{"id":899995,"date":"2026-10-30T14:42:13","date_gmt":"2026-10-30T14:42:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/899995\/"},"modified":"2026-10-30T14:42:13","modified_gmt":"2026-10-30T14:42:13","slug":"from-frozen-blood-to-little-souls-how-czechs-talk-about-fear","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/899995\/","title":{"rendered":"From frozen blood to little souls: How Czechs talk about fear"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Fall brings shorter days, longer evenings and a slightly mysterious atmosphere\u2014the perfect time to explore how Czechs talk about fear.<\/p>\n<p>Simply saying Boj\u00edm se (\u201cI\u2019m scared\u201d) is far from your only option. Czech has plenty of more colorful expressions in which fear doesn\u2019t just stay in your head. Your blood can freeze, your heart can move to unexpected places and even your soul can shrink.<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.expats.cz\/czech-news\/article\/freelancing-in-czechia-how-to-earn-a-living-without-burning-out?utm_source=expats.cz&amp;utm_medium=member-content-article-widget&amp;utm_campaign=internal-member-article-promotion\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><br \/>\n\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/shutterstock-by-andrii-iemelianenko-fdghq.webp\" alt=\"Shutterstock by Andrii Iemelianenko\"\/><br \/>\n\t<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Here are seven expressions to use when Boj\u00edm se just isn\u2019t enough.<\/p>\n<p>M\u00edt sta\u017een\u00fd \u017ealudek<\/p>\n<p>Literally \u201cto have a tightened stomach,\u201d this means feeling anxious or tense, often about something ahead\u2014such as an important interview or exam.<\/p>\n<p>RECOMMENDED ARTICLE<a href=\"https:\/\/www.expats.cz\/czech-news\/article\/how-to-survive-czech-public-transport-words-and-phrases-to-know\" data-cwid=\"2092817\" data-cwiad=\"89620\" data-cu=\"https:\/\/www.expats.cz\/czech-news\/article\/how-to-survive-czech-public-transport-words-and-phrases-to-know\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/shutterstock-mhd-uootl.webp\" alt=\"Shutterstock, MHD\"\/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>M\u00edt malou du\u0161i\u010dku<\/p>\n<p>Literally \u201cto have a little soul,\u201d this expression describes someone who feels scared, uncertain or suddenly less brave.<\/p>\n<p>M\u00edt nahn\u00e1no<\/p>\n<p>A colloquial way of saying someone is really scared:<\/p>\n<p>Kdy\u017e usly\u0161el kroky za sebou, m\u011bl po\u0159\u00e1dn\u011b nahn\u00e1no.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen he heard footsteps behind him, he got really scared.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>M\u00edt srdce v krku \/ v kalhot\u00e1ch<\/p>\n<p>When Czechs get scared, their hearts apparently don\u2019t like staying put. You can have your heart \u201cin your throat\u201d when nervous or frightened\u2014or, when things get really scary, \u201cin your pants.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>RECOMMENDED ARTICLE<a href=\"https:\/\/www.expats.cz\/czech-news\/article\/the-czech-word-for-vacation-means-permission-dovolena-isn-t-just-a-holiday\" data-cwid=\"2092818\" data-cwiad=\"89620\" data-cu=\"https:\/\/www.expats.cz\/czech-news\/article\/the-czech-word-for-vacation-means-permission-dovolena-isn-t-just-a-holiday\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/collage-created-with-photos-from-shutterstock-wznaj.webp\" alt=\"Collage created with photos from Shutterstock\"\/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>B\u011bh\u00e1 mi mr\u00e1z po z\u00e1dech<\/p>\n<p>Literally \u201cfrost runs down my back.\u201d Something unsettling or frightening gives you chills\u2014much like the English expression \u201csends shivers down your spine.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Vst\u00e1vaj\u00ed n\u011bkomu vlasy na hlav\u011b<\/p>\n<p>Literally, someone\u2019s hair \u201cstands up on their head\u201d\u2014similar to the English expression \u201cyour hair stands on end.\u201d The phrase can also describe something appalling or outrageous.<\/p>\n<p>Tuhne mi krev v \u017eil\u00e1ch<\/p>\n<p>When \u201cthe blood freezes in your veins,\u201d you are experiencing intense fear or horror that seems to make your whole body freeze.<\/p>\n<p>RECOMMENDED ARTICLE<a href=\"https:\/\/www.expats.cz\/czech-news\/article\/dating-in-czech-words-and-phrases-for-love-kisses-and-rejection\" data-cwid=\"2092819\" data-cwiad=\"89620\" data-cu=\"https:\/\/www.expats.cz\/czech-news\/article\/dating-in-czech-words-and-phrases-for-love-kisses-and-rejection\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/images-from-collage-shutterstock-hpliq.webp\" alt=\"Images from collage: Shutterstock\"\/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Stomach, soul, heart, back, hair and blood\u2014when it comes to fear, Czech gets almost the whole body involved. All that\u2019s left is to choose just how scared you are.<\/p>\n<p>About the author<\/p>\n<p>The institute specializes in teaching Czech as a foreign language. It offers Czech courses for foreigners at its Prague Vor\u0161ilsk\u00e1 center near N\u00e1rodn\u00ed t\u0159\u00edda metro station, university foundation programs in various fields, methodological training for teachers of Czech as a second language and official Czech exams for citizenship and permanent residence.<\/p>\n<p>UJOP is also the creator of the CCE, an internationally recognized Czech-language certificate exam.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Fall brings shorter days, longer evenings and a slightly mysterious atmosphere\u2014the perfect time to explore how Czechs talk&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":899996,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[60],"tags":[97,259,260],"class_list":["post-899995","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mental-health","tag-health","tag-mental-health","tag-mentalhealth"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/899995","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=899995"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/899995\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/899996"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=899995"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=899995"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=899995"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}