Czech Books For Beginners
Do you ever feel satisfied when you finish watching a movie or listening to a song in Czech and can understand every word? Or the pleasure of finally being able to start a conversation with a Czech native speaker confidently, without feeling lost for words?
If you’ve done that, your next goal might be to finish reading a book in Czech. There’s nothing quite as gratifying as reading a whole book in a foreign language and realizing that you are in the final page, but none of the words seem difficult for you to understand.
This article will help you reach your goal of learning Czech by providing a guide to beginner-friendly books. These books will help you understand and acquire Czech vocabulary, giving you a strong foundation on which to build your language skills.
Best Czech Books for Beginning Learners: Frequency Dictionaries
When learning a new language, some words are more important than others. The top 1000 most common words make up approximately 80% of daily conversation, so it's helpful to learn them first. But there are 150,000-300,000 words in modern use, so knowing just the top 5000 Czech words can surely help understand 95% of all spoken language. There are diminishing returns after a certain point, but even knowing a small fraction of all the words out there can help you communicate effectively.
The following Czech frequency dictionaries are perfect for quickly and efficiently learning Czech vocabulary. With a total of 10,000 words, they are perfect for language learners of all levels. They contain practical vocabulary for both spoken and written Czech. These dictionaries can either be used alone or in conjunction with other language learning programs, apps and books:
The Essential Vocabulary of Czech: 2500 Most Common Czech Words
The Czech Frequency Dictionary: Essential Vocabulary is a great resource for learning Czech vocabulary. The word list is divided into different frequency levels, so you can focus on the most commonly used words to quickly build your Czech vocabulary. These high-frequency words are great for beginners and intermediate students. The CEFR vocabulary ratings range from absolute beginner (A1), to somewhat proficient (B1).
Intermediate Czech Vocabulary List: 2501-5000 Most Common Czech Words
This frequency dictionary is intended to help intermediate Czech learners improve their vocabulary and become more proficient speakers. With 5000 of the most commonly used Czech words at your disposal, you'll be able to express yourself easily and carry on conversations like a native speaker. You'll also be able to understand most radio and television shows, websites, or newspapers, although reading literature may still be challenging.
Advanced Czech Vocabulary: 5001-7500 Most Common Czech Words
This book will help you take your Czech to the next level, since it covers advanced Czech vocabulary. By learning the words in this book, you will enhance your Czech vocabulary from CEFR B2 to CEFR C1+.
This will enable you to speak Czech like an adult native speaker, since you will know 7500 of the most commonly used Czech words. With this increased vocabulary, you will be able to communicate your feelings in many situations. Additionally, 93% of all Czech text and 97% all spoken Czech can be understood.
Fluent Czech Vocabulary List: 7501-10000 Most Common Czech Words
This dictionary is intended for advanced Czech speakers looking to improve their Czech proficiency. This dictionary will help you expand your vocabulary from CEFR C1+ to CEFR C2+.
Knowing the 10,000 most commonly used Czech words will give you a vast vocabulary, comparable to that of a college or university graduate. You will be able to understand 98% and 95% of all spoken and written Czech, respectively, and express yourself fluently in the language. You will be able to handle academic and cognitively challenging material with ease. Depending on your grammar skills, you may be able to use Czech at an almost-native level. In some areas, your Czech may even be better than a native speaker's.
Below are the links to the paperbacks on Amazon. They are affiliate links. That means we might get a small commission if you make a purchase after clicking these links.
- The Essential Vocabulary of Czech: 2500 Most Common Czech Words
- Intermediate Czech Vocabulary List: 2501-5000 Most Common Czech Words
- Advanced Czech Vocabulary: 5001-7500 Most Common Czech Words
- Fluent Czech Vocabulary List: 7501-10000 Most Common Czech Words
Czech Bilingual Books for Beginning Students
A bilingual book offers two different translations of a single story. This means that one half of the page is in English, and one is in another language (in this case, Czech).
The English and Czech translations are directly next to each other, which will allow you to save a lot of time and prevent frustration. This will save you from the trouble of searching for words that you don't understand, and make it easier to read. Additionally, these books also include Czech to English dictionaries that are specifically designed for these Czech stories. And with that, by simply sitting down and picking up your book, you can easily learn and study new languages.
Bilingual books have English on one side of the page and Czech on the other. This will give you the opportunity to practice your Czech reading skills, as well as get help when you have difficulty understanding the words or sentences.
MostUsedWords is working on bilingual English-Czech books so we can provide you with the best learning source for Czech language. You can check our website for updates, and stay in the loop for when the books are released!
Bilingual books are a great way to expand your vocabulary and improve your reading skills. You can learn new words and phrases, and practice using them in paragraphs. Plus, you can read anywhere, anytime with these books.
How to Choose the Perfect Book to Start Learning Czech?
In order to improve your Czech language skills, you must choose a level-appropriate Czech textbook. Assess yourself with how much vocabulary you know and how many words you find difficult to understand by taking online quizzes in Czech language, or by turning off the subtitles when watching a film or series. You also need to know which type of book is convenient and effective in your learning process.
Knowing these things will help you to be certain in what books you need to reach your goal, and know just how near or far you are in reading a whole book in Czech without much difficulty.
For learners looking for practical Czech vocabulary, we recommend our Czech vocabulary lists. Our dictionaries are based upon how often you would use a word. These dictionaries were designed to enable learners to rapidly expand their vocabulary. IPA phonetic transcriptions of Czech words are included in each entry, so you can always be confident in your pronunciation.
Grammatical information is also provided for each word, so you'll know whether it's a noun, adjective, verb, or can be used in multiple ways. To top it off, each entry also comes with a bilingual sample sentence, so you can see the word being used in context and get some reading practice too.
Don't miss out on these fantastic books for beginners. They can give you a big boost on your journey to becoming fluent in Czech. And by the time you finish a dictionary, you'll be able to read a short novel or stories in Czech with ease.
END NOTE:
If you're just starting to learn a language, writing out lists of words by hand can be helpful. But if you prefer learning on the go, there are endless digital options. For example, you can purchase Czech Frequency Dictionaries in PDF format created by MostUsedWords. These dictionaries provide a vocabulary, listed by its frequency, alphabetically, and frequency as part of speech. Each book contains varying vocabulary depending on the levels of fluency. We have books especially made for beginners, intermediates, advanced, and near-fluent learners.
Learning a second language is not an instantaneous process. Just like learning your native language, it takes time and practice to become proficient. You won't know every single word, but it's important to learn the most common words that you'll use in everyday life.
Find somewhere to relax and read your book. You can relax on the sofa, in a park, or just in bed, and enjoy an effortless, easy way to learn Czech by reading.