Basic Czech words
for beginners

Short answer. This page has 122 basic Czech words in 9 topics, from family and your flat to getting around town, money and false friends: for example byt (flat), zastávka (stop) and jízdenka (ticket). If you speak a Slavic language, watch the false friends: čerstvý means fresh and úžasný means amazing.

Your first few hundred Czech words do the most work: with them you can read a sign, order from a menu and follow an announcement on the tram. Czech has a reputation for words without vowels, like vlk (wolf), and for the sound ř, but everyday vocabulary is short and regular, and Czech spelling tells you exactly how to read each word.

The words below come from Talkfirst's Czech decks at levels A1 and A2 and are grouped by topic. These are single words, not ready-made sentences. If you want to start speaking straight away, begin with the guide Czech from zero: first phrases; phrases for specific situations are in the Czech phrasebook.

Basic Czech vocabulary by topic

Introductions and family

Home and flat

Food and drink

Numbers, days and time

Weather and seasons

Town and transport

Everyday verbs

Money and post

False friends for Slavic speakers

Numbers and days of the week in full

The table has the core words from the decks. Counting to ten in Czech: jeden, dva, tři, čtyři, pět, šest, sedm, osm, devět, deset. The days of the week in order, Monday to Sunday: pondělí, úterý, středa, čtvrtek, pátek, sobota, neděle. Czech does not capitalise days or months, and a week is týden.

How to learn Czech words so they stick

Learn each word inside a short phrase. Czech nouns change their endings depending on their role in the sentence: voda is water, but in a café you say Dám si vodu. If you only learn the dictionary form, you will have to rebuild it every time you speak. Every word in Talkfirst's flashcards comes with an example, so say the example out loud too.

Watch the long vowels. The accent mark over a vowel (á, é, í, ó, ú, ý) and the ring in ů make the vowel long, and length can change the meaning. Stress in Czech is always on the first syllable, so a long vowel is not the same as a stressed one.

Learn the gender with the word. The ending usually gives it away: kuchyně and koupelna are feminine, byt and stůl are masculine. Watch the number too: dveře (a door) only exists in the plural.

Review a little every day. Ten words a day, reviewed after a day, three days and a week, stick better than a hundred words crammed in one evening. Talkfirst's flashcards tell you which word is due for review.

Pronunciation without a phonetic spelling

Many lists give Czech words "with pronunciation" spelled out in English letters, but English spelling cannot show ř or the difference between long and short vowels. Czech spelling is consistent, though: almost every word is read exactly as it is written. Listen to each word in the flashcards and repeat it out loud.

False friends

The last section of the table matters most if you already speak Russian, Ukrainian or Polish: these Czech words look familiar but mean something else. Čerstvý means fresh, pozor means "watch out" and úžasný means amazing. If you don't speak a Slavic language, they are simply useful everyday words.

What next

Once the basic words feel familiar, move on to phrases for real situations: at a restaurant, at the shop, at the doctor's and the pharmacy, at work. If you need Czech for permanent residence, see A2 exam preparation.

Questions and answers