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Learn Czech

Master Czech sounds and cases, one short lesson at a time.

Free to start. Built from a single prompt. No credit card.

Czech is a West Slavic language written in the Latin alphabet with a háček (č, š, ž, ř) and a čárka for long vowels (á, é, í). Its most famous sound is ř, a buzzing trilled sound few other languages share, as in Dvořák. Stress always falls on the first syllable, while vowel length is separate and changes meaning. Some words have no vowels at all, as in the tongue twister strč prst skrz krk, because r and l can form syllables. The grammar includes seven cases, three genders and verbs in aspect pairs. Learnr builds a personalized Czech course from a single prompt and teaches it in short lessons.

How to learn Czech, step by step

Learn the letters and diacritics. Czech spelling is consistent. Learn č, š, ž, ř and ě, and the long vowels á, é, í, ó, ú and ů, noting that ú and ů are the same sound. Ch counts as one letter and comes after h in the alphabet.
Practice ř and syllabic r and l. Make ř by trilling an r while pressing the tongue up for a ž sound. Practice words like řeka and tři, then words where r or l acts as the vowel, like vlk (wolf) and krk (neck).
Keep stress first and vowels long. Stress always falls on the first syllable, even on long words. Vowel length is independent of stress, so practice pairs like byt (flat) and být (to be) until you hold long vowels naturally.
Learn cases through everyday phrases. Start with the nominative, accusative and locative (v Praze, in Prague), then the genitive and instrumental. Learn the vocative too, used when addressing people, as in pane Nováku.
Learn verbs in aspect pairs. Pair verbs like dělat and udělat, or psát and napsat. Imperfective verbs describe ongoing or repeated actions, while perfective verbs describe single completed ones, and only imperfective verbs use budu for the future.
Get used to spoken Czech. Everyday Czech differs from the textbook standard: dobrý often becomes dobrej and mléko becomes mlíko. Learn the standard forms in daily Learnr lessons, and let Czech films and podcasts tune your ear to real speech.

What you'll learn

Pronounce Czech letters, including ř, ch and long vowels
Stress words on the first syllable and keep vowel length
Use the seven cases in common phrases
Choose between imperfective and perfective verbs
Hold everyday conversations about yourself, food and travel

What's inside your Czech course

A sample path Learnr builds for Czech. Your real course adapts to your goal and level.

1. The Czech alphabet, sounds and stress
2. Greetings and polite phrases
3. Nouns, gender and the first cases
4. Verbs, conjugation and aspect
5. Past and future tenses
6. Everyday conversations and spoken Czech

How long does it take to learn Czech?

Czech takes English speakers longer than Romance or Germanic languages because of cases and aspect. Studying daily, most learners reach simple conversations in about a year and comfortable fluency in a few years. Speakers of Slovak understand Czech almost immediately.

What you need before you start

You can start from scratch. Knowing basic grammar terms helps, and any Slovak, Polish or other Slavic language makes Czech much easier.

Common mistakes to avoid

Stressing long vowels instead of the first syllable, which makes Czech sound foreign even when the words are right.
Pronouncing ř as a plain r or ž, which can change meaning or make words hard to recognize.
Learning only the written standard and then struggling with common spoken forms like dobrej and mlíko.

How Learnr builds your course

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Czech questions, answered

How do you pronounce the Czech ř?

Ř is made by trilling an r while raising the tongue toward the position for ž, producing a buzzing sound. Many learners practice it for weeks, and native children learn it relatively late too.

Are Czech and Slovak the same language?

No, but they are very close and largely mutually understandable. Most Czechs and Slovaks can talk to each other in their own languages without much difficulty.