chyba

Czech

Etymology

Inherited from Old Czech chyba, from Proto-Slavic *xyba.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈxɪba]

• Audio:

  (file)

Noun

chyba f

1. fault
2. mistake, error

   dělat chyby ― to make mistakes

3. (computing) bug, error

Declension

Declension of chyba (hard feminine)

	singular	plural
nominative	chyba	chyby
genitive	chyby	chyb
dative	chybě	chybám
accusative	chybu	chyby
vocative	chybo	chyby
locative	chybě	chybách
instrumental	chybou	chybami

Related terms

• chybit
• chybný
• chybovat
• chybovost
• chybový
• chybující

 

Further reading

• “chyba”, in Příruční slovník jazyka českého (in Czech), 1935-1957
• “chyba”, in Slovník spisovného jazyka českého (in Czech), 1960–1971, 1989
• “chyba”, in Internetová jazyková příručka (in Czech)

Old Czech

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *xyba.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (13^th CE) /ˈxɨba/
• IPA^(key): (15^th CE) /ˈxiba/

Noun

chyba f

1. miss (unsuccessful hit)
2. difference, deviation
3. error, mistake
4. (especially after a negative) doubt

Declension

Declension of chyba (hard a-stem)

	singular	dual	plural
nominative	chyba	chybě	chyby
genitive	chyby	chybú	chyb
dative	chybě	chybama	chybám
accusative	chybu	chybě	chyby
vocative	chybo	chybě	chyby
locative	chybě	chybú	chybách
instrumental	chybú	chybama	chybami

This table shows the most common forms around the 13th century.
See also Appendix:Old Czech nouns and Appendix:Old Czech pronunciation.

Preposition

chyba

1. outside, beside, except

Adverb

chyba

1. around, roughly, about

Interjection

chyba

1. alas

Descendants

• Czech: chyba

References

• Jan Gebauer (1903–1916) “chyba”, in Slovník staročeský (in Czech), Prague: Česká grafická společnost "unie", Česká akademie císaře Františka Josefa pro vědy, slovesnost a umění

Polish

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *xyba. First attested in the 16th century.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈxɘ.ba/
• (Middle Polish) IPA^(key): /ˈxɨ.ba/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɘba
• Syllabification: chy‧ba

Particle

chyba

1. expresses confidence but not certainty; probably; I think, I guess
2. (Middle Polish) delimiting particle; only, just, merely

   Synonyms: jedynie, tylko

Declension

Combined forms of chyba

	singular	plural
1st person	chybam	chybaśmy
2nd person	chybaś	chybaście
3rd person	chyba	chyba

Noun

chyba f

1. (obsolete) error, mistake

   Synonyms: błąd, pomyłka

2. (obsolete) miss, failure
3. (Middle Polish) falsehood; trick, deception

Declension

Declension of chyba

	singular	plural
nominative	chyba	chyby
genitive	chyby	chyb
dative	chybie	chybom
accusative	chybę	chyby
instrumental	chybą	chybami
locative	chybie	chybach
vocative	chybo	chyby

Preposition

chyba

1. (Middle Polish) denotes lack; without; except; barring [with genitive]

Derived terms

conjunction

• chyba że

 

particle

• no chyba

 

Related terms

adjective

• niechybny

 

noun

• uchybienie

 

verbs

• chybić impf
• chybotać impf

 

Trivia

According to Słownik frekwencyjny polszczyzny współczesnej (1990), chyba is one of the most used words in Polish, appearing 13 times in scientific texts, 7 times in news, 50 times in essays, 80 times in fiction, and 143 times in plays, each out of a corpus of 100,000 words, totaling 293 times, making it the 50th most common word in a corpus of 500,000 words.

Further reading

• chyba in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
• chyba in Polish dictionaries at PWN
• Maria Renata Mayenowa, Stanisław Rospond, Witold Taszycki, Stefan Hrabec, Władysław Kuraszkiewicz (2010-2023) “1. chyba”, in Słownik Polszczyzny XVI Wieku [A Dictionary of 16th Century Polish]
• Maria Renata Mayenowa, Stanisław Rospond, Witold Taszycki, Stefan Hrabec, Władysław Kuraszkiewicz (2010-2023) “2. chyba”, in Słownik Polszczyzny XVI Wieku [A Dictionary of 16th Century Polish]
• “CHYBA”, in Elektroniczny Słownik Języka Polskiego XVII i XVIII Wieku [Electronic Dictionary of the Polish Language of the XVII and XVIII Century], 03.01.2012
• Samuel Bogumił Linde (1807–1814) “chyba”, in Słownik języka polskiego
• Aleksander Zdanowicz (1861) “chyba”, in Słownik języka polskiego, Wilno 1861
• J. Karłowicz, A. Kryński, W. Niedźwiedzki, editors (1900), “chyba”, in Słownik języka polskiego (in Polish), volume 1, Warsaw, page 311
• Bańkowski, Andrzej (2000) “chyba I-V”, in Etymologiczny słownik języka polskiego [Etymological Dictionary of the Polish Language] (in Polish)
• Wanda Decyk-Zięba, editor (2018-2022), “chyba”, in Dydaktyczny Słownik Etymologiczno-historyczny Języka Polskiego [A Didactic, Historical, Etymological Dictionary of the Polish Language] (in Polish), →ISBN

Silesian

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *xyba.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈxɪba/
• Rhymes: -ɪba
• Syllabification: chy‧ba

Particle

chyba

1. expresses confidence but not certainty; probably; I think, I guess
2. introduces a rhetorical question; I should think

Noun

chyba f

1. mistake, error

   Synonyms: brak, defekt, feler, gana, skaza, wada

Declension

Declension of chyba

	singular	plural
nominative	—	—
genitive	—	—
dative	—	—
accusative	—	—
instrumental	—	—
locative	—	—
vocative	—	—

Related terms

adjective

• chybki

 

verbs

• chybić impf

 

Further reading

• chyba in silling.org

Slovak

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *xyba.

Noun

chyba f

1. fault
2. mistake, error
3. (computing) bug, error

Declension

Declension of chyba

	singular	plural
nominative	chyba	chyby
genitive	chyby	chýb
dative	chybe	chybám
accusative	chybu	chyby
locative	chybe	chybách
instrumental	chybou	chybami

Further reading

• “chyba”, in Slovníkový portál Jazykovedného ústavu Ľ. Štúra SAV [Dictionary portal of the Ľ. Štúr Institute of Linguistics, Slovak Academy of Science] (in Slovak), https://slovnik.juls.savba.sk, 2024