Dům je daleko.

Breakdown of Dům je daleko.

být
to be
dům
the house
daleko
far away

Questions & Answers about Dům je daleko.

How do you pronounce Dům je daleko?

A natural pronunciation is:

  • Dům ≈ doom, but with a clean long oo sound
  • je ≈ yeh
  • daleko ≈ DA-le-ko, with the stress on the first syllable

So the whole sentence sounds roughly like:

doom yeh DA-le-ko

A few pronunciation notes:

  • Czech stress is almost always on the first syllable of each word.
  • ů is a long u sound.
  • j in Czech is pronounced like English y in yes.
What does je mean here?

Je is the 3rd person singular form of the verb být (to be).

So:

  • já jsem = I am
  • ty jsi / jseš = you are
  • on/ona/ono je = he/she/it is

In Dům je daleko, je means is.

Why is there no word for the or a?

Czech has no articles. There is no direct equivalent of English a or the in normal usage.

So dům can mean:

  • a house
  • the house

Which one is meant depends on the context.

If needed, Czech can add words like ten (that / the one) for extra clarity, but usually that is not necessary.

What case is dům in?

Here dům is in the nominative singular, because it is the subject of the sentence.

The basic dictionary form is also dům.

In this sentence:

  • dům = the subject
  • je = the verb
  • daleko = the description of location/distance

So no case change is needed here.

Why is it daleko and not daleký?

Because daleko is an adverb, while daleký is an adjective.

In this sentence, Czech uses the adverb daleko after být to express that something is far away.

  • Dům je daleko. = The house is far away.

By contrast:

  • daleký means distant / far as an adjective
  • it is used before or with a noun, for example in phrases like daleká země = a distant country

So in this sentence, daleko is the normal choice.

Can I say Daleko je dům instead?

Yes, Czech word order is relatively flexible, but the emphasis changes.

  • Dům je daleko. = neutral, natural statement
  • Daleko je dům. = unusual in isolation; it gives strong emphasis to daleko
  • Je daleko dům. = generally not the normal choice here

For a learner, Dům je daleko is the best basic word order to use.

Could the verb je be omitted?

Normally, no.

In the present tense, Czech usually does use forms of být in sentences like this:

  • Dům je daleko.

Omitting je would sound incomplete or unnatural here.

Czech sometimes leaves out forms of to be in certain styles, headlines, or very informal contexts, but not in a standard sentence like this.

Do I need a pronoun like it?

No. Czech does not need a separate pronoun here.

English says:

  • The house is far away.
  • or sometimes It is far away.

Czech can simply say:

  • Dům je daleko.

Since dům is already the subject, no extra pronoun is needed.

What is special about the letter ů in dům?

ů represents a long u sound.

Important points:

  • ů and ú are both pronounced as long u
  • they differ mostly for historical and spelling reasons
  • ů usually does not appear at the beginning of a word
  • in dům, the ů is just part of the standard spelling

So for pronunciation, you can think of dům as having a long oo sound.

Is daleko enough by itself, or do I need to say daleko odtud?

Daleko by itself is perfectly correct if the context already makes the point clear.

  • Dům je daleko. = The house is far away.

If you want to be more specific, you can add something like:

  • Dům je daleko odtud. = The house is far from here.
  • Dům je daleko od města. = The house is far from the town.

So daleko alone is fine, but Czech can add more detail if needed.

Is this sentence formal, informal, or neutral?

It is neutral standard Czech.

There is nothing especially formal or informal about it. It is a simple everyday sentence that would sound natural in normal speech and writing.

Can dům mean something other than house?

Yes. Dům can mean:

  • house
  • building
  • sometimes even home in certain contexts, though domov is more directly home

The exact English translation depends on context. In a basic sentence like Dům je daleko, house is usually the safest meaning for learners.

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