Tricky Words in this week's OVI

Nature. This is a much trickier word than the Slovak "príroda", because the English meaning is abstract, like the idea of nature, not an area that you can travel through and take photos of. You can be a nature-lover, you can be keen on nature conservation, and you can watch all the nature documentaries you want, but as soon as you go there yourself, or you have a cottage in the middle of it, or you paint pictures of it, you need to use other English words. The normal one is "country" or "countryside", so you can go for a bike ride in the countryside, or you can have a cottage in the country. If the countryside is picturesque, you can stop driving through it and take a photo of the landscape. If the landscape is amazing, then it's called scenery.

Andy's Wordshop

If you think a bit harder, you'll find other words for "príroda" which correspond to the English alternatives. For country(side) there is "vidiek", for landscape there is "krajina", or "krajinka" if it's in a painting, and for scenery there is "scenéria". Don't be satisfied with one English translation of each Slovak word ("príroda je nature a basta!"), but learn at least two English translations for each Slovak word, and vice-versa: two Slovak translations for each English word. "Nature" is not only "príroda" but also "povaha". That also means "character", which in turn also means "písmeno" or "znak". That can also mean "symbol" or "sign", and a road-sign is "značka", but that also means "trade-mark", "make" or "brand" - this can go on and on …