Tlní

Tlní is a Czech verb meaning to smolder, to burn with a slow, smoky glow rather than a bright flame. It describes a state in which heat is produced without active flames, typically associated with embers, hot coals, or material that continues to burn after the main fire has died down. The term is used for inanimate objects as well as landscapes where a fire persists in the ashes.

In standard usage, tlní is the present-tense form used with third-person singular subjects. It is an intransitive verb, so it generally does not take a direct object. Common contexts describe remaining heat rather than an ongoing blaze, such as embers in a fireplace or coal that still glows.

Usage and nuance notes: tlní often conveys a gradual, persistent warmth and can carry connotations of latent energy or danger, since the glow remains without a visible flame. It contrasts with hořet (to burn with flames) and doutnat (to smolder in a broader sense), which emphasize different stages or intensities of burning.

Noun form and related terms: The noun tlení denotes the process or state of smoldering or, in some senses, decomposition. This word can appear in descriptions of material decay or of persistent heat, depending on context.

Etymology and language family: Tlní is a native Slavic verb used in Czech. Its precise historical origins are not always stated in modern dictionaries, but it belongs to a class of verbs describing slow, flame-free burning. Cognates appear in related South Slavic languages, reflecting a shared semantic field around slow combustion and residual heat.