I remember feeling robbed when, around Valentine’s Day 2015, there were only a few paltry boxes of chocolates and sweets halfheartedly decorated in the theme of love. I’m no devotee of the holiday – in fact, I think it’s stupid that we need a particular day to show how much our partners mean to us – but its history is very interesting.

Still, in the States, we are much more spirited about any and every holiday. And it was disappointing not to see the aisles filled with treats like this:

When you’re an American kid, every year you bring cute and funny cards (Valentines), often with some candies, to elementary school to give to your classmates.

When you’re a kid in my family, with a grandma whose birthday was the 15th of February, the day after Valentine’s you rush to all the supermarkets and pharmacies to buy as many half-off boxes of Russell Stover’s as you can find.

This is the one my mom sent to me in 2015 so I wouldn’t be too down!

How long do you think it lasted? 🙂

***

This Valentine’s Day, improve your Czech (or your English) with some special idioms. (See the *’s at the bottom for English pronunciation.)

1, 2. If you want to talk about falling in love with someone, that’s zamilovat se do někoho*. If you’re HEAD OVER HEELS in love with someone, you are, rather, zamilovaný až po uši**, or “in love past your ears.”

3. If you fell in love with someone at first sight, that’s basically the same in Czech: láska na první pohled [pronounced as written, with long vowel sounds for the accents].

4. You can say you have a crush on someone with the phrase házet po někom okem, or “to throw your eye after someone”***. That’s a little more Halloween for my taste, but you can see where it’s coming from 🙂 I’m sure there are other phrases for that idea, but this is the one I know – feel free to teach me more!

5. Lastly, here is one of my favorite phrases because I correctly guessed what it meant early in my own relationship, and I’ve never forgotten it. It’s Jsem do tebe blázen, which means “I’m crazy for you // I’m a fool for you” (literally, I’m a fool into you :D).

Happy chocolate sampling and wine drinking and movie watching and ring giving! (If you’re into that sort of thing!)

* [“-” “-” doh nye-ko-ho]

** [“-” azh poh oo-shi] – zh as in Zsa Zsa Gabor

*** [haa-zeht poh nye-kohm oh-kem]

**** [sem doh tehbeh blaazehn]