povahy

Povaha is a Czech feminine noun meaning the nature, temperament, disposition, or essence of a person, animal, or thing. The plural form is povahy. It can refer to stable inner traits that influence behavior, to a person’s character, or to the inherent qualities of an object or phenomenon. In everyday language it appears in phrases such as “měkká povaha” (soft nature) or “povaha člověka” (the character of a person). The plural povahy is used when discussing multiple natures or broad traits, for example “povahy národa” (the character of a nation).

In usage, povaha often emphasizes intrinsic nature or temperament and is generally more neutral or broad than related terms. It is sometimes contrasted with charakter, which tends to carry a stronger moral or evaluative nuance. The concept of povaha overlaps with psychological notions of temperament, but povaha is a general linguistic term used across contexts, including descriptions of both people and things. For inanimate subjects, povaha can describe the nature or properties of materials, processes, or events, as in “povaha materiálu” (the nature of a material).

Povaha is a well-established word in Czech dictionaries and literature and remains common in both formal and informal discourse. It provides a versatile way to express the intrinsic qualities and dispositions that define beings and phenomena.