Hi! I have been to Prague several times now and I'm trying to learn the basics of Czech and some colloquial expressions. I know two ways to ask "how are you?": "Jak se vede" and "Jak se mas" What is the difference between the two? I know the latter means something like "how do you have it yourself?" but what does "Jak se vede" exactly mean? Is "vede" a verb? Is one more informal than the other? The Czech language is really intriguing! I wish I could learn a little more so I can practise it in Prague next time I'm there!
Hi Lorenzo, "Jak se mas?" is the more neutral expression and is used more often than "Jak se vede?". The verb "vede" is the 3rd person singular of "vest", which means "to lead, to conduct". It's hard to translate the expression literally. It means something like "How is it going?" and is a little more informal than "Jak se mas?".
2 Silverkinguk: I have to add one thing to Dana's explanation: we use it (regardles which version) far less often then the Americans for example. We only use it if we really care, when asking friends or so. You will never hear that question from shop asistant for example.