žal

See also: Appendix:Variations of "zal"

Czech

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈʒal]

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -al

Etymology 1

Inherited from Old Czech žal, žěl, from Proto-Slavic *žalь.

Noun

žal m inan

1. grief

Declension

Declension of žal (hard masculine inanimate)

	singular	plural
nominative	žal	žaly
genitive	žalu	žalů
dative	žalu	žalům
accusative	žal	žaly
vocative	žale	žaly
locative	žalu	žalech
instrumental	žalem	žaly

Derived terms

• obžalovat
• zažalovat
• žaloba
• žalobce
• žalost
• žalostný
• žalovat
• žalovník

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Participle

žal

1. masculine singular past active participle of žnout

   Synonym: žnul

Further reading

• “žal”, in Příruční slovník jazyka českého (in Czech), 1935–1957
• “žal”, in Slovník spisovného jazyka českého (in Czech), 1960–1971, 1989
• “žal”, in Internetová jazyková příručka (in Czech), 2008–2026

Old Czech

Alternative forms

• žał (alternative writing)

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *žalь.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (13^th CE) /ˈʒaɫ/
• IPA^(key): (15^th CE) /ˈʒal/

Noun

žal m inan

1. alternative form of žěl

Declension

Declension of žal (hard o-stem)

	singular	dual	plural
nominative	žal	žaly	žali, žalové
genitive	žala, žalu	žalú	žalóv
dative	žalu	žaloma	žalóm
accusative	žal	žaly	žaly
vocative	žale	žaly	žali, žalové
locative	žale, žalu	žalú	žaléch
instrumental	žalem	žaloma	žaly

This table shows the most common forms around the 13th century.

Descendants

• Czech: žal

Further reading

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

Serbo-Croatian

Etymology 1

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *žalь.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ʒâːl/

Noun

žȃl m inan or f (Cyrillic spelling жа̑л)

1. sorrow, grief

Declension

Declension of žal

	singular	plural
nominative	žal	žalovi
genitive	žala	žalova
dative	žalu	žalovima
accusative	žal	žalove
vocative	žale	žalovi
locative	žalu	žalovima
instrumental	žalom	žalovima

Derived terms

• nažalost
• žalost
• žalostan

Further reading

• “žal”, in Hrvatski jezični portal [Croatian language portal] (in Serbo-Croatian), 2006–2026

Etymology 2

Borrowed from Greek γιαλός (gialós). First attested in the 17th century.

Alternative forms

• žálo

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ʒâːl/

Noun

žȃl m inan (Cyrillic spelling жа̑л)

1. strand, beach

Declension

Declension of žal

	singular	plural
nominative	žȃl	žalovi / žali
genitive	žala	žálōvā / žálā
dative	žalu	žalovima / žalima
accusative	žal	žalove / žale
vocative	žale	žalovi / žali
locative	žalu	žalovima / žalima
instrumental	žalom	žalovima / žalima

Further reading

• “žal”, in Hrvatski jezični portal [Croatian language portal] (in Serbo-Croatian), 2006–2026

Slovene

Etymology

From Proto-Slavic *žalь. First attested in the 15th century.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ʒàːl/

Noun

žál m inan

1. (dated) grief, sorrow

   Synonym: žalost

Declension

The diacritics used in this section of the entry are non-tonal. If you are a native tonal speaker, please help by adding the tonal marks.

Masculine inan., hard o-stem
nom. sing.	žál
gen. sing.	žála
	singular	dual	plural
nominative (imenovȃlnik)	žál	žála	žáli
genitive (rodȋlnik)	žála	žálov	žálov
dative (dajȃlnik)	žálu	žáloma	žálom
accusative (tožȋlnik)	žál	žála	žále
locative (mẹ̑stnik)	žálu	žálih	žálih
instrumental (orọ̑dnik)	žálom	žáloma	žáli

Further reading

• “žal”, in Slovarji Inštituta za slovenski jezik Frana Ramovša ZRC SAZU (in Slovene), 2014–2026