hladinou

Hladinou is the instrumental singular form of the Czech noun hladina, which means the level or surface of a liquid, most commonly water, but also used in a broader sense to denote a level or height. The word can refer to the surface of a body of water, the depth of a liquid, or figuratively to a standard or level of achievement.

Usage and style

In modern Czech, hladinou is primarily found in technical, scientific, or formal prose. It expresses the means or instrument by which an action is performed or the reference level used in measurements. In everyday speech, speakers more often use constructions based on hladina with prepositions or possessives, such as podle hladiny (according to the level) or výška hladiny (the height of the level). The instrumental form hladinou thus appears mainly in specialized contexts or in fixed expressions.

Etymology and morphology

Hladina is a feminine noun formed with the common Slavic noun-derivation suffix -ina and refers to a surface, level, or depth. Its instrumental singular, hladinou, is used to denote the instrument or means related to the noun in question. The word has a standard Czech declension pattern for feminine nouns ending in -ina, with instrumental singular ending in -ou and locative in -ě.

See also

Hladina, the base noun; hladinový, an adjective relating to water level or level measurement; measurements and hydrology terminology in Czech.