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Learn Hardcore Czech: Deset korun je malá úspora. - Ten crowns is a small saving.

Hardcore Czech
/Reducing household energy use
/Deset korun je malá úspora.

Deset korun je malá úspora.

Word

Deset korun je malá úspora.

Meaning

Ten crowns is a small saving.

Part of speech

sentence

Pronunciation

Course

Lesson

Reducing household energy use

Breakdown of Deset korun je malá úspora.

the saving; the reduction in use

Questions & Answers about Deset korun je malá úspora.

Why is it deset korun and not deset koruny?

Because after 5 and higher numbers in Czech, the counted noun normally goes into the genitive plural.

1 koruna
2, 3, 4 koruny
5+ korun

So:

deset korun = ten crowns / ten korunas

This is one of the most important number patterns in Czech.

What case is korun here?

Korun is the genitive plural of koruna.

The full phrase deset korun functions as the subject of the sentence, but inside that phrase the noun korun is still in the form required by the numeral deset.

So you can think of it like this:

whole subject: deset korun
noun form after the numeral: genitive plural

Why is the verb je singular if deset korun refers to more than one crown?

the Czech crown

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In Czech, an amount like deset korun is often treated as one quantity rather than as ten separate items.

So:

Deset korun je málo. = Ten crowns is little.
Deset korun je malá úspora. = Ten crowns is a small saving.

English sometimes does something similar:

Ten dollars is not much.

So the singular verb makes sense because the phrase is understood as a single amount.

Why is it malá?

Because malá agrees with úspora, not with deset korun.

úspora is a feminine singular noun
therefore the adjective must also be feminine singular
so: malá úspora

Compare:

malý dům = masculine
malá úspora = feminine
malé město = neuter

What exactly is úspora?

Úspora means saving in the sense of:

an amount saved
a reduction in cost or use
something economical

In this sentence, malá úspora means a small saving or a small amount saved.

It is a feminine noun:

nominative singular: úspora
genitive singular: úspory

Is deset korun in the nominative or genitive?

Both ideas are involved, depending on what part you look at.

The whole phrase deset korun is the subject, so it functions like a nominative subject phrase.
But the noun korun itself is in the genitive plural, because that is what deset requires.

So a useful way to think about it is:

sentence role of the phrase: subject
grammatical form of the noun after the numeral: genitive plural

Could the sentence also be written with a different word order?

Yes. Czech word order is more flexible than English word order.

For example, you could also say:

Malá úspora je deset korun.

But Deset korun je malá úspora is perfectly natural if you want to start with the amount.

Word order in Czech often depends on:

emphasis
topic vs. new information
style

So the original version is fine and straightforward.

Why is there no word for a in a small saving?

Because Czech has no articles like English a / an / the.

So:

malá úspora can mean a small saving
in another context, it could also mean the small saving

You understand which one is meant from the context, not from an article.

How do you pronounce Deset korun je malá úspora?

A simple learner-friendly approximation is:

DEH-set KO-roon yeh MAL-aa OO-spo-ra

A few notes:

deset = DEH-set
korun = KO-roon
je sounds like yeh
malá has a long á
úspora has a long ú

So the long vowels in malá and úspora should be held a bit longer than short vowels.

Would a Czech speaker actually say this sentence?

Yes, it is grammatical and natural enough, especially in a context about money or budgeting.

It sounds like a general statement such as:

Ten crowns is a small saving.
Saving ten crowns is only a small saving.

In real conversation, depending on context, a Czech speaker might also say things like:

Deset korun je málo. = Ten crowns is not much.
Je to malá úspora. = It’s a small saving.

But the sentence you have is completely correct.

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