I can write a short letter to a teacher and a text message (SMS) to a friend, start and end a phone call, ask someone to call back, and say that my phone or internet isn't working.
Letters and calls: formal and friendly
Letters and calls: formal and friendly
Letters, texts, and calls open and close differently: formally with vy, in a friendly way with ty. Within one letter or conversation the form of address doesn't change. The tables are next to this text.
• Formal: start with Dobrý deň, pani or pán + last name and a comma; end with S pozdravom and your name. In a letter Vy and Váš are capitalized: Kedy máte Vy čas?
• Friendly: start with Ahoj + first name, end with Maj sa.
• A request with vy uses set forms: napíšte, zavolajte, pošlite and prosím. To apologize for being late: Prepáčte, že meškám.
On the phone: haló, tu je + your name; if you can't hear well, počujem vás zle; if it's a bad time, zavolám neskôr (I'll call back later).
When a machine doesn't work, Slovak says nefunguje, not nepracuje: pracovať is for people. “My … doesn't work” is a set phrase with mi: V izbe mi nefunguje wi-fi. Broken is pokazený: Starý tablet je pokazený. Heslo means “password”, not “hello”.
Common mistakes (about your own things):
• ×Nefunguje ma telefón → Nefunguje mi telefón (ma is for Bolí ma)
• ×nepracuje (about a machine) → nefunguje
• ×Ahoj + pani / pán + last name — ahoj is only for ty
Letters: formal and friendly
Within one letter, the form of address doesn't change.
| Part | Formal (vy) | Friendly (ty) |
|---|---|---|
| opening | Dobrý deň, pani / pán + last name, | Ahoj + first name, |
| closing | S pozdravom + first and last name | Maj sa + first name |
| “you” and “your” | Vy, Váš — capitalized | ty, tvoj — lowercase |
| request | napíšte, zavolajte, pošlite + prosím | — |
A phone call
Set phrases for a call: say them as a whole.
| Situation | Phrase |
|---|---|
| to start | Haló? Tu je + name. |
| you can't hear well | Počujem vás zle. |
| now isn't a good time | Teraz nemôžem, zavolám neskôr. |
| to say goodbye | Dovidenia. / Ahoj. |
Lesson notes
Letters and calls: formal and friendly
Letters, texts, and calls open and close differently: formally with vy, in a friendly way with ty. Within one letter or conversation the form of address doesn't change. The tables are next to this text.
• Formal: start with Dobrý deň, pani or pán + last name and a comma; end with S pozdravom and your name. In a letter Vy and Váš are capitalized: Kedy máte Vy čas?
• Friendly: start with Ahoj + first name, end with Maj sa.
• A request with vy uses set forms: napíšte, zavolajte, pošlite and prosím. To apologize for being late: Prepáčte, že meškám.
On the phone: haló, tu je + your name; if you can't hear well, počujem vás zle; if it's a bad time, zavolám neskôr (I'll call back later).
When a machine doesn't work, Slovak says nefunguje, not nepracuje: pracovať is for people. “My … doesn't work” is a set phrase with mi: V izbe mi nefunguje wi-fi. Broken is pokazený: Starý tablet je pokazený. Heslo means “password”, not “hello”.
Common mistakes (about your own things):
• ×Nefunguje ma telefón → Nefunguje mi telefón (ma is for Bolí ma)
• ×nepracuje (about a machine) → nefunguje
• ×Ahoj + pani / pán + last name — ahoj is only for ty