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- "Jste hezké holky."
18 Comments
716
My aunt would always say "hezky den" when saying goodbye on the phone - was she meaning, more literally, "have a nice [weather-wise] day" rather than "have an agreeable/pleasant feeling" day? The usage in phrases like "to je hezke mesto" makes sense, but the meaning in "hezky den" confused me - perhaps this isn't as universal of an expression, or just another one of my aunt's quirks...?
It is quite common. But these are set phrases, do not examine the details of each word. This sentence here is about girls, not about a day.
- 167
OK, but we non Czech speakers need to be taught that hezky applied to days and weekends has a different meaning than hezky applied to people. As it is correct to use hezky den to mean nice day, but hezke holky means pretty girls, what Czech word would be used to convey "nice girls"?
Different? For me it is a single meaning. Just, for some strange reason, English uses two different words for the same thing...
Nice girls - milé dívky, sympatické dívky, příjemné dívky
Anyway, this is the place where you should learn it. We do not assume you come with any existing knowledge.
nominative plural for the feminine is just hezké, check the Tips and notes
Why sometimes is "vy jste" and sometimes only "jste", is any more formal? In which situation can I choose one over the other one?
Personal pronouns are often optional in Czech and used mainly when stressed. You will find many similar discussions in the forum.
The pronunciation is /heské/ due to the standard voicing asimilation and it is correct in the TTS available.
A man can be described as handsome, and a woman as pretty, but not really the other way around. You can use 'good-looking' for both sexes if you like.
- 167
Actually, in English, it is correct to say "handsome woman." The term is more common in England than the US, and is somewhat old-fashioned, but still correct. The connotation of "handsome woman" implies "distinguished, dignified, striking, quietly sophisticated" along with being good-looking.
In that case it does not fit as a correct translation here. Hezký is simply "good-looking", never "distinguished, dignified, striking, quietly sophisticated".
