Spend five minutes listening to an angry Czech driver and your vocabulary may expand considerably faster than it ever did in a language class. Czech has an impressive collection of swear words, from everyday sakra and do prdele to considerably stronger words such as kurva, píča, kokot, čurák, and zmrd.
Some Czech swear words translate easily into English, while others lose half their meaning in translation. Přizdisráč, for example, needs an entire sentence to explain properly. And the same word can change completely depending on context: kurva can refer insultingly to a woman, work as a furious exclamation, or simply add emphasis to whatever comes next.
As a native Czech speaker, I’ll explain what these Czech insults and curse words actually mean, how people use them, and which ones are considerably stronger than their English translations might suggest.
Czech Insults Based on Animals
Prase
Meaning: pig
Calling someone a prase works much like calling someone a pig in English. It can describe someone dirty, disgusting, greedy, or particularly unpleasant.
You can also use it after seeing someone’s revolting behavior: Ty prase! means “You pig!”
Pronunciation: prah-seh
Kráva
Meaning: cow, stupid/annoying woman
Kráva literally means cow, but directed at a woman it becomes an insult.
To je ale kráva can mean something like “What an idiot” or “She’s such a bitch,” with the exact English equivalent depending heavily on tone.
It is insulting, although Czech has plenty of words that are much stronger.
Pronunciation: krah-vah
Čubka
Meaning: bitch
A čubka is literally a female dog, and as an insult it is close to “bitch.” It sounds considerably nastier than kráva and is usually aimed at a woman.
Pronunciation: choob-kah
Hovado
Meaning: beast, brute, asshole
Hovado originally refers to an animal or beast. Calling a person hovado means they behaved brutally, disgustingly, inconsiderately, or like a complete asshole.
Ty hovado! is something you could easily shout at someone who has just done something particularly awful or reckless.
Pronunciation: hoh-vah-doh
Slepice
Meaning: hen; stupid or gossipy woman
A slepice is a hen. Used about a woman, it can imply that she is foolish, gossipy, or spends too much time discussing other people’s business.
Pronunciation: sleh-pee-tseh
Husa
Meaning: goose; silly/stupid woman
Husa literally means goose and can be used as a relatively mild insult for a woman considered foolish or silly.
Pronunciation: hoo-sah
Vulgar Czech Words for Body Parts
Píča
Meaning: cunt
If you spend enough time around Czech profanity, you will eventually encounter píča.
Literally, it is an extremely vulgar word for female genitalia, equivalent to “cunt.” It is also used as an insult and in countless vulgar expressions.
Ty píčo! can be an insult, but among some speakers it can also become an exclamation of disbelief or amazement. Tone and company change everything here.
Pronunciation: pee-chah
Píčus
Meaning: dickhead, asshole
Píčus is a vulgar insult generally aimed at a man. “Dickhead” captures its use better than treating it as a literal male version of píča.
Pronunciation: pee-choos
Kunda
Meaning: cunt, pussy
Kunda is another vulgar term for female genitalia. It can also be directed at a person as an insult.
It belongs firmly in the stronger end of Czech vocabulary.
Pronunciation: koon-dah
Čurák
Meaning: dick, prick
Čurák is a vulgar word for penis and a common insult for a man.
Calling someone čurák is comparable to calling him a prick or dick in English.
Pronunciation: choo-rahk
Kokot
Meaning: dick, idiot, asshole
Kokot is another extremely common Czech insult. Literally it refers vulgarly to a penis, but in conversation it is frequently aimed at someone behaving like an idiot or asshole.
To je kokot = “He’s a fucking idiot/What an asshole.”
The exact translation depends on what he did to earn the title.
Pronunciation: koh-kot
Kozy
Meaning: tits, boobs
Literally, kozy means goats. In slang, however, it means breasts.
So Má velké kozy has absolutely nothing to do with a woman owning unusually large farm animals.
Pronunciation: koh-zih
Common Czech Swear Words
Hovno
Meaning: shit
Hovno literally means shit and is used in plenty of everyday vulgar expressions.
Vím hovno means “I know fuck all.”
Je to na hovno means something is shitty, useless, or terrible.
And if somebody promises you something and you reply hovno, you clearly have very little faith in their promise.
Pronunciation: ho-vno
Sračka
Meaning: diarrhea, shit, piece of crap
Literally, sračka means diarrhea. Figuratively, it can describe a terrible movie, awful food, useless product, ridiculous idea, or almost anything else you consider complete crap.
Ten film byl sračka.
“That movie was shit.”
Pronunciation: srah-chkah
Kurva
Meaning: whore; fuck/damn as an exclamation
Kurva is probably one of the best-known Czech swear words internationally.
Its literal meaning is “whore,” but Czechs also use it as a general exclamation. Drop your phone screen-first onto concrete and Kurva! is a perfectly believable reaction.
It can also intensify anger inside a sentence, so translating it always depends on context.
Pronunciation: koor-vah
Zmrd
Meaning: asshole, piece of shit, bastard
Zmrd is a strong insult for someone you deeply dislike or consider contemptible.
It carries considerably more hostility than calling someone an idiot. If someone describes another person as zmrd, there is probably a story behind it.
Pronunciation: zmrrt
Sráč
Meaning: coward, asshole, shitty person
Literally connected to srát (“to shit”), sráč can describe a coward or an unpleasant, contemptible person depending on context.
It has no single perfect English translation.
Pronunciation: srahch
Mrdka
Meaning: cum; piece of shit
Mrdka literally refers vulgarly to semen, but as an insult it can describe a horrible person or a worthless piece of something.
Calling somebody mrdka is very vulgar.
Pronunciation: mrrt-kah
Czech Insults for Stupid People
Kretén
Meaning: moron, idiot
Kretén is straightforward. Someone does something unbelievably stupid and earns the title.
Pronunciation: kreh-ten
Debil
Meaning: idiot, moron
Debil is extremely common and means idiot or moron.
Ty debile! means “You idiot!” The seriousness depends heavily on whether it comes from your laughing best friend or an angry stranger.
Pronunciation: deh-bil
Imbecil
Meaning: imbecile, idiot
Another insult for somebody considered extremely stupid. English speakers will have very little trouble guessing this one.
Pronunciation: im-beh-tsil
Přizdisráč
Meaning: coward, timid person
And here Czech starts having fun.
Přizdisráč describes someone excessively cautious, cowardly, or afraid to take risks. The word combines the idea of staying close to the wall (při zdi) with sráč.
There really is no English word that captures its full charm.
Pronunciation: approximately przhiz-dee-srahch
Hajzl
Meaning: asshole, bastard; toilet
Hajzl can mean a toilet, but calling someone hajzl means something closer to asshole or bastard.
If someone cheated, lied, betrayed you, or behaved horribly, hajzl fits nicely.
Pronunciation: high-zl
Strong Czech Sexual Insults
Mrdat
Meaning: to fuck
Mrdat is the vulgar Czech equivalent of “to fuck.”
It also appears in expressions unrelated to sex. Mrdám na to means roughly “Fuck it” or “I can’t be bothered with this.”
Pronunciation: mrr-daht
Šukat
Meaning: to fuck
Šukat is another vulgar verb for having sex.
Pronunciation: shoo-kaht
Zkurvysyn
Meaning: son of a bitch
Zkurvysyn is literally built around kurva and syn (“son”), making “son of a bitch” a much better English equivalent than “motherfucker.”
Pronunciation: z-koor-vih-sin
Common Czech Insults and Angry Phrases
Individual words are only half the fun. Czech also has plenty of ways to tell somebody exactly where you would like them to go.
Jdi do prdele!
“Fuck off!” / “Go fuck yourself!”
Literally: “Go into the ass.”
Táhni do hajzlu!
“Fuck off!” / “Go to hell!”
Táhni k čertu!
“Go to hell!”
Literally: “Go to the devil.”
Polib mi prdel!
“Kiss my ass!”
Vyliž mi prdel!
“Lick my ass!”
Jdi se vycpat!
“Get stuffed!” / “Get lost!”
Jdi se bodnout!
“Get lost!” / “Screw you!”
And one extremely useful Czech expression deserves its own mention:
Do prdele!
Literally “into the ass,” but in actual conversation it can mean “Fuck!”, “Damn it!”, or “For fuck’s sake!” depending on how spectacularly your day is going wrong.
Which Czech Swear Words Will You Hear Most Often?
If you are learning Czech and simply want to understand conversations, kurva, do prdele, hovno, debil, kokot, čurák, píča, and hovado are useful ones to recognize. Their strength changes enormously with tone, context, age, and who is speaking to whom.
Two close friends can call each other vole, debile, or even kokote while laughing and think absolutely nothing of it. The same word shouted at a stranger in a Prague bar has an entirely different meaning.
And that is probably the most Czech thing about Czech swearing: we have an impressive number of ways to insult someone, and somehow half of them can become terms of affection in the right company.
More Language & Slang
- How to Say Hello in Czech: 11 Common Greetings
- Patience Brings Roses: The Meaning of This Czech Proverb
- 7 Beautiful Czech Words That Don’t Exist in English (With Meanings)
- 7 Czech Proverbs and Their Meanings (That Locals Still Use Today)
