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Single-letter words

As unusual as it may look, there are numerous words in Czech that consist of just a single letter.

These are (alphabetically): a, i, k, o, s, u, v, z.

This can easily cause confusion, so let's dive in, look at some examples, and figure out how a sentence like the one below can actually work.

A i o tom jsme s ním mluvili. (And we spoke with him about that too. Literally: And even about it with him (we) spoke.)

Conjunctions

Conjunction a

This is the easiest of the single-letter words. The Czech conjunction a means and.

Petr a Jana byli v Praze. (Petr and Jana were in Prague.)

Conjunction i

The conjunction i can be found in the following contexts:

  • meaning as well as or both ... and ...

    Byl tam Petr i Pavel. (Both Petr and Pavel were there.)

  • meaning and (even) or too

    Byl tam i Petr. (And even Petr was there.)

Prepositions

Most single-letter words are prepositions.

Preposition k

The dative case preposition k is used in the following contexts:

  • meaning to, as in:

    Zítra jdu k doktorovi (I am going to the doctor's tomorrow.)

  • meaning towards, as in:

    Jdi k tomu divadlu! (Go towards that theater!)

  • meaning for, in phrases like

    Co si dáš k obědu? (What will you have for lunch?)

Preposition o

The preposition o connects with two different cases, depending on the meaning.

With the accusative case, it means:

  • after, in phrases such as:

    Staráme se o dvě děti. (We look after two kids.)

With the locative case, it means:

  • about, as in:

    O tom jsme ještě nemluvili. (We haven't spoken about it yet.)

Preposition s

The instrumental case preposition s is generally used to mean with:

Ještě jsem s ním nemluvil. (I haven't spoken with him yet.)

There are some phrases where Czech uses s, but English expresses it differently:

Oženil se s ní. (He married her.) - no preposition in English
S pozdravem (Best regards) - as a closing phrase in an email or letter
Dám si chléb s máslem (I'll have bread and butter.)

In a few unique idiomatic phrases, this preposition is used with different cases:

  • Genitive case:

    Musíme jít s kopce dolů. (We have to go down the hill.)
    Note: The preposition z is also common and correct to use here.

  • Accusative case:

    Nejsem s to udělat to včas. (I am not capable of doing it on time.)
    Teď uvidíme, kdo s koho. (Now it's a showdown. or Now we'll find out who wins.)

Preposition u

The genitive case preposition u is used to mean:

  • at or by, as in:

    Petr byl u doktora. (Petr was at the doctor's.)

Preposition v

The preposition v connects with two different cases, depending on the meaning.

The accusative case is used in:

  • Time expressions, like

    v jednu hodinu (at one o'clock)

  • Fixed phrases, e.g.

    Petr věří v Boha. (Petr believes in God.)

The locative case means:

  • in, at, or on, depending on the context:

    v lednu (in January)
    Petr byl v práci. (Petr was at work.)
    Jan byl v kanceláři. (Jan was in the office.)

Preposition z

The genitive case preposition z is used in the following contexts:

  • from

    Petr je z Česka. (Petr is from Czechia.)

  • out of

    Jan vytáhl z tašky mobil. (Jan took the cell phone out of the bag.)

  • off

    Martin spadl z kola. (Martin fell off his bike.)

  • made of/from

    Víno je vyrobené z hroznů. (The wine is made from grapes.)

It definitely takes some time to get used to seeing single letters floating around on their own, especially when they pile up at the beginning of a sentence.

But once you break them down into just two groups—conjunctions and prepositions—they become a lot less random. Next time you run into a sentence that looks like alphabet soup, just look at the case of the noun right after it, and it'll usually click.