Soft Adjectives Like cudzí

Level 2

Cudzí (foreign) is the model for soft adjectives: cudzí jazyk, cudzia krajina, cudzie mesto. Every comparative, like lepší or starší, follows it too.

How It Works

Soft adjectives have a soft consonant, such as c, dz, č, š, ž or j, right before the ending. The model word is cudzí (foreign). Other common ones are domáci (home, homemade), ďalší (next, another), tretí (third), včerajší (yesterday's) and horúci (hot). Every comparative and superlative is soft too, like lepší (better) and najstarší (oldest).

The endings are the same as for pekný, but each long ending gets an i:

  • Masculine: pekný → cudzí jazyk (a foreign language)
  • Feminine: pekná → cudzia krajina (a foreign country)
  • Neuter: pekné → cudzie mesto (a foreign town)

Here are the other singular forms:

  • Genitive: cudzieho (masculine, neuter), cudzej (feminine)
  • Dative: cudziemu (masculine, neuter), cudzej (feminine)
  • Accusative: cudzieho (masculine for people and animals), cudzí (masculine for things), cudziu (feminine), cudzie (neuter)
  • Locative: cudzom (masculine, neuter), cudzej (feminine)
  • Instrumental: cudzím (masculine, neuter), cudzou (feminine)

Notice that -om, -ej and -ou have no i, just like peknom, peknej and peknou.

In the plural, use cudzie for most nouns (cudzie jazyky, cudzie mestá) and cudzí for groups of men (cudzí ľudia). The other plural forms are cudzích, cudzím and cudzími.

The rhythmic law. When the syllable before the ending is already long, the ending becomes short: domáci, domáca, domáce, domácu, domácim. So it is domáca úloha (homework), not domácia úloha. The same happens with horúci: horúca polievka (hot soup).

Examples (6)

  1. Učím sa cudzí jazyk.

    I am learning a foreign language.

    Jazyk is a masculine thing, so the accusative looks like the nominative: cudzí.

  2. Žije v cudzej krajine.

    She lives in a foreign country.

    The feminine locative ending is -ej, with no i.

  3. V cudzom meste som sa stratil.

    I got lost in a foreign town.

    The neuter locative ending is -om, just like v peknom meste.

  4. Musím urobiť domácu úlohu.

    I have to do my homework.

    The á in domáci is long, so the rhythmic law gives -u instead of -iu.

  5. Ďalší autobus ide o desať minút.

    The next bus leaves in ten minutes.

    Ďalší is a soft adjective meaning next or another.

  6. Dám si horúci čaj.

    I'll have a hot tea.

    Horúci keeps a short -i because the ú before it is long.

Common Mistakes

  • Using hard pekný endings on a soft adjective.

    Je to cudzá krajina.
    Je to cudzia krajina.

    Cudzí is soft, so its feminine ending is -ia, not -á.

  • Forgetting the rhythmic law after a long syllable.

    Nemám domáciu úlohu.
    Nemám domácu úlohu.

    The á in domáci is long, so the next syllable must be short: domácu, not domáciu.

  • Using -ím in the locative.

    Býva v cudzím meste.
    Býva v cudzom meste.

    The locative ending is -om, as in v peknom meste. The ending -ím is the instrumental, as in s cudzím človekom.

How It Connects

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Soft Adjectives Like cudzíLevel 2

Learn This First

Before Soft Adjectives Like cudzí, learn Hard Adjectives Like pekný. Soft adjectives follow pekný with soft endings.

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