5 Czech phrases to save you an awkward moment at the company party

You can study Czech for years, but your first company party can still catch you off guard. The grammar isn’t even the hard part, it’s the little localisms and “street Czech” that can only come from being born here – like the phrase for a meeting point everyone else seems to recognize, the beer order that sounds suspiciously like milk, and the instructions that accompany a simple toast.

Whether this is your first company party in Czechia or you’ve been tongue-tied for the last few, this year, impress your colleagues with some local lingo. With experience hosting large groups for everything from beer-pouring lessons to company dinners, the team at Pilsner Urquell: The Original Beer Experience offers an introduction to Czech party vocabulary.

Start with these five expressions you might hear this season, then put those opportunities to put them to the test when the time comes.

Your first challenge arrives before the party begins. Václavák is the familiar Czech name for Wenceslas Square, and “at the bottom” means the end around Můstek. If you need a landmark, nearby stands an Art Nouveau building from 1902, originally built for the Prague Credit Bank. Today this 3,500-square-meter space is home to Pilsner Urquell Experience, where instead of bankers, certified tapsters now roam the floors.

“Back in the day, this building was all about deposits and loans,” says Lidija Kovařík, CEO of the experience center. “Today, teams come here to invest in something else: quality time together, which is often missing in the daily work rush.”

If you’re standing by the National Museum, you have a walk ahead of you, to “meet at the bottom of Wenceslas Square.”

Yes, mlíko means milk. No, your colleague hasn’t changed the drinks order. “Will you have a hladinka, šnyt, or mlíko?” are choices are often a complete mystery to a newcomer, but second nature to a local.

The names describe three ways of pouring Czech lager. A hladinka is the classic pour with a thick head of foam. A šnyt is a smaller serving with generous foam, while mlíko is almost entirely wet beer foam.

At the Tapster Academy (Škola čepování), everyone on the team can learn to decode the secrets of the Czech tap. “It’s a part of the evening where no one needs a translator,” adds Barbora Bolková, event director. “We often host international teams with ten different nationalities at a single table. You just watch, try it yourself, and have fun together.”

Knowing your beer order doesn’t automatically mean you can pour it, so this experience gives even confident regulars something to practice.

You remembered the words. Now remember to look up.

“Cheers! And look me in the eye” takes on a whole new meaning in Czechia, and making eye contact when clinking glasses is a Czech custom your colleagues may remind you about. Na zdraví literally means “to your health,” and a company party gives you plenty of opportunities to get comfortable saying it.

For anyone with questions about what’s in the glass, The Original Tour explores brewing ingredients, processes and the importance of foam through an interactive experience that includes a 360-degree game hall and finishes in the Beer Hall.

The tour takes 60–90 minutes and is available in 11 languages. Soft drinks are offered as an alternative to beer, so ordering a pilsner isn’t a requirement for joining in.

You may have learned “Ještě jedno” to order another beer. Listen for that extra word before enthusiastically agreeing. This time, someone is offering more food, because “one more course?” surely won’t hurt during the holidays.

Skip the wine and go for a Beer Sommelier Dinner, where an expert pairs a different beer with each course and tells its story. The program can be tailor-made, and teams can combine dinner with the Tapster Academy or enjoy an informal evening at the bar.

The sentence every event organizer wants to hear, especially from the colleague who initially asked whether attendance was compulsory. It also applies to the new international transplant who has made the most of their first Czech company party experience and is happy to say, “We have to do this again.”

If you’re the one doing the planning, the Pilsner Urquell Experience can handle everything in one place, from food and fresh tank beer to a customized program. The venue is able to host an intimate evening for 12 people or a larger company party for up to 350 guests, but the best part is that the person organizing the evening gets a chance to enjoy it, too.

This quality is backed by global recognition: the venue holds the prestigious title of the World's Leading Beer Tour Visitor Experience 2025, officially making it one of the best beer experiences on the planet.

Now you know the five phrases. The sixth is usually heard at the very end of the night: "To stálo za to" (That was worth it). And in a building where money was once counted, that carries a special kind of weight.