Czech grammar has a reputation for being hard, but a small core of words does an outsized share of the daily work: pronouns, prepositions, and verbs like být and mít turn up constantly, regardless of case endings. Learn these hundred first and the rest of the language has something solid to hang on. It's not a shortcut, it's just where the leverage is.
How to use this list
Do not work through this list top to bottom. Read down it and mark only the words you could not have produced yourself. Those are your list. The rest are already yours, and reviewing them is wasted effort better spent on words you actually meet in reading, conversation, or subtitles.
The 100 words
| # | Czech | English | In use |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | a | and | Mám kočku a psa.I have a cat and a dog. |
| 2 | v | in | Kniha je v tašce.The book is in the bag. |
| 3 | je | is | Ona je lékařka.She is a doctor. |
| 4 | na | on | Šálek je na stole.The cup is on the table. |
| 5 | se | oneself (reflexive) | On se směje.He is laughing. |
| 6 | že | that (conjunction) | Myslím, že máš pravdu.I think that you are right. |
| 7 | to | that / it | To je moje pero.That is my pen. |
| 8 | s | with | Jdu s bratrem do města.I'm going to town with my brother. |
| 9 | do | into | Jdeme do školy.We are going to school. |
| 10 | ne | no / not | Nerozumím té otázce.I don't understand that question. |
| 11 | za | for / behind | Tohle je dárek za tvoji pomoc.This is a gift for your help. |
| 12 | i | and / also | Byl tam i on.He was there too. |
| 13 | ale | but | Chtěl jsem přijít, ale nemohl jsem.I wanted to come, but I couldn't. |
| 14 | jako | as / like | Pracuje jako učitel.He works as a teacher. |
| 15 | já | I | Já mám rád hudbu.I like music. |
| 16 | ty | you (informal) | Ty jsi můj nejlepší kamarád.You are my best friend. |
| 17 | on | he | On bydlí v Praze.He lives in Prague. |
| 18 | ona | she | Ona čte knihu.She is reading a book. |
| 19 | ono | it | Dítě spí, ono je unavené.The child is sleeping, it is tired. |
| 20 | my | we | My jedeme k moři.We are going to the sea. |
| 21 | vy | you (formal / plural) | Odkud jste vy?Where are you from? |
| 22 | oni | they | Oni hrají fotbal.They play football. |
| 23 | být | to be | Chci být šťastný.I want to be happy. |
| 24 | mít | to have | Mám dvě sestry.I have two sisters. |
| 25 | moci | to be able / can | Můžu ti pomoct?Can I help you? |
| 26 | chtít | to want | Chci se naučit česky.I want to learn Czech. |
| 27 | jít | to go | Musíme jít do práce.We have to go to work. |
| 28 | říct | to say | Chci ti něco říct.I want to tell you something. |
| 29 | vědět | to know | Nevím tu odpověď.I don't know the answer. |
| 30 | vidět | to see | Chci tě zítra vidět.I want to see you tomorrow. |
| 31 | dát | to give | Mohu ti dát radu.I can give you advice. |
| 32 | přijít | to come | Kdy přijdeš domů?When will you come home? |
| 33 | dělat | to do / make | Co děláš dnes večer?What are you doing tonight? |
| 34 | dívat se | to look / watch | Rádi se díváme na filmy.We like watching movies. |
| 35 | myslet | to think | Co si o tom myslíš?What do you think about that? |
| 36 | mluvit | to speak | Mluvím anglicky a česky.I speak English and Czech. |
| 37 | vzít | to take | Můžu si vzít tvoje pero?Can I take your pen? |
| 38 | najít | to find | Nemůžu najít klíče.I can't find my keys. |
| 39 | žít | to live | Chci žít u moře.I want to live by the sea. |
| 40 | tento | this | Tento dům je krásný.This house is beautiful. |
| 41 | ten | that | Ten muž je můj soused.That man is my neighbor. |
| 42 | každý | every | Každý den chodím do školy.Every day I go to school. |
| 43 | který | which / who | To je muž, který mi pomohl.That is the man who helped me. |
| 44 | můj | my | Můj bratr studuje medicínu.My brother studies medicine. |
| 45 | tvůj | your | Jak se jmenuje tvůj pes?What's your dog's name? |
| 46 | jeho | his | Jeho auto je červené.His car is red. |
| 47 | její | her | Její dům je velký.Her house is big. |
| 48 | náš | our | Naše město má dlouhou historii.Our city has a long history. |
| 49 | váš | your (formal / plural) | Váš plán je vynikající.Your plan is excellent. |
| 50 | dobrý | good | Tohle je dobrá restaurace.This is a good restaurant. |
| 51 | špatný | bad | Dnes je špatné počasí.The weather is bad today. |
| 52 | velký | big | Bydlí ve velkém domě.They live in a big house. |
| 53 | malý | small | Máme malého psa.We have a small dog. |
| 54 | nový | new | Koupil jsem si nový telefon.I bought myself a new phone. |
| 55 | starý | old | To je staré město.That is an old town. |
| 56 | krásný | beautiful | Dnes je krásný den.Today is a beautiful day. |
| 57 | dlouhý | long | Byla to dlouhá cesta.It was a long journey. |
| 58 | krátký | short | Napsal jsem krátkou odpověď.I wrote a short answer. |
| 59 | mnoho | many / much | Mám mnoho práce.I have a lot of work. |
| 60 | málo | little / few | Spal jsem včera málo.I slept very little yesterday. |
| 61 | všechno | everything | Všechno je v pořádku.Everything is fine. |
| 62 | někdo | someone | Někdo zaklepal na dveře.Someone knocked on the door. |
| 63 | nic | nothing | Neslyšel jsem nic.I didn't hear anything. |
| 64 | nikdo | nobody | Nikdo nepřišel včas.Nobody came on time. |
| 65 | teď | now | Musím teď jít.I have to go now. |
| 66 | potom | then | Nejdřív se najez, potom jdi spát.First eat, then go to sleep. |
| 67 | tady | here | Bydlím tady už pět let.I've lived here for five years already. |
| 68 | tam | there | Jdi tam a počkej na mě.Go there and wait for me. |
| 69 | kdy | when | Kdy začíná film?When does the movie start? |
| 70 | kde | where | Kde je nejbližší lékárna?Where is the nearest pharmacy? |
| 71 | jak | how | Jak se dnes cítíš?How do you feel today? |
| 72 | proč | why | Proč dnes pláčeš?Why are you crying today? |
| 73 | protože | because | Zůstal jsem doma, protože jsem nemocný.I stayed home because I'm sick. |
| 74 | jestli | if | Jestli bude pršet, zůstaneme doma.If it rains, we'll stay home. |
| 75 | nebo | or | Chceš čaj, nebo kávu?Do you want tea or coffee? |
| 76 | jenom | only | Potřebuji jenom minutu.I only need a minute. |
| 77 | už | already | On už odešel.He has already left. |
| 78 | ještě | still / yet | Ještě čekám na odpověď.I'm still waiting for an answer. |
| 79 | znovu | again | Řekni to prosím znovu.Please say that again. |
| 80 | vždycky | always | Vždycky piju ráno kávu.I always drink coffee in the morning. |
| 81 | nikdy | never | Nikdy jsem nebyl v Paříži.I have never been to Paris. |
| 82 | člověk | person | Ten člověk pracuje v bance.That person works at a bank. |
| 83 | žena | woman | Žena stála u okna.The woman was standing by the window. |
| 84 | dítě | child | Dítě si hraje na hřišti.The child is playing in the playground. |
| 85 | dům | house | Náš dům má velkou zahradu.Our house has a big garden. |
| 86 | den | day | Pracuji každý den kromě neděle.I work every day except Sunday. |
| 87 | noc | night | Ta noc byla klidná.That night was calm. |
| 88 | rok | year | Tento rok byl náročný.This year has been hard. |
| 89 | čas | time | Nemám čas na odpočinek.I don't have time to rest. |
| 90 | život | life | Život je plný překvapení.Life is full of surprises. |
| 91 | svět | world | Chci cestovat po světě.I want to travel around the world. |
| 92 | voda | water | Prosím sklenici vody.A glass of water, please. |
| 93 | jídlo | food | Tohle jídlo je moc dobré.This food is very good. |
| 94 | práce | work / job | Hledám novou práci.I'm looking for a new job. |
| 95 | přítel | friend | Je to můj nejlepší přítel.He is my best friend. |
| 96 | rodina | family | Moje rodina žije v Brně.My family lives in Brno. |
| 97 | město | city | Praha je krásné město.Prague is a beautiful city. |
| 98 | země | country | Česko je krásná země.Czechia is a beautiful country. |
| 99 | cesta | way / road | Tahle cesta vede k horám.This road leads to the mountains. |
| 100 | slovo | word | Neznám význam tohoto slova.I don't know the meaning of this word. |
The ones English speakers get wrong
Seven grammatical cases
Czech nouns, adjectives, and pronouns change their endings depending on their grammatical role, so 'voda' (water) becomes 'vodu' as a direct object and 'vody' after certain prepositions. Word order is flexible precisely because the endings do the work that English leaves to position in the sentence.
Verb aspect
Most Czech verbs come in perfective and imperfective pairs that mark whether an action is ongoing, repeated, or completed, for example 'dělat' (to do, ongoing) versus 'udělat' (to get something done). English usually handles this with tense or context alone, so the pairing takes deliberate practice.
ty vs. vy
'Ty' is the informal 'you' used with friends, family, and children, while 'vy' is used for formal address or for more than one person, similar to French tu and vous. Switching to 'ty' too early with someone new can sound overly familiar.
Gender in the past tense
Czech past-tense verbs change their ending to match the gender of the subject: 'byl' if a man was somewhere, 'byla' if a woman was. This is easy to miss for English speakers, since English verbs never change for the subject's gender.
False friend: sympatický
'Sympatický' looks like 'sympathetic' but actually means 'nice' or 'likeable', as in someone you get along with easily. To say someone is sympathetic in the English sense, Czech reaches for a different word entirely.
What to do next
A list this size is about two weeks of light daily review, and it is the difference between decoding Czech and following it.