This was taken from another post. I began a new post to avoid getting the previous off topic. Hmmm, so what exactly does mají je rádi mean? To me, it translates as "they have is they like". So parents say that exactly to children and it means, "I love you"? Sheeww, that's confusing. Perhaps parents telling their children they love them has changed over the years or perhaps my husband's family just didn't do it. My husband told me that family members don't tell each other they love each other like we do in the States. I say it to my kids every day. I also say it to my parents and they to me at the end of phone conversations or at the conclusion of a visit. I also say it to my kids each night when I hug & kiss them goodnight. They are 16 & 15 and it will continue until they move out. I don't doubt that my family is much different from most American families. What about Czech parents? Do they do this?
Hi dzurisova This is the way I have come to look at that. Milovat....is a romantic love Mám někoho rád...is to love, or really like, without the romantic connotation.. In english, our word love, seems to cover all the meanings of affection. Romantic love, brotherly love, parental love... but, I think Mám svoje ditě rád.....can easily be translated to the english ...I love my child. Just an american view.
I think the construct "Máme je rádi" is not dissimilar to constructs such as "Rád čtu." Literally, perhaps, you could translate the latter as "I gladly read/I am glad reading," or less literally "I like to read/I enjoy reading." So going back to the original "Máme je rádi," I guess from a literal perspective, it might mean, "We gladly have them" or perhaps somewhat less literally, "We are glad/happy to have them." Somehow, however, although these translations seem accurate from a literal standpoint, I think the intensity of "Mám rád" is not conveyed well by the word "glad." I think "I love you" conveys the intensity of the phrase better.
sova, i've always had the impression, that "glad" is pretty much the same as "grateful". have i been wrong? anyway the sentence "i gladly read." sounds _very_ odd to me.
"Glad" is usually meant as happy, although perhaps not quite the same intensity of feeling. It can have a connotation of "grateful" in certain circumstances, e.g. "I'm glad you were here to help," but the primary meaning is "happy."
I get that, but my question is, do most czech parents tell their children they love them often? Or even ever.
They learn to do it, nowadays much more than in the past. It depends much on the family customs. In some families you can hear it every day, in some never. The problem with what we call as big words ("velká slova") as "milovat" (to love) etc. is, that frequently used they lose much of their magic. If you hear "miluji tě" every day, then it's nothing special. If you hear it once in your life, it must be something really important. 8)
I find it difficult to imagine saying to my parents "I really like you" ! But obviously the direct translation doesn't mean the same thing! I know that the feelings behind the words are what shape their meaning.
