Czech Phrases for Travel: Hello, Thank You and Pronunciation

Words

4

Where

Whole country

Level

Easy

In the Czech Republic the official and everyday language is Czech, in Czech čeština (CHESH-tyi-nah). It belongs to the western branch of the Slavic languages and is written in the Latin alphabet with extra marks such as the háček (ˇ) and the length stroke.

What language do they speak in Prague? Czech, as in the rest of the Czech Republic (official info, October 2026).

The closest language to Czech is Slovak. Czechs and Slovaks largely understand each other, but some everyday words differ: thank you is Děkuji in Czech and Ďakujem in Slovak. At a hotel desk or a ticket counter, starting with Mluvíte anglicky? (do you speak English?) is both polite and practical.

One word you will see on signs all the time is Pozor, meaning attention or careful. And one warm phrase to keep: I love you in the Czech language is Miluji tě (MI-loo-yee tyeh).

Words

12

Where

Everywhere

Level

Easy

How do you say hello in Czech? Among friends it is Ahoj (AH-hoy), and the same Ahoj means bye. When you walk into a shop, a hotel or a restaurant, the polite hello is Dobrý den (DOH-bree den), literally "good day". Among young people Čau (chow) is very common too.

The Czech language has a greeting for each time of day. Good morning in Czech is Dobré ráno, good evening is Dobrý večer and good night, said when you leave late or go to bed, is Dobrou noc.

How are you in Czech: Jak se máš? to someone you know, Jak se máte? to a stranger; Děkuji, dobře (fine, thanks) is a good answer. The polite goodbye in the Czech language is Na shledanou (NAH-skhleh-dah-noh).

Words

10

Where

Everywhere

Level

Easy

How to say thank you in Czech: Děkuji (DYEH-koo-yee). Thank you very much is Děkuji moc, and the informal thank you in Czech is Díky. Please in Czech is Prosím (PROH-seem), which also means here you are; you're welcome is Není zač, literally "it's nothing".

Yes in Czech is Ano and no is Ne. Say Promiňte when you bump into someone or stop a person to ask the way, Nerozumím when you don't understand, and Pomalu, prosím if someone speaks too fast.

Words

8

Where

Signs, menus, maps

Level

Medium

Czech pronunciation is regular, and that is the good news among the Czech language basics: words are read the way they are written, so once you know a few letters even basic Czech words on signs are easy to read. This short Czech language pronunciation guide covers the letters that matter.

In the Czech alphabet č sounds like ch in church, š like sh, ž like the s in measure, and c like ts in cats. j is the y in yes, and ch is a strong h from the throat, as in Scottish loch. The stroke over a vowel (á, í, é, ú) and the ring on ů make the vowel long. ě usually adds a y sound: děkuji is DYEH-koo-yee.

The hard one is ř, a sound found only in Czech: a rolled r said together with the zh of measure. You hear it in tři (three) and in the name Dvořák. Even if you don't get it right, "rzh" is close enough to be understood.

With these rules you can also read place names in Prague. The real name of Charles Bridge is Karlův most; it is written at the entrance, and we show it in the video. All of these places are in our Prague travel guide .

Watch in the video · 10:37 

Words

16

Where

Restaurants, cafés, Christmas markets

Level

Easy

When you sit down, ask for a table with Stůl pro dva, prosím and for the menu with Jídelní lístek, prosím. To order, put the name of the dish after Dám si … (DAHM sih), as in Dám si svíčkovou, the beef in cream sauce. For the bill say Účet, prosím, and to pay by card ask Můžu platit kartou? When the food arrives: Dobrou chuť, enjoy your meal.

How to say cheers in the Czech language: Na zdraví (NAH-zdrah-vee), "to health"; and if you only learn one order at a pub, make it Jedno pivo, prosím (YED-noh PIH-voh, PROH-seem), one beer, please.

In Prague we ate goulash served inside a round bread bowl; the white slices next to it are knedlíky, Czech bread dumplings. At the Christmas markets look for trdelník, sugared dough baked on a spit over the coals; it is one of my favourite sweets here. At the stall we looked at on Old Town Square, the chocolate one was 130 Kč on the price board.

At Mlejnice we ordered the beef goulash; the same dish is also made with pork, so keep that in mind when you order. Our lunch bill came to about 800 Kč. Every place we ate at, with prices, is on our what to eat in Prague  page.

Watch in the video · 29:48 

Watch in the video · 7:18 trdelník 

Words

13

Where

Prices, times, platforms

Level

Medium

Czech numbers from 1 to 10: jedna (YED-nah), dva, tři (trzhih), čtyři (CHTIH-rzhih), pět (pyet), šest (shest), sedm (SEH-dum), osm (OH-sum), devět (DEH-vyet), deset. 20 is dvacet, 100 is sto and 1000 is tisíc (TYI-seets).

Prices are in koruna, so you hear numbers most at the till; in Prague price tags often run into the hundreds and thousands.

Words

14

Where

Tram, metro, airport

Level

Easy

A ticket is a jízdenka (YEEZ-den-kah), a stop is a zastávka and a tram is a tramvaj; metro and bus are simply metro and autobus. The airport is letiště and the main train station is Hlavní nádraží.

From the airport we took bus 59 to Nádraží Veleslavín and then the green metro line A to the Old Town; one 90 minute ticket covered both. One thing to remember: push a paper ticket into the yellow box by the door on your first ride; an unstamped ticket is not valid.

In Czech that is označit jízdenku. To ask the way, Kde je …? (gdeh yeh) is enough; in the answer, vlevo is left, vpravo right and rovně straight on.

Watch in the video · 1:20 

Words

10

Where

Hotels, shops, exchange offices

Level

Easy

How much is it? Kolik to stojí? (KOH-lik toh STOY-ee). At hotel reception, Mám rezervaci plus your name is all you need; a room is pokoj, a key klíč and breakfast snídaně. Expensive is drahé, cheap is levné and the till is the pokladna.

We stayed at Hotel Rokoko on Wenceslas Square; both the price and the location were good. We turned up at U Pavouka without a booking; one phone call and they said come now. Around Christmas that luck does not always hold, so book ahead and you can say Mám rezervaci at the door. For areas and hotel picks, read where to stay in Prague .

Money here is the koruna, the Czech crown, not the euro, even though the country is an EU member (official info, October 2026). An exchange office is a směnárna; as we explain in the video, even places with a "no commission" sign can take up to 12%. That is why we brought euros and paid by card wherever we could.

Watch in the video · 2:36 

Words

16

Where

Signs, museums, market hours

Level

Medium

Today is dnes, tomorrow zítra and yesterday včera. The days of the week in Czech start on Monday: pondělí, úterý, středa, čtvrtek, pátek, sobota, neděle. To ask the time, say Kolik je hodin?

The months in Czech do not come from Latin and look nothing like the English names: November is listopad, December prosinec and January leden. You will see these three on Christmas market posters and museum opening hours, next to the greeting Merry Christmas in the Czech language, Veselé Vánoce (VEH-seh-leh VAH-noh-tseh).

On a door, otevřeno means open and zavřeno closed. When the markets open is in our Prague Christmas markets  guide.

Words

7

Where

Emergencies

Level

Easy

In an emergency, Pomoc! (POH-mots) means help. If you need a doctor, say Potřebuji lékaře; a pharmacy is a lékárna, a hospital a nemocnice and the police policie. To ask for an ambulance, say Zavolejte sanitku; if you have lost your passport, Ztratil jsem pas.

The European emergency number 112 works in the Czech Republic too (official info, October 2026). If your passport needs a Schengen visa, travel medical insurance is part of the application; who needs one is in our Czech Republic visa  guide.