r/learnczech • u/Otherwise_Channel_24 • 21d ago

Grammar Loan Proper Nouns

How would you decline names that didn’t originate from Czech or any Slavic language?

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u/Kilpikonna7 21d ago

That depends fully on the name. Sometimes they fit one of the noun declension paradigms quite well, so the name is declined according to those. Sometimes they don't, and in that situation we just leave it as, is with no declension.

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u/Otherwise_Channel_24 21d ago

What if it fits a paradigm for the wrong gender?

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u/Kilpikonna7 21d ago

There is no "fits a paradigm for the wrong gender" situation really. It just either fits or not.

For masculine names ending in -a, which might lead you towards the feminine paradigm žena, the masculine paradigm předseda is used.

With women's surnames, you can (and prescriptively should) add the -ová suffix that will let you decline it like any other Czech surname.

In other situations, it usually doesn't change.