Hello and welcome to Living Czech. I'm Nick Carey, and I'm here with our very own Zuzka from the studio. Today's topic is a sick one, or at least being sick or ill in Czech.

At the first signs of illness, you will just feel a little bit off colour. This can be expressed simply in Czech by není mi dobře, I do not feel well, or je mi špatně, I feel ill. And when you begin to feel really ill, then you are nemocný, which simply means sick, and is linked to the noun nemoc, which means sickness.

Other than nemocný, there are some terms for being sick when it is not a serious case. You can be marod, which is an old slang term, and this is also used for the expression hodit se marod, which means to fake an illness to get time off work or school. You can also be nachcípaný, which actually comes from the verb chcípnout and this is slang for to die, and is particularly used for animals. If you get nachcípaný , then it literally means a tiny bit, or partially, dead. There is also the term nastydlý, and the accompanying verb nastydnout, which come from studený, or literally cold. So, if you are natsydlý, then you have caught a bit of a rýma, or cold.

This is also the case if you have other, treatable sicknesses such as a kašel, or cough, a chřipka or flu, and angina or tonsilitis. Angina is a strange term for us, because angina in English is a heart condition. Another bizarre term is used for the tonsils themselves, and this mandle, which also means almonds in Czech.

If you are very seriously ill, then you are jednou nohou v hrobě, or literally one foot in the grave.

Now, when you decide you are definitely sick, then it is time to jít k doktorovi, or go to the doctor, where he or she will give you a vyšetření, or examination, which is not to be confused with vyšetřování, which is an investigation carried out by the police. When the doctor asks your symptoms, you might answer that say, bolí mi hlava, my head hurts, or zlobí mi žaludek, my stomach is literally giving me trouble or annoying me. The doctor will write this down on his chorobopis, or diagnosis sheet, and if you are genuinely sick, will no doubt write you out a recept, or prescription for some prášky. Interestingly enough, a recept can also be a cooking recipe, and prášky comes from prášek, or dust.

And if you are lucky, then these prášky will have the desired effect, and you will be able to say ulevilo se mi, or literally my symptoms have been relieved.

If you are not so lucky, then you may have to go to the nemocnice, or literally sick place, which is of course the hospital. The slang term špitál is also used, which comes straight from the word hospital. There the sestřička or literally the little sister, or nurse, will take care of you, and will provide you with peče, or care, plus will try to léčit you, or treat you.

There are, of course, a few sayings on health in Czech, such as lékař léčí, příroda uzdravuje, which means a doctor treats, but nature cures. Kam nechodí lékař, tam chodí lékař, which literally means that where the sun does not go, that's where you will find a doctor, or basically get plenty of sun if you don't want to end up in hospital.

Well, that's all we have time for this week. Next week, we will take a look at some sporting activities in Czech. So, until then, mějte se fajn, or take care.

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