Someone started 'tykat' her right away, without asking.

🟡 Tykání can feel friendly… or it can feel like a slap.

At our last Zoom call in my women’s speaking group, we touched on a topic that sparked a big discussion:

tykání and vykání.

One woman shared a story about someone who started 'tykat' her right away, without asking.

Was it because she’s younger?

New to the neighbourhood?

Or because she’s a foreigner?

Whatever the reason, when someone in the Czech Republic starts tykat you without permission, it can be a subtle way of saying,

“I’m above you.”

Sometimes, even, “You don’t deserve my respect.”

And if you come from a culture where these distinctions also matter, it can feel uncomfortable, almost like a slap.

But you’re allowed to say something! You can simply respond:

“Prosím, netykejte mi.”

When I work with my clients, what matters more than perfect grammar or long vocabulary lists is this:

That they’re not afraid to speak up.

That they can be assertive in Czech, even if their Czech is not perfect. 

That they learn how to set boundaries clearly and kindly.

This is what one of my wonderful clients says about my groups: 

"𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑙𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑙 𝑜𝑓 𝑞𝑢𝑎𝑙𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑤ℎ𝑖𝑐ℎ 𝐸𝑙𝑖𝑠̌𝑘𝑎 𝑑𝑒𝑠𝑖𝑔𝑛𝑠 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑑𝑒𝑙𝑖𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑠 ℎ𝑒𝑟 𝑠𝑒𝑠𝑠𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑠 𝑖𝑠 𝑠𝑜 𝑖𝑚𝑝𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑠𝑖𝑣𝑒. 𝑆ℎ𝑒 𝑖𝑠 𝑜𝑟𝑔𝑎𝑛𝑖𝑧𝑒𝑑, 𝑒𝑥𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑒𝑑, 𝑎𝑑𝑎𝑝𝑡𝑎𝑏𝑙𝑒, 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑑𝑦𝑛𝑎𝑚𝑖𝑐. 𝐼𝑛 𝑒𝑎𝑐ℎ 𝑠𝑒𝑠𝑠𝑖𝑜𝑛, 𝑠ℎ𝑒 𝑡𝑎𝑖𝑙𝑜𝑟𝑒𝑑 ℎ𝑒𝑟 𝑎𝑝𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑎𝑐ℎ 𝑡𝑜 𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑖𝑛𝑑𝑖𝑣𝑖𝑑𝑢𝑎𝑙 𝑙𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑛𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑠𝑡𝑦𝑙𝑒𝑠. 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑎𝑚𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑜𝑢𝑟𝑐𝑒𝑠, 𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑔𝑖𝑒𝑠, 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑔𝑒𝑛𝑢𝑖𝑛𝑒 𝑠𝑢𝑝𝑝𝑜𝑟𝑡 𝑠ℎ𝑒 𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑣𝑖𝑑𝑒𝑠 𝑠ℎ𝑜𝑤𝑠 ℎ𝑜𝑤 𝑚𝑢𝑐ℎ 𝑠ℎ𝑒 𝑡𝑟𝑢𝑙𝑦 𝑐𝑎𝑟𝑒𝑠 𝑎𝑏𝑜𝑢𝑡 ℎ𝑒𝑟 𝑠𝑡𝑢𝑑𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑠. 𝐼 𝑐𝑎𝑛’𝑡 𝑟𝑒𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑑 𝐸𝑙𝑖𝑠̌𝑘𝑎 𝑒𝑛𝑜𝑢𝑔ℎ!"

If you’ve been learning Czech for a few years and would like to 𝐛𝐞 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐚 𝐬𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐠𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐩 𝐨𝐟 𝐰𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐦𝐞𝐞𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐠𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐲 𝐨𝐧 𝐙𝐨𝐨𝐦 (and in a WhatsApp chat), help and support each other and 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧 𝐂𝐳𝐞𝐜𝐡 along the way - 𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐝 𝐦𝐞 𝐚 𝐦𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐚𝐠𝐞! 

I can't wait to start! 😊 

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

 ⭐ As a Czech language teacher and coach, I help expats in the Czech Republic speak Czech with confidence and joy, making them feel truly at home in their Czech community.

 👉 Join my 1:1 lessons, group courses, or online programs.