is very important to work with and constantly access new sources of information.

Literary Czech can seem expressive, imaginative and difficult to learn at the same time. But if your goal is precisely, then there is nothing that would prevent you from achieving it. I challenge you to find more evidence for yourself that it is simple than to tell me I'm wrong. Give this language a chance and prove to yourself that you can actually speak Czech quite easily and quickly.

Děkuju (Thank you) Czech, it was a real pleasure to teach you!

Over the 2 years of living in the Czech Republic, I have accumulated enormous experience in learning the Czech language using various educational materials. Some textbooks were really useful and helped to speak the language, while others turned out to be completely useless, and studying them did not bring any benefit. In this article, I compiled a review of the Czech language textbooks that I had the opportunity to study with, and gave them my subjective assessment.

When describing textbooks, I use the levels of knowledge of a foreign language (A1, A2, B1, B2), which I talked about.

Tutorial New Czech Step by Step

This is the first Czech language textbook that I used during my courses in Albertov. The textbook comes with a workbook and a CD with dialogues. The textbook contains 20 lessons, and the Czech text in it is duplicated in English, which is difficult for students who do not speak English language. Each lesson introduces new vocabulary, but it is absolutely not reinforced in exercises or dialogues. There are few listening tasks, although at the first stage of language learning it is very important to begin to perceive foreign speech by ear. Grammar is explained in fits and starts and reinforced with 1-2 exercises, and then new topic. I didn’t learn the language from this textbook at all, but was looking for additional educational materials in the Internet.

The workbook for the textbook makes a more pleasant impression: it contains exercises that help reinforce grammar that is poorly explained in the textbook. Czech language teachers do not recommend the textbook New Czech Step by Step for Russian-speaking students, because it is ineffective.

Cost of the textbook workbook and disk – 899 CZK.

Textbook Česky krok za krokem 2

The textbook Česky krok za krokem 2 is a continuation of New Czech Step by Step, but what’s nice is that it is more convenient to use and useful. The textbook kit includes a short Czech-English-German-Russian dictionary, a Czech Grammar application, and two disks. The textbook contains 20 lessons. This textbook pays much more attention to listening and elaboration. new vocabulary. Numerous reinforcement exercises and game situations will help you remember new words. The grammar is systematized in tables. Special attention is paid to the spoken Czech language (hovorová čeština) as opposed to the literary language (spisovná češtiná), because students need the language not only for studying at a university, but also for everyday communication, in which literary language sometimes it sounds strange.

The workbook for the first 10 lessons of the textbook (author of the workbook: Zdena Malá, year of publication: 2012) contains exercises that help reinforce new topics from the textbook. This textbook and workbook are the most best benefits, which I used to learn Czech. I highly recommend them to all students who have reached level B1.

Cost of the textbook short dictionary and 2 discs – 849 CZK.

The workbook costs 249 CZK.

Textbook Česky, prosím I

The textbook comes with a workbook and a CD with dialogues. There are 10 lessons in the textbook. In each lesson, the student can equally work on his writing, speaking, listening, and reading skills. The main goal The purpose of the textbook is to provide student orientation in basic communicative situations, therefore the Czech grammar discussed in it is quite simple. I really like the textbook for its liveliness: the short dialogues discussed in it are taken from life and can actually be used in Everyday life. All new words are collected in the given texts. The grammar is explained in the form of tablets followed by reinforcement exercises.

The workbook contains exercises for training phonetics, grammar, spelling, vocabulary, and listening. I highly recommend this textbook and workbook for anyone starting to learn Czech: they will help you speak the language.

The cost of a textbook, workbook and CD starts from 519 CZK.

Textbook Česky, prosím II

The textbook comes with a workbook and a CD with dialogues. There are 10 lessons in the textbook. This textbook covers more complex Czech grammar and new lexical topics compared to the textbook Česky, prosím I. The textbook is created for more advanced students, so the texts are longer and the listening comprehension is more difficult. Just as easy to use as its predecessor.

The cost of a textbook, workbook and disk starts from 585 CZK.

Textbook Čeština pro středně a více pokročilé

A CD is included with the textbook. The textbook contains 15 lessons on different topics. This textbook is intended for those students who speak Czech at an advanced level - B1 and above. Its goal is to develop understanding of complex technical texts in Czech. It is assumed that you already have a sufficient amount of grammar, so practically no attention is paid to it. In fact, the textbook is a collection of long and not always interesting texts, stuffed with new words, the need for knowledge of which I personally doubt. After the texts, exercises are given to consolidate new words. I didn't like this textbook because... if you study only from it and without involving additional teaching aids, then it is quite boring and unproductive - there are no materials for consolidation, no grammar, listening consists of reproducing the text, which is already fully given in the textbook. I find this tutorial to be ineffective and cannot recommend it.

Textbook cost: from 340 CZK.

Where can I download Czech language textbooks?

Where to buy Czech language textbooks?

You can buy Czech language textbooks at major cities Czech Republic(for example, in the Neoluxor chain of stores), as well as in Russia in Moscow in the stores of MDK Arbat, Sokol, Biblio-Globus, Molodaya Gvardiya.

You may also be interested

Sites that help us save money when traveling.

How to learn Czech quickly at home?

Is it easy to learn Czech?

There is an opinion that it is much more difficult for Russian people to remember Czech words than for other peoples. A person who speaks this language faces specific difficulties in the learning process.

1. Words that create confusion in the head. For example, pozor (pronounced “shame”) among the Czechs is a kind of call for attentiveness.

2. Difference in pronunciation. For Czechs, the emphasis is on the first syllable; the length of vowels is important for them; there is a difficult-to-pronounce letter ř.

3. Simultaneous similarities and differences in grammar. Some words that are similar to Russian are declined or conjugated differently in Czech.

4. Dialects. There are many of them in the Czech language. Thus, the spelling and pronunciation of words varies in different territories of the state. Ignorance of the country's history. You can learn the Czech language on your own if you simultaneously get acquainted with the realities of their past.

Considering all of the above, a Russian person is capable of mastering the Czech language. However, for this he needs to make some efforts.

How long does it take to learn Czech from scratch on your own?

When learning a language, there will be a positive effect if a person lives in the Czech Republic, communicating with the residents of the republic. Some people receive such knowledge in a special local school. There are other ways to learn a language.

1. Hire a tutor. This step will require financial costs, but it will work out cheaper than accommodation in the Czech Republic. Experienced teacher using individual approach, will teach the intricacies of spoken language.

2. Sign up for courses. This method is popular among those who want to learn Czech. However, it is already suitable for those who have understood grammar and know how to construct simple sentences.

3. Online training. It does not require financial investment and occurs via the Internet. There is free courses, programs. Download the textbooks and study on your own.

So how long does it take to learn Czech from scratch? There is no answer to this question, since people have different abilities. You just need to practice regularly and hone your writing and speaking skills.