za-

See also: Appendix:Variations of "za"

Czech

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *za-. Prefixed form of the preposition za.

Prefix

za-

1. behind, off (out of the field of vision) (used with the preposition za)

   ‎za- + ‎jít → ‎zajít

   Zašel za strom. ― He went behind a tree.

   Slunce zašlo za mraky. ― The sun went behind the clouds.

2. turn aside into, get into

   ‎za- + ‎hnout → ‎zahnout

   ‎za- + ‎bodnout → ‎zabodnout

   ‎za- + ‎milovat (“to love”) → ‎zamilovat se (“fall in love”)

   Nikdy se nechci zamilovat. ― I never want to fall in love.

3. covering by carrying out another activity, cover over, block

   ‎za- + ‎krýt → ‎zakrýt

   ‎za- + ‎balit → ‎zabalit

   ‎za- + ‎růst → ‎zarůst

   ‎za- + ‎malovat → ‎zamalovat

   ‎za- + ‎stínit → ‎zastínit

   Ulice se zalidnily. ― The street got crowded.

4. activity carried out with pleasure (with reflexive si)

   ‎za- + ‎plavat → ‎zaplavat si

   Chci si jít zaplavat. ― I want to go for a swim.

   ‎za- + ‎tančit → ‎zatančit si

   ‎za- + ‎kouřit → ‎zakouřit si

5. immerse in, full devotion to an activity

   ‎za- + ‎poslouchat → ‎zaposlouchat se

   Zaposlouchal se do hudby. ― He immersed himself in the music.

   ‎za- + ‎číst → ‎začíst se

   ‎za- + ‎myslet → ‎zamyslet se

   Nad otázkou se hluboce zamyslel. ― He thought deeply about the question.

6. put away, lose, destroy

   ‎za- + ‎hodit → ‎zahodit

   ‎za- + ‎bít → ‎zabít

   ‎za- + ‎střelit → ‎zastřelit

   ‎za- + ‎dýchat (“to breathe”) → ‎zadýchat se (“to get out of breath”)

   Zadýchám se, když běžím nahoru po schodech. ― I get winded when I run up the stairs.

7. instead of, in place of

   ‎za- + ‎stoupit → ‎zastoupit

   ‎za- + ‎měnit (“to change”) → ‎zaměnit (“to mix up, to swap”)

   Jo, je dobré to trochu zaměnit. ― Yeah, it's good to mix it up.

8. (inchoative usage) to begin (not a common usage)

   ‎za- + ‎topit → ‎zatopit

   ‎za- + ‎pálit → ‎zapálit

9. saturation
10. forms adjectives referring to places

    Zakarpatsko (“Transcarpathia”)

    Zakavkazsko (“Transcaucasia”)

Derived terms

Czech terms prefixed with za-

Derived terms

• zabudovat
• začarovat
• zadrhnout
• zahrát
• zaklít
• zakročit
• zalyžovat
• zamávat
• zamluvit
• zamočit
• zamořit
• zamračit
• zamýšlet
• zanést
• zanořit
• zaplavat
• zapojit
• zasklít
• zaskočit
• zaslat
• zasunout
• zazimovat

Further reading

• za-/zá- in Slovník afixů užívaných v češtině, 2017

Northern Ndebele

Etymology

From Proto-Bantu *jíá-.

Prefix

za-

1. of; class 8 possessive concord.
2. of; class 10 possessive concord.

Old Polish

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *za-.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (10^th–15^th CE) /za/
• IPA^(key): (15^th CE) /za/

Prefix

za-

1. derives verbs of various meanings

   ‎za- + ‎ślepy → ‎zaślepić

Derived terms

Old Polish terms prefixed with za-

Descendants

• Polish: za-

Polish

Etymology

Inherited from Old Polish za-, from Proto-Slavic *za-.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /za/

Prefix

za-

1. forms perfective semelfactive verbs, usually indicating a thorough or irreversible action

   ‎za- + ‎kryć → ‎zakryć

Derived terms

Polish terms prefixed with za-

Further reading

• za- in Polish dictionaries at PWN

Serbo-Croatian

Etymology

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Prefix

za- (Cyrillic spelling за-)

1. Prefix prepended to adjectives to create an adjective denoting a finished action.

Derived terms

Serbo-Croatian terms prefixed with za-

Slovene

Etymology

From Proto-Slavic *za-. Prefixed form of the preposition za.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /za-/

Prefix

za-

1. Forms perfective verbs with the following meanings:
   1. (no change in meaning)

      ‎za- + ‎čutīti (“to feel”) → ‎začutīti (“to feel”)

   2. moving behind

      ‎za- + ‎īti (“to go”) → ‎zaíti (“to set (of the sun)”)

   3. moving into

      ‎za- + ‎brésti (“to wade”) → ‎zabrésti (“to wade into”)

   4. to begin, to start (inchoative)

      ‎za- + ‎díhati (“to breathe”) → ‎zadíhati (“to start to breathe”)

   5. in error, to a loss

      ‎za- + ‎īti (“to go”) → ‎zaíti (“to go astray”)

      ‎za- + ‎kọ̑ckati (“to play dice”) → ‎zakọ̑ckati (“to gamble away”)

   6. (reflexive) for a long time, too long

      ‎za- + ‎govorīti (“to speak”) → ‎zagovorīti (“to talk for a long time/too long”)

   7. to cover, to fill

      ‎za- + ‎mésti (“to snow”) → ‎zamésti (“to snow in, to cover in snow”)

Derived terms

Slovene terms prefixed with za-

Southern Ndebele

Etymology

From Proto-Bantu *jíá-.

Prefix

za-

1. of; class 8 possessive concord.
2. of; class 10 possessive concord.

Swahili

Prefix

za-

1. Contraction of zi- + -a- (“n class_(X) gnomic”).

Xhosa

Etymology

From Proto-Bantu *jíá-.

Prefix

za-

1. of; class 8 possessive concord.
2. of; class 10 possessive concord.

Zulu

Etymology

From Proto-Bantu *jíá-.

Prefix

za-

1. of; class 8 possessive concord.
2. of; class 10 possessive concord.

References

• C. M. Doke, B. W. Vilakazi (1972) “za-”, in Zulu-English Dictionary, →ISBN: “za-”