23 Comments
"Kluk" sounds informal, "chlapec" more formal (you can read it in studies or newspapers) and "hoch" sounds archaic.
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I noticed the second one had a Polish cognate; does that have to do with their level of formality?
This is useful, JanLyko. But if kluk is informal, chlapec formal and hoch archaic, what should I choose for a neutral word with no such connotations? Is there another word for boy that is current and neither formal nor informal?
Strange, I can see your next post in my Inbox, but not here. Anyways, "jinoch" is much older, derived from root "jun-", the same way as English "young", German "jung" and Russian "юный".
Which reminds me of "junák", another archaic synonym.
Don't worry, all of them are undoubtedly masculines used for boys, not for girls.
If you do not write an official document, I'd stick with kluk.
BTW, user MagicofLA reminded elsewhere word jinoch which is even more archaic than hoch.
Thanks, much appreciated. Jinoch? Just how archaic is it? In Middle English (1300-1400) the word girl meant a young person of either sex. I don't want to make that mistake!
It much (MUCH!) less archaic then Middle English (or Old Czech). It is in fact not archaic at all. It is bookish or dated but it still gets its use.
And hoch is even less "archaic". If anything, then it is dated/unfashionable https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Wiktionary:Obsolete_and_archaic_terms#Classifications_of_old_words but only in some contexts. You will hear "hoši" used quite often when cheering during sport.
"Hoch" is also and quite often being used in "naši hoši" (our boys) meaning our team (football, hockey, volleyball, you name it).
See https://forum.duolingo.com/comment/27749621 I think calling it archaic is way too strong.
Hoch rarely used(heard) except by older generation 70+. Not sure why it's being taught here, surely better more useful things/words to learn
I'd like to know the word. What if I came across an elderly Czech speaker and didn't know what hoch meant?
I can see why it's useful to know, but maybe putting it in the earliest tiers of the Czech tree with no notation is less than optimal.
I already know some Czech and I'm actively taking a Czech class now. Some of the word choices are strange. I think Google translate is being used sometimes. This should have been "Jsi kluk? "
I once met someone with the surname of "Hoch" and was always curious about its derivation. This all is nice to know.
Please note that Hoch is also a relatively common German surname. Means high/tall/big.
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I have always understood "hoch" to be equivalent to the slightly archaic word "a youth" meaning a young man, lad, boy. The seznam slovnik has it...however it has been marked incorrect.
hoch is a boy, not a young man (mladík, mládenec)
I would questions the translations of lad offered by the mentioned dictionary. Anyway, do not use simple translational dictionaries for these purposes (like learning words). At least when there are several possible translations. Often each of them is only valid in specific contexts. You need dictionaries that explain the words. Like what Merriem-Webster or similar do in English. When I learn English words, the said dictionary is not enough for me either.
Even though, to be fair, the definitions in the main dictionaries I checked do differ. The most recent one just says
hoch, -a m (6. mn. -ších)
chlapec, kluk: mají hocha a děvče; — expr. na shledanou, hoši!; naši hoši se vyznamenali sportovci ap.; — nemá dosud hocha;
so a boy (the same as kluk, chlapec), our boys our lads (for sportsmen and similar), a boyfriend
