za-

Czech

Etymology

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

Prefix

za-

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.
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.
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.
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
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.
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.
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.
(inchoative usage) to begin (not a common usage)
‎za- + ‎topit → ‎zatopit

‎za- + ‎pálit → ‎zapálit
saturation
forms adjectives referring to places
Zakarpatsko (“Transcarpathia”)

Zakavkazsko (“Transcaucasia”)

Derived terms

Czech terms prefixed with za-

Northern Ndebele

Etymology

From Proto-Bantu *jíá-.

Prefix

za-

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

Old Polish

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Slavic *za-

Old Polish za-

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *za-.

Pronunciation

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

Prefix

za-

derives verbs of various meanings
‎za- + ‎ślepy → ‎zaślepić

Derived terms

Descendants

Polish: za-

Polish

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Slavic *za-

Old Polish za-

Polish za-

Inherited from Old Polish za-.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /za/
Rhymes: -a
Syllabification: [please specify syllabification manually]

Prefix

za-

forms perfective semelfactive verbs, usually indicating a thorough or irreversible action
‎za- + ‎kryć → ‎zakryć

Derived terms

Polish terms prefixed with za-

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-)

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-

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-

Slovincian

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Slavic *za-

Slovincian za-

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *za-.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /za/

Prefix

za-

forms perfective verbs
‎mjêszkac + ‎za- → ‎zamjêszkac
1. forms perfective verbs with an inchoative meaning
  ‎ochac + ‎za- → ‎zaochac

Southern Ndebele

Etymology

From Proto-Bantu *jíá-.

Prefix

za-

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

Swahili

Prefix

za-

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

Xhosa

Etymology

From Proto-Bantu *jíá-.

Prefix

za-

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

Zulu

Etymology

From Proto-Bantu *jíá-.

Prefix

za-

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

References

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

za-

Czech

Etymology

Prefix

Derived terms

Further reading

Northern Ndebele

Etymology

Prefix

Old Polish

Etymology

Pronunciation

Prefix

Derived terms

Descendants

Polish

Etymology

Pronunciation

Prefix

Derived terms

Further reading

Serbo-Croatian

Etymology

Prefix

Derived terms

Slovene

Etymology

Pronunciation

Prefix

Derived terms

Slovincian

Etymology

Pronunciation

Prefix

Southern Ndebele

Etymology

Prefix

Swahili

Prefix

Xhosa

Etymology

Prefix

Zulu

Etymology

Prefix

References