Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Short and long vowels
Czech has both
short and long vowels
(the latter being denoted by an acute accent). The
trick here is to lengthen the vowel without affecting the principal stress of the word, which is
invariably on the first syllable.
a
like the u in c
u
p
á
as in f
a
ther
e
as in p
e
t
é
as in f
ai
r
ě
like the ye in
ye
s
i
or y as in p
i
t
í
or ý as in s
ea
t
o
as in n
o
t
ó
as in d
oo
r
u
like the oo in b
oo
k
ů
or ú like the oo in f
oo
l
Vowel combinations and diphthongs
There are very few
diphthongs
in Czech, so any combinations of vowels other than those
here should be pronounced as two separate syllables.
au
like the ou in f
ou
l
ou
like the oe in f
oe
Consonants and accents
There are no silent
consonants
, but it's worth remembering that r and l can form a half-syl-
lable if standing between two other consonants or at the end of a word, as in Brno (Br-no)
or Vltava (Vl-ta-va). The consonants listed here are those that differ substantially from the
English.
Accents
look daunting - particularly the háček (ˇ), which appears above c, d, l, n, r,
s,tandz-buttheonlyonethatcausesalotofproblemsisř,possiblythemostdifficultletter
to pronounce in any European language. Even Czech schoolchildren have to be taught how
to say it correctly.
c
like the
ts
in boats
č
like the
ch
in chicken
ch
like the
ch
in the Scottish loch
ď
like the
d
in duped
g
always as in goat, never as in general
