Catalog / Czech Language Basics Cheatsheet

Czech Language Basics Cheatsheet

A quick reference guide to the fundamental aspects of the Czech language, designed to help beginners grasp essential grammar, vocabulary, and pronunciation rules.

Pronunciation and Basic Phrases

Czech Alphabet & Pronunciation

Czech uses a Latin alphabet with added diacritics (accents) to represent unique sounds.

  • áčéíóúý - vowels with acute accent (á = ah, é = eh, í = ee, ó = oh, ú/ý = oo)
  • ěňšťž - consonants with háček (caron) (š = sh, č = ch, ř = a unique sound)
  • ů - also represents /uː/ sound.
  • Dě, tě, ně - Softened consonants.

Czech is largely phonetic; most letters have consistent pronunciations.

The letter ‘ř’ is a unique sound, similar to a voiced fricative trill.

Basic Greetings

Ahoj!

Hi! (Informal)

Dobrý den!

Good day! (Formal)

Dobré ráno!

Good morning!

Dobrý večer!

Good evening!

Na shledanou!

Goodbye!

Essential Phrases

Prosím.

Please / You’re welcome

Děkuji.

Thank you.

Promiňte.

Excuse me.

Jak se máš? (Informal) / Jak se máte? (Formal)

How are you?

Mám se dobře.

I’m fine.

Ano.

Yes.

Ne.

No.

Basic Grammar

Nouns and Genders

Czech nouns have three genders: masculine, feminine, and neuter. This affects adjective and verb agreement.

  • Masculine (Mužský rod)
  • Feminine (Ženský rod)
  • Neuter (Střední rod)

Nouns change their endings depending on their grammatical case (nominative, genitive, dative, accusative, vocative, locative, instrumental).

Pronouns

I

ty

You (Informal)

on

He

ona

She

ono

It

my

We

vy

You (Plural/Formal)

oni/ony

They (Masculine/Feminine or Neuter)

Verb Conjugation (Present Tense - 'být' - to be)

já jsem

I am

ty jsi

You are (Informal)

on/ona/ono je

He/She/It is

my jsme

We are

vy jste

You are (Plural/Formal)

oni/ony jsou

They are

Useful Vocabulary

Basic Nouns

muž

man

žena

woman

dítě

child

voda

water

dům

house

auto

car

kniha

book

město

city

Common Adjectives

dobrý

good

špatný

bad

velký

big

malý

small

nový

new

starý

old

hezký

pretty

Useful Verbs

být

to be

mít

to have

dělat

to do/make

mluvit

to speak

vědět

to know

chtít

to want

jíst

to eat

More Phrases

Asking Questions

Kde je...?

Where is…?

Co je to?

What is that?

Kolik to stojí?

How much does it cost?

Mluvíte anglicky?

Do you speak English?

Jak se řekne ... česky?

How do you say … in Czech?

Days of the Week

Pondělí

Monday

Úterý

Tuesday

Středa

Wednesday

Čtvrtek

Thursday

Pátek

Friday

Sobota

Saturday

Neděle

Sunday

Numbers (1-10)

Jeden

One

Dva

Two

Tři

Three

Čtyři

Four

Pět

Five

Šest

Six

Sedm

Seven

Osm

Eight

Devět

Nine

Deset

Ten