Hlubý

Hlubý is an adjective used in Czech and Slovak to express the quality of being deep. It can describe physical depth as well as figurative or abstract depth, such as a deep meaning or a deep feeling.

In everyday use, hlubý can modify a wide range of nouns. For physical depth, phrases refer to how far something extends—from a hole to a valley or a body of water. In figurative language, it describes profundity, for example a deep meaning, a deep thought, or deep emotion. The word often participates in standard comparative and superlative forms, such as deeper and deepest, though the exact forms follow language-specific patterns (for example Czech and Slovak have their own regular inflections for masculine, feminine, and neuter genders).

The base concept is connected to related nouns and adverbs. A noun such as hlubina denotes depth or abyss, while the adverb hloubě or hlouboko denotes doing something deeply or profoundly. The term is frequently contrasted with mělký, meaning shallow or superficial.

Etymologically, hlubý and its cognates derive from a common Slavic root (often reconceived as glub- in Proto-Slavic), with parallel forms in other Slavic languages such as Russian glubokiy, Polish głęboki, and Ukrainian hluboky, all sharing the sense of depth.

See also: mělký, hlubina, hloubka.