# To jest / To je



## Odriski

Hi, is "To jest..." an old saying of "To je..."? I thought jest was just an Polish word, until last night I saw some used "To jest..." to express "that is" in Czech. Is that an old saying of "To je" or not? If not, what is the different between "To je..." and "To jest..."?

Many Thanks


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## Hrdlodus

Yes, it is.
It is not wrong, but isn't used often. So it sounds archaic and interesting.


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## Odriski

Thank you, good!


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## Apollodoros

Just a remark here. When there is the abbreviation 't. j.' (corresponds to English/Latin i. e. = id est = that is) in a written text that is being read loudly or even in a speech where there is no written text, it is almost always pronounced 'to jest' as opposed to 'to je'. The reason for this being probably that it is a highly formalized and frequently used expression.


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## bibax

Another remark.

In Czech the abbreviation (zkratka) is *tj.* 

In Slovak the abbreviation (skratka) is *t. j. *(AFAIK there is a space).

Both abbreviations mean the same: 'to jest' (= id est).


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## Hrdlodus

Next remark:

TJ means _tělovýchovná jednota_. (Something like _gymnastics club_.)


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## Tchesko

Hrdlodus said:


> So it sounds archaic [...].



I've been trying to find when _jest_ started to be considered as archaic but couldn't find any precise reference.
However, this source from 1920 considers both forms as correct but _jest _as slightly archaic.


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