2.11 – Languages we know…

A lot of the verbs we have learned can be used to talk about your skills with other languages:

číst (čt-)	to read
mluvit	to speak
psát (píš-)	to write
rozumět	to understand
učit se	to study, learn
umět	to know a skill

These verbs can be used with various languages (see table below) to create sentences in Czech.

Mluvím česky.

I speak Czech.

Božena rozumí francouzsky.

Božena understands French.

Učíme se rusky.

We’re studying Russian.

Mluvíte anglicky?

Do you speak English?

Učíme se česky.

We’re learning Czech.

Language Adverbs
anglicky	English
francouzsky	French
italsky	Italian
japonsky	Japanese
německy	German
polsky	Polish
portugalsky	Portuguese
rusky	Russian
slovensky	Slovak
česky	Czech
čínsky	Chinese
španělsky	Spanish

These forms are slightly different from the adjectives we’ve learned so far (adjectives would end with a long -ý). Technically speaking, these are adverbs (in that they describe how we speak). Just know  the difference between anglický slovník (adjective used to describe a noun) and mluvím anglicky (what language you speak).

Adverbs denoting how well you speak/understand/write a language:

plynně/plynule	fluently
výborně	excellent
docela dobře	quite well
dobře	well
trochu	a little
málo	very little

Examples:

Mluvím dobře česky.

I speak Czech well.

Kdo rozumí dobře španělsky?

Who understands Spanish well?

Sára a Bedřich umějí málo německy.

Sára and Bedřich know little German.

Už mluvím plynně česky.

 I (can) already speak fluent Czech.

Note: the difference between trochu and málo is similar to the following in English: I speak a little (trochu) Czech vs. I speak little (málo) Czech. In the case of trochu, you are focusing on the fact that you do know some Czech, on the other hand with málo you are saying that you don’t know much Czech.

umět infinitive

You can use the verb umět the infinitive of another verb to talk about things you know how to do. In this sense, it often has the meaning of can in English. See the following examples:

Umím psát česky.

I know how to/can write in Czech.

Neumíme tančit.

We don’t know how to dance / We can’t dance.

Umíš lyžovat?

Do you know how to ski?

Images used in this document come from these sources