-telný

Potential Adjectives in -telný

Level 5

Adjectives ending in -telný are deverbal adjectives that express passive potentiality. They describe a noun that can be the object of the base verb's action, similar to the English suffixes '-able' or '-ible' (e.g., viditelný = visible / able to be seen).

How It Works

To become proficient in using -telný adjectives, you must understand their grammatical boundaries:

1. Passive vs. Active:
These adjectives are almost exclusively passive. They describe the receiver of the action, not the doer. Do not confuse them with active participial adjectives. For example, vidící means 'seeing' (the agent), while viditelný means 'visible' (the object). Note: A few rare lexicalized exceptions have an active meaning, such as potěšitelný (pleasing) or spasitelný (saving).

2. Potentiality vs. Result:
Learners often confuse potentiality with completed action. Contrast this pattern with verbal adjectives in -ný/-tý. Vypraný means 'washed' (the result is achieved), whereas vypratelný means 'washable' (the potential exists).

3. Transitivity and Aspect:
Unlike English '-able', which sometimes attaches to nouns (valuable) or intransitive verbs (perishable), Czech -telný is strictly deverbal and usually requires a transitive base. While you cannot form it from purely intransitive verbs like jít, there are notable exceptions formed from verbs taking dative or genitive objects (e.g., neuvěřitelný from věřit + dative, neodolatelný from odolat + dative, or dosažitelný from dosáhnout + genitive). Furthermore, while its formation is unrestricted by verbal aspect—attaching freely to both perfective and imperfective verbs—the resulting adjective retains the aspectual nuance of the base verb. For example, an imperfective base (hmatatelný = tangible) implies the potential for an ongoing process, while a perfective base (proveditelný = executable) implies the potential for a completed result.

4. Adverbial Forms:
You can seamlessly create highly frequent adverbs from this pattern by changing the -telný ending to -telně. These adverbs describe how an action is perceived or the degree of a quality (e.g., pochopitelně = understandably/of course, viditelně = visibly, neuvěřitelně = incredibly).

5. Abstract Nouns:
You can also easily form abstract nouns from these adjectives by replacing the -telný ending with -telnost. These nouns map directly to English words ending in '-ability' or '-ibility' and are highly productive in Czech (e.g., viditelnost = visibility, použitelnost = usability, srozumitelnost = comprehensibility).

Examples (5)

  1. Tento plán je za současných podmínek těžko proveditelný.

    This plan is hard to carry out under the current conditions.

    Word by Word: This plan is under current conditions hardly executable.

    Formed from the perfective verb 'provést' (to execute/carry out). Shows that aspect does not restrict this suffix.

  2. Jeho rukopis je sotva čitelný.

    His handwriting is barely legible.

    Word by Word: His handwriting is barely readable.

    Formed from the root verb 'číst' (to read). Notice the vowel shortening from 'í' to 'i'.

  3. To je naprosto neomluvitelná chyba.

    That is an absolutely inexcusable mistake.

    Word by Word: That is absolutely unexcusable mistake.

    Demonstrates the highly common combination with the negative prefix 'ne-'.

  4. Hvězdy jsou dnes v noci jasně viditelné.

    The stars are clearly visible tonight.

    Word by Word: Stars are today in night clearly visible.

    Formed from the verb 'vidět' (to see). Notice the stem vowel mutation to '-i-' (viditelný).

  5. Tento materiál je snadno recyklovatelný.

    This material is easily recyclable.

    Word by Word: This material is easily recyclable.

    Formed from the '-ovat' verb 'recyklovat'. The '-t' is simply replaced by '-telný'.

Common Mistakes

  • Confusing potentiality (-telný) with completed action (-ný/-tý).

    Koupil jsem si vypratelnou košili, už je čistá.
    Koupil jsem si vypranou košili, už je čistá.

    'Vypratelný' means 'washable' (it has the potential to be washed). If the action is already completed and the shirt is clean, you must use the passive participle 'vypraný' (washed).

  • Using -telný adjectives for the active 'doer' instead of the passive 'receiver'.

    Petr je velmi čitelný člověk, přečetl už sto knih.
    Petr je velmi sečtělý člověk, přečetl už sto knih.

    Adjectives in -telný are passive. 'Čitelný' means 'readable' (able to be read, like a text or a predictable person), not 'able to read' or 'well-read'.

How It Connects

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-telnýLevel 5Potential Adjectives in -telný

Learn This First

To understand adjectives ending in -telný, learners must first be familiar with the declension of hard adjectives. Since these adjectives are derived from verbs to express possibility (e.g., 'feasible', 'visible'), a solid grasp of verb stems, aspectual pairs, and the formation of passive participles is necessary to correctly derive and interpret them.

Words in This Pattern

-telný