My Home in Czech: byt, pokoj, kuchyň
The locative moves in: this lesson is pure payoff, turning last lesson's endings into a guided tour of your own four walls.
The Rooms
| Czech | English |
|---|---|
| byt / dům | flat / house |
| pokoj | room |
| kuchyň | kitchen |
| koupelna | bathroom |
| ložnice | bedroom |
| obývák | living room |
What's Inside
stůl (table), židle (chair), postel (bed), okno (window), skříň (wardrobe), lampa (lamp) — the furniture set that covers any flat listing.
Saying What's Where
The pattern: V + place (locative) + je + thing (nominative). V kuchyni je stůl. V koupelně je okno. V pokoji je velká postel.
Náš byt má tři pokoje. V obýváku je velký stůl.
Our flat has three rooms. In the living room there's a big table.
Note: má tři pokoje — accusative; v obýváku — locative. Two cases sharing a sentence.
Tak, to je náš byt!
So, this is our flat!
Je velký! Kde je moje ložnice?
It's big! Where's my bedroom?
Tady. V pokoji je postel a skříň.
Here. In the room there's a bed and a wardrobe.
A kde spí Rex?
And where does Rex sleep?
Všude.
Everywhere.
doma vs domů
Two little words English merges into "home": doma — at home (where you are), domů — homewards (where you're going). Jsem doma. Jdu domů.
Nejsem doma. Jdu domů.
I'm not at home. I'm heading home.
Note: Location doma, direction domů — mixing them is the classic giveaway.
Common Mistakes
- Jdu doma. Movement takes domů: jdu domů; being there is jsem doma.
- V kuchyň je stůl. The locative bends: v kuchyni.
- ten ložnice. ložnice is feminine — ta ložnice, moje ložnice.
What You Can Do Now
You can walk a guest room by room, say what's where with v + locative, read flat ads, and never confuse being home with going there.