stýskalo se mi po tobě
To say "I missed you" in Czech, you say stýskalo se mi po tobě.
This phrase is used to tell someone that you felt sadness or longing because they were not with you.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase stýskalo se mi po tobě literally translates to "it was longing to me after you".
How does it change in a sentence?
To say "I missed you" to more than one person or to someone you address formally, use vás instead of tobě.
What mistakes should you avoid?
Avoid saying chyběl jsem ti to mean "I missed you". In Czech, this actually means "You missed me" (I was lacking to you).
Did you know?
- The word stýskat is related to the word for 'tightness' or 'compression'. In Czech, longing is described as a physical feeling of the heart being squeezed or tightened.
- Czech distinguishes between missing someone as a deep longing stýskat se and missing someone as a missing piece of a puzzle chybět. The latter is used when a person's absence creates a functional gap in a group.
- The preposition po in this phrase is a descendant of the Proto-Indo-European root *h₂epó, which is a distant relative of the English word 'apo' used in Greek-derived terms.
Examples in context
- Stýskalo se mi po tobě celou dobu.I missed you the whole time.
Example conversation
Jakub returns home from a long trip and greets Kateřina.
- KateřinaAhoj Jakube, stýskalo se mi po tobě!Hi Jakub, I missed you!
- JakubAhoj Kateřino, mně taky!Hi Kateřina, me too!
- KateřinaKdy jsi přejel z letiště?When did you arrive from the airport?
- JakubPrávě teď jsem přišel.I just arrived.
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries po, se, tobě, CC BY-SA 4.0.
