Slovak words for ugly often have supernatural overtones. (source: Jo Stolp on Pixabay)
Moved by a piece in this newspaper some time ago extolling the virtues of korzovanie, or strolling around the city at dusk, my wife and I threw a tablecloth over the TV and started visiting downtown Bratislava in the early evening (podvečer).
While this may seem an innocuous pastime, it can actually be extremely dangerous if your partner catches you goggling at all the human beauty (ľudská krása) on display in the city streets.
Since I'm not bucking for a black eye, I won't speculate on why Slovak women seem so alluring (vábivý) or provocative (vyzývavý), but rather offer readers a vocabulary with which to express their own appreciation.
The basic terms you'll need are pekná (pretty, or pekný, handsome) and krásna (beautiful, or krásny for men). Pekná, as common adjectives tend to do, has many other applications, such as pekný kus roboty, a good deal of work. Kus, or piece, can in turn be applied to beauty, such as kus chlapa, a hunk of a man.
