Nelíbí

Nelíbí is the third-person singular present tense form of the Czech verb líbit se in its negative construction, meaning that something does not please or does not seem agreeable to someone. In Czech, líbit se describes what is pleasing to a person, and its negation nelíbí se is used to express disapproval or lack of appeal. The construction typically involves a dative pronoun indicating who feels pleased or displeased, for example: se mi nelíbí, se ti nelíbí, se mu nelíbí.

Grammar and usage notes: The usual word order places the thing that is not pleasing as the subject or topic of the sentence with the experiencer expressed in the dative. Common phrases include To se mi nelíbí (I don’t like that), Ta změna se mi nelíbí (I don’t like that change), and Nelíbí se mi, že… (I don’t like that…). The verb can describe opinions about actions, plans, appearances, or proposals and is frequently used in everyday speech to express disagreement or dissatisfaction.

Etymology: Líbit se comes from Proto-Slavic *líbiti*, meaning “to be pleasing,” and is cognate with similar Slavic verbs in related languages. The negative form nelíbí se is created with the prefix ne- meaning negation.

Related forms: The positive counterpart líbí se expresses that something is pleasing, and the adjective líbivý describes something as likable. The construction with se and a dative pronoun is characteristic of this verb.

See also: líbit se, líbivý.