I don’t know about you but personally, I have been perplexed by the word “nenávidieť” (to hate) for the longest time. Here’s why:
In Slovak, we make the opposite of a verb by adding a “ne-“prefix, such as “byť” (to be) and “nebyť” (not to be). But the word hate (positive in English) already starts with a “ne” in Slovak. So is the opposite “ne-nenávidieť” or is it “návidieť”? Do we add one more or do we take it out? No one (I know) knows and no one uses either.
Another similar word we use in the same sense is “neznášať” (not (to be able) to bear (a person)) which is negative, but we also normally use the positive version “znášať” (to bear) as well.
To solve this mystery, I opened up my good ol’ Etymological dictionary to hopefully see the origin of the word. And I was not disappointed!
Apparently, it originates from the word “vidieť” (to see), just like the word “závidieť” (to envy), which is quite obvious now, since it’s literally a part of the word, but I’d never imagined.
Therefore, “ne-“ is really just a prefix and thus, the opposite is “návidieť”. According to the wise dictionary, back in the days, this word was used to describe “looking at someone fondly” while “závidieť” meant “to turn around to look at someone”.
But I may still use “nenenávidieť”, just because it’s such a funny word with a ring to it.
