zabiť

See also: zabit and zabít

Slovak

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *gʰe?

Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰō

Proto-Balto-Slavic *źō

Proto-Slavic *za

Proto-Slavic *za-

Old Slovak za-

Slovak za-

Proto-Indo-European *bʰeyh₂-

Proto-Balto-Slavic *bī́ˀtei

Proto-Slavic *bìti

Slovak biť

Slovak zabiť

From za- + biť.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /zabic/, [ˈzabic]
• Rhymes: -abic
• Hyphenation: za‧biť

Verb

zabiť pf (imperfective zabíjať)

1. (transitive) to kill, to murder, to slay (to deprive a person of life violently or by accident)

   Synonyms: usmrtiť, zavraždiť

   spí, akoby ho zabil ― to sleep like a log (literally, “he sleeps as if someone killed him”)

   čo by si ma zabil ― not for the life of me (literally, “even if you should kill me”)

   bodaj ho hrom zabil! ― curse him! (literally, “may the lightning kill him!”)

   Počas silnej búrky ho v lese nešťastne zabil padajúci strom. ― A falling tree unfortunately killed him in the forest during a strong storm.

2. (transitive) to slaughter, to kill (to kill an animal or insect by any means)

   Synonyms: zarezať, utratiť

   zabiť dve muchy jednou ranou ― to kill two birds with one stone (literally, “to kill two flies with one blow”)

   zabiť capa ― to make a blunder (literally, “to kill a billy goat”)

   Mäsiar na jeseň v dedine zabil niekoľko vykŕmených ošípaných. ― The butcher slaughtered several fattened pigs in the village in autumn.

3. (transitive, colloquial) to break, to smash (to break objects like glass, plates, or eggs)

   Synonyms: rozbiť, roztĺcť

   Daj pozor na tie poháre, aby si ich na tej tvrdej dlažbe všetky nezabil. ― Be careful with those glasses so you don't break them all on that hard floor.

4. (transitive, expressive) to kill, to waste (to spend time uselessly or to suppress feelings and boredom)

   Synonyms: premárniť, premrhať

   Namiesto učenia len zabil v meste celý deň. ― Instead of studying, he just killed the whole day in town.

5. (transitive) to dispel, to quench, to satisfy (to overcome or suppress feelings like boredom, hunger, or thirst)

   Synonyms: zahnať, potlačiť, rozptýliť, premôcť, zapudiť

   Pustili sme sa do spoločenskej hry, aby sme aspoň trochu zabili nudu. ― We started a board game to dispel the boredom at least a little.

6. (transitive, expressive) to ruin, to damage (to cause failure, loss, or to destroy something physically like bacteria)

   Synonyms: zničiť, znivočiť

   Tých pár eur navyše ma predsa nezabije. ― Those few extra euros won't kill me after all.

7. (transitive, card games, slang) to trump, to beat (to play a higher value card or a trump card) [with accusative and instrumental]

   Synonyms: prebiť, biť

   Súper mi drzo zabil moju desiatku srdcovým esom. ― The opponent insolently trumped my ten with an ace of hearts.

8. (transitive) to drive in, to hammer in (to force something sharp like a nail into a surface)

   Synonyms: vbiť, zatĺcť

   Do tvrdej steny musel opatrne zabiť niekoľko dlhých klincov. ― He had to carefully hammer several long nails into the hard wall.

9. (reflexive with sa) to kill oneself, to be killed (to commit suicide or die accidentally)

   Synonym: usmrtiť

   Mladý vodič sa nešťastne zabil pri náraze do betónového múru. ― The young driver was unfortunately killed in a crash into a concrete wall.

10. (reflexive with sa, colloquial) to break, to shatter (of an object: to be broken upon falling)

    Synonym: rozbiť

    Krásna váza spadla na zem a v momente sa zabila. ― The beautiful vase fell to the ground and shattered instantly.

11. (reflexive with sa) to ruin oneself, to wear oneself out (to suffer great moral or physical harm, often through sacrifice or overwork)

    Synonyms: zničiť, znivočiť

    Úbohá žena sa v tej ťažkej práci úplne zabila, len aby uživila rodinu. ― The poor woman completely wore herself out in that hard job just to support her family.

Conjugation

Conjugation of zabiť (perfective; class IV, pattern žuť)

infinitive			zabiť
indicative		singular			plural
		first	second	third	first	second	third
past	masculine	zabil som	zabil si	zabil	zabili sme	zabili ste	zabili
	feminine	zabila som	zabila si	zabila
	neuter	zabilo som	zabilo si	zabilo
past perfect	masculine	bol som zabil	bol si zabil	bol zabil	boli sme zabili	boli ste zabili	boli zabili
	feminine	bola som zabila	bola si zabila	bola zabila
	neuter	bolo som zabilo	bolo si zabilo	bolo zabilo
future		zabijem	zabiješ	zabije	zabijeme	zabijete	zabijú
conditional		singular			plural
		first	second	third	first	second	third
present	masculine	zabil by som	zabil by si	zabil by	zabili by sme	zabili by ste	zabili by
	feminine	zabila by som	zabila by si	zabila by
	neuter	zabilo by som	zabilo by si	zabilo by
past	masculine	bol by som zabil	bol by si zabil	bol by zabil	boli by sme zabili	boli by ste zabili	boli by zabili
	feminine	bola by som zabila	bola by si zabila	bola by zabila
	neuter	bolo by som zabilo	bolo by si zabilo	bolo by zabilo
imperative		singular			plural
		first	second	third	first	second	third
present		—	zabi	—	zabime	zabite	—
non-finite forms		participles				transgressive	verbal noun
		present active	past active	passive	l-participle
		—	zabivší	zabitý	zabil, zabila, zabilo, zabili	zabijúc	zabitie

Conjugation of zabiť sa (perfective; class IV, pattern žuť)

infinitive			zabiť sa
indicative		singular			plural
		first	second	third	first	second	third
past	masculine	zabil som sa	zabil si sa	zabil sa	zabili sme sa	zabili ste sa	zabili sa
	feminine	zabila som sa	zabila si sa	zabila sa
	neuter	zabilo som sa	zabilo si sa	zabilo sa
past perfect	masculine	bol som sa zabil	bol si sa zabil	bol sa zabil	boli sme sa zabili	boli ste sa zabili	boli sa zabili
	feminine	bola som sa zabila	bola si sa zabila	bola sa zabila
	neuter	bolo som sa zabilo	bolo si sa zabilo	bolo sa zabilo
future		zabijem sa	zabiješ sa	zabije sa	zabijeme sa	zabijete sa	zabijú sa
conditional		singular			plural
		first	second	third	first	second	third
present	masculine	zabil by som sa	zabil by si sa	zabil by sa	zabili by sme sa	zabili by ste sa	zabili by sa
	feminine	zabila by som sa	zabila by si sa	zabila by sa
	neuter	zabilo by som sa	zabilo by si sa	zabilo by sa
past	masculine	bol by som sa zabil	bol by si sa zabil	bol by sa zabil	boli by sme sa zabili	boli by ste sa zabili	boli by sa zabili
	feminine	bola by som sa zabila	bola by si sa zabila	bola by sa zabila
	neuter	bolo by som sa zabilo	bolo by si sa zabilo	bolo by sa zabilo
imperative		singular			plural
		first	second	third	first	second	third
present		—	zabi sa	—	zabime sa	zabite sa	—
non-finite forms		participles				transgressive	verbal noun
		present active	past active	passive	l-participle
		—	zabivší sa	—	zabil sa, zabila sa, zabilo sa, zabili sa	zabijúc sa	zabitie sa

Further reading

• “zabiť”, in Slovníkový portál Jazykovedného ústavu Ľ. Štúra SAV [Dictionary portal of the Ľ. Štúr Institute of Linguistics, Slovak Academy of Science] (in Slovak), https://slovnik.juls.savba.sk, 2003–2026