The 1,000 Most Common Czech Words

Ranked by real-world frequency. Study all of them free with spaced repetition.

More Czech lists: Nouns Verbs Adjectives Adverbs About learning Czech

The 1,000 Most Common Czech Words: the list

Tips for learning Czech words

• Czech verbs appear here in the infinitive, which usually ends in -t (být, jít, myslet, říct); moci is one of the few common verbs whose infinitive ends in -ci. Learn the infinitive first, then layer on conjugated forms once it is solid.
• Don't treat tu, tady, sem and tam as interchangeable: tu and tady both mean "here", sem is used for movement towards the speaker, and tam means "there".
• Negation is often built straight into the Czech verb with the ne- prefix, as in nebýt (to not be) versus být (to be). Once you spot this pattern, many negative forms become predictable rather than separate vocabulary items.
• When typing answers into the flashcards, reproduce the word exactly, diacritics included (é, í, ř and so on), because length marks and háčeks change pronunciation and can change meaning.
• Give the short, high-frequency items such as jak, jen, možná and pak their own review time; they glue sentences together and pay off quickly in listening and reading.
• Don't skip plain-looking words like být, jít, chtít or moci because they seem easy — you need them instantly and accurately, not just recognisably, so keep them in your review rotation until recall is automatic.