# All Slavic languages: říci, reći, reči, etc.



## bibax

MOD EDIT: Moved from HERE to enable English-language discussion of this verb in other Slavic languages.

If you are interested the Czech present forms of říci (= reći) are:

indicative: řku, řčeš, řče, řčeme, řčete, řkou;
imperative: rci, rceme, rcete!
transgressive: řka, řkouc, řkouce;

However these forms are archaic. You can hear them for example in the puppet theater ("Rci mi, Kašpárku, ...").

Nowadays the present forms of říci are replaced by the forms of the verb *řeknouti (the infinitive is not in use):

řeknu, řekneš, řekne, řekneme, řeknete, řeknou;
řekni, řekněme, řekněte!

Strictly speaking říci (reći) and řeknu (reknem) are different verbs (with the same root, of course).

Other forms (still in use):

past participle: řekl, řekla, ...;
passive participle: řečen, řečena, ...;
past transgressive: řek, řekši, řekše;


----------



## Azori

The verb *riecť* / *rieknuť* is literary in Slovak and it's rarely used in spoken language. I'm not even sure how it conjugates.


----------



## TriglavNationalPark

Slovenian

Infinitive: *reči
*
Indicative:

rečem (1st pers. sing.)
rečeš (2nd person sing.)
reče (3rd person sing.)
rečeva (1st person dual)
rečeta (2nd person dual)
rečeta (3rd person dual)
rečemo (1st person plural)
rečete (2nd person plural)
rečejo (3rd person plural)

Imperative: reci, recimo, recite (_dual forms_: reciva, recita)

L-participle (sing.): rekel, rekla, reklo


----------



## ahvalj

Russian (outdated)

Infinitive: речь
Present: реку, речёшь, речёт, речём, речёте, рекут
Imperative: реки, реките
Past: рёк, рекла, рекло, рекли
Present Active Participle: рекущий
Past Active Participle: рёкший/рекший
Present Passive Participle: рекомый
Past Passive Participle: (из-)речён, (из-)речённый


----------



## Arath

Here's the conjugation of *река* in Bulgarian: http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/река#Conjugation

It's kind of old fashioned, I wouldn't say archaic, people recognize it, know how to conjugate it, but it's not normally used in the modern spoken language (it is substituted by *кажа*). Old people do use it.

However, it is used in certain set phrases like "*да речем*" (let's say, for example), *речено-сторено* (no sooner said than done), *това ще рече* (that is to say), *кажи-речи* (almost), *ако е рекъл Господ* (God willing, if all goes well), *ако е речено* (if it is to be), or after a character's lines in prose.

 It's derivatives: *изрека* (to pronounce, to utter), *нарека* (to call, to name), *отрека* (to deny), *обрека* (to doom, to condemn), *предрека* (to predict) are regularly used.


----------



## marco_2

In Polish this verb (*rzec*) is a bit archaic and not all its forms are used nowadays and probably not all Polish people even know them!_Present:  ja rzekę, ty rzeczesz, on / ona / ono rzecze, my rzeczemy, wy rzeczecie, oni / one rzeką                                                                                           Future: ja rzeknę, ty rzekniesz, on / ona / ono rzeknie, my rzekniemy, wy rzekniecie, oni / one rzekną                                                                 Imperative: rzeknij!  rzeknijcie!                                                                         _


----------



## bibax

In fact *rzekę* is a form of the verb *rzec* and *rzeknij!, rzeknę* are forms of different verb *rzeknąć*.


----------



## marco_2

You are absolutely right, for in Polish we don't have the exact equivalent of the Czech *řikat.*


----------



## Istriano

In Croatian _reći _is not used much in the present tense (it is practically a defective verb), the verb _kazati _is used instead, and _velim _(this verb has only present and not any other forms, not even infinitive or imperative).
These are the present forms for *to say *in present in Western Croatian:

rečem, kažem, velim (velin)
rečeš, kažeš, veliš
reče, kaže, veli

rečemo, kažemo, velimo
rečete, kažete, velite
*0*, kažu, vele (velidu)
_
Kaj da ti velim?_
_Ča da ti velin?  _(I hear this here in Novigrad all the time).
_Što da ti kažem/rečem?_
_Šta da ti kažem/rečem/velim?_

(Present with rekn- stem  is extremely rural: _reknem, rekneš, rekne, reknemo, reknete, reknu_...*Reknu *form is so Southern/rural, it cannot compensate for the obsolesce of the form _reku _(3rd pr Pl) of _reći_).

In all other forms the verb is normally used (or it competes with _kazati_).
In the expression *so to say / digamos /digámoslo*, it is used exclusively _*recimo *_


----------



## vianie

lior neith said:


> I'm not even sure how it conjugates.



Where's the problem?

riecť - rečiem, rečieš, rečie, rečieme, rečiete, rečú - riekol
riekať - riekam, riekaš, rieka, riekame, riekate, riekajú - riekal
rieknuť - rieknem, riekneš, riekne, riekneme, rieknete, rieknu - riekol


----------



## bibax

> Where's the problem?
> 
> riecť - rečiem, rečieš, rečie, rečieme, rečiete, rečú - riekol


And imperative? Reci, reči?


----------



## Istriano

*Ispeci pa reci.*
(Bake it before, and say it afterwards).
Look before you leap.
_семь раз отмерь                                                                                        _/ Не зная броду, не суйся в воду


----------



## jazyk

> _семь раз отмерь                                                                                        _/


This reminds me of Czech _dvakrát měř, jednou řež _(measure it twice, cut it once).


----------



## vianie

bibax said:


> And imperative? Reci, reči?



riecť - rec!
riekať - riekaj!
rieknuť - riekni!


----------



## ilocas2

marco_2 said:


> You are absolutely right, for in Polish we don't have the exact equivalent of the Czech *řikat.*



it's *říkat* - with long í


----------



## čo bolí to prebolí

> it's *říkat* - with long í



Hi, I hear frequently word říkat with short i.


----------



## ilocas2

> Hi, I hear frequently word říkat with short i.



You are right, word říkat is often pronounced with short i in colloquial Czech.


----------



## Panceltic

Adding some additional forms in Slovenian:

3rd person plural indicative can be either *rečejo* or (more archaic) *reko*
Passive past participle: *rečen*, *rečena*, *rečeno*
Present verbal adverb: *rekoč*
Past verbal adverb: *rekši* (very archaic)

The imperfective pair of *reči* is *rekati*, but it is virtually unused, we use *govoriti* or *povedati* instead.


----------



## Милан

Serbian: рећи (reći), not used much in the present tense
Sing.                                 Plural
1. рекнем  (reknem)            рекнемо (reknemo)
2. рекнеш   (rekneš)           рекнете (reknete)
3. рекне    (rekne)              рекну (reknu)

or

1. речем  (rečem)            речемо (rečemo)
2. речеш   (rečeš)           речете (rečete)
3. рече    (reče)              реку (reku)


Imperative
not used
1.                                рекнимо (reknimo)
2. рекни (rekni)              рекните (reknite)

or

used
1.                                рецимо (recimo)
2. реци (reci)                реците (recite)

()
Aorist is used a lot

1. рекох (rekoh)                     рекосмо(rekosmo)
2. рече (reče)                        рекосте(rekoste)
3. рече (reče)                        рекоше(rekoše)

So is active past participle and passive past participle
рекао(rekao), рекла(rekla), рекло(reklo), рекли(rekli), рекле(rekle), рекла(rekla)
речен(rečen), речена(rečena), речено(rečeno), речени(rečeni), речене(rečene), речена(rečena)

and Future Tense also is used
рећи ћу(reći ću), рећи ћеш(reći ćeš), рећи ће(reći će), рећи ћемо(reći ćemo), рећи ћете(reći ćete), рећи ће(reći će)

+Past verbal adverb: рeкавши(rekavši)


----------

