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A few facts about Czech food (source):
Czech cuisine is considered heavy and very filling, with meals centered on meats and starches. This is because Czech winters are long and cold, which does not allow for a variety of fresh vegetables. In fact, if salads are available, they typically are limited to two vegetables, such as tomato and cucumber. Houby (mushrooms) are the exception, which flourish in local forests and are popular in soups, such as houbova polevka myslivecka (Hunter's mushroom soup).
Seafood is not widely available because the country is not located by any large bodies of water. The fish, usually carp and trout, are raised in artificial lakes or fish farms. Some Westerners may think eating carp is unappealing, but in the Czech Republic, the water where they are raised is drained clean every year.
Should "does your soup have meat?" also be acceptable? Within this context, they would mean the same (at least in English it does).
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Also, wouldn't you sound a bit stuffy if you said at the restaurant “obsahuje vaše polévka maso?” instead of, I don't know, “má vaše polévka maso?” or “je maso ve vašem polévce?”
'Má vaše polévka maso?' doesn't sound very Czech tbh.
'Je maso ve vašem polévce?' the same. 1) it's 'vaší' 2) a better word order would be: 'Je ve vaší polévce maso?'
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Thanks for the great explanation.
You see, to me the main hurdle with speaking Czech is saying things in a passably idiomatic way. I consider getting declensions wrong and pronouncing like you have a potato in your mouth relatively minor inconveniences. What does get me is using the wrong expressions and not structuring sentences in the right way.
Your clarifications and examples are really helpful in this regard. Cheers!
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Btw, so is obsahuje in this context (say, asking a waiter at a restaurant) too learned a word or is it fine? How would you ask if you want to know whether there is any meat in the soup?
'Obsahuje' would be fine, although slightly formal.
Je ta polévka s masem? But it is probably not close enough.
Unless you wanted to ask if it is on the menu orvstill available...
