Five Czech phrases to learn before finals

Finals are upon us. There are several Czech phrases you will start hearing more often than ever in these perilous times. Want to stay in touch with your Czech mates? Here are five common phrases Czech students use during finals.

Zazářím v září

A phrase that loses its poetic quality when translated to English literally means “to shine in September”. Czech students will use this phrase to cheer themselves up in case they fail their exam in June and plan to – this time hopefully with success – retake it in September.

Bylo to o prsa

The English equivalent of this phrase is by the skin of one’s teeth, meaning barely made it, but made it all the same. And that’s what really matters, right? Especially during finals time.

Mám okno

The phrase literally translates as “I have window”. This window however does not open up to fabulous views, actually it means the opposite. It opens to a brick wall. When a student says this phrase, it means he can’t remember a certain fact or more. The superlative of this phrase is “mám úplný okno” which means the student has forgotten everything he or she ever learned.

Ukecal jsem to (m.)/ Ukecala jsem to (f.)

You’ll probably hear this phrase from your chattier friends. It means to talk your way to passing your exam by offering to work hard the following semester for example. Your friend probably didn’t get the best grade, or only got the minimum points required. But a pass is a pass.

Podzimní listí zkoušku jistí

Going full circle, this other poetic Czech phrase translates to something along the lines of “fall leaves got my exam results covered”. Same as the first phrase on this list, this one means that the student didn’t pass and is planning to have another go in fall.