Dívka

Dívka is a Czech noun meaning a girl or a young woman. It is used for female children and adolescents, and in some contexts for a young woman who has not yet reached full adulthood. The word is distinct from žena (woman), and in modern usage dívka is more common for younger females and can carry affectionate or informal connotations.

Grammar and usage: Dívka is a feminine, animate noun and is declined like other Czech feminine -ka nouns. Common forms include nominative singular dívka; genitive dívky; dative dívce; accusative dívku; vocative dívko; locative dívce; instrumental dívkou. In plural, forms include nominative dívky; genitive dívek; dative dívkám; accusative dívky; vocative dívky; locative dívkách; instrumental dívkami. The standard counterpart for an adult woman is žena.

Etymology and cognates: The word is a native Czech term with cognates in other Slavic languages, notably Slovak dievča. The precise historical etymology within the Slavic branch is not without debate, but the term has long been established in Czech vocabulary for referring to female youth.

Usage in culture and discourse: In everyday speech, dívka refers to a girl or young woman and is typically used before adulthood, while referring to an adult woman as žena or, in polite contexts, dáma. In literature, media, and colloquial speech, the noun appears frequently to describe female youth, sometimes with regional or stylistic nuance. See also related terms: žena, dívka v různých kontextech.