Hi all, I know that the verb "to meet" can be translated as "potkat" (casual meeting) or "setkat se" and "sejit se" (planned meeting) but I didn't know that "potkat" implies meeting someone you know or you're familiar with. So what's the verb to use when you meet someone for the first time and won't probably see that person again? "Poznat"? How could I translate "I met a man on the bus and he asked me for directions"? Would it be correct to say Poznal jsem muze v autobusu a zeptal se me na smer? though it sounds a little strange to me. I would say Potkal jsem... Lorenzo
HI! First of all I have to say sorry for my bad english, but my czech should be better I hope You can't say "poznat" in the sentence you wrote. You can use "poznat" for example when you meet someone for the first time and you have been introduced to him. "Konečně jsem poznal Tvoji ženu." "I finally know your wife." - You met her and you have been introduced to each other, now you know her. "Potkal jsem muže v autobusu a zeptal jsem se ho na cestu." "I met a man in the bus and I asked him for the way." - You met him, but you probably won't see him ever again. You don't know him. You can say "potkat" also if you meet a person who is somehow relative to you or you know him/her, but only if you met him/her by a chance, not planned. "Potkal jsem svou sestru na letišti, tak jsme zašli na kávu." "I have met my sister at the airport, so we went to have some coffee." Uff Good luck Honza[/i]
You can also say "Setkal jsem se v autobusu s mužem, který se mě zeptal na cestu" - I met a man on the bus who asked me for directions. "Setkat se" can be used both for meeting with someone you know ("setkáme se zítra v pět" - let's meet tomorrow at five; here, you can also say "sejdeme se") and for someone you may or may not see again ("na konferenci jsem se setkal se zajímavou ženou" - I met an interesting woman at the conference).
Thank you Honza and Dana Your examples have helped me a lot. I was a little confused about the whole matter and I was no longer sure about which verb to use after reading in a book that "potkat" implies meeting someone you know or you're familiar with... Anyway, would "Narazit na nekoho" be a good way to render the idea of a causual meeting?
