Comprehensible input · Czech
Czech texts you can actually read
Czech is a West Slavic language spoken by over 13 million people, known for its complex grammar and lack of articles. Every text is written for your level, every sentence is tappable for a translation, every word is one tap from the dictionary — and the whole story can be read to you out loud.
A0 · First texts
Readable after your first few lessons
Tiny texts (40–80 words) built from greetings, family, and everyday objects. Short sentences, present tense only, lots of cognates.
Ahoj, nebo dobrý den?Ahoj or Dobrý den? · 2 min · 73 wordsTom is new in Prague and keeps greeting people the wrong way — a micro-dialogue about Czech hellos, for your very first lessons.To je JanaThis Is Jana · 1 min · 70 wordsMeet Jana from Prague and her friendly dog Rex — your first Czech text, readable after just a few lessons.Moje taškaMy Bag · 2 min · 72 wordsWhat's in Jana's bag? A gender-coded tour of everyday objects — ten little nouns, three genders, one curious dog.Janina rodinaJana's Family · 2 min · 74 wordsMeet the whole cast: Jana's brother Petr, her parents, babička with the famous garden — and where Rex fits in the family tree.Černá kočka, bílý pesBlack Cat, White Dog · 2 min · 79 wordsRex meets the neighbour's cat — a tiny drama in colors, sizes and adjective endings.Ráno u JanyMorning at Jana's · 1 min · 63 wordsSeven o'clock at Jana's: food for Rex, coffee and breakfast for Jana, and rain outside.
A1 · Everyday life
Daily routines, shopping, weather — real situations
Short stories and dialogues (80–160 words) about everyday life. Present tense with natural case usage and frequent question-answer patterns.
Můj denMy Day · 2 min · 84 wordsTom describes a plain Prague weekday — breakfast, work, an evening walk with Rex — in the present tense you've just learned.Tom se učí českyTom Is Learning Czech · 2 min · 97 wordsTom speaks three languages — and now he's learning Czech. His method: the tram, the pub menu, and one very patient flatmate.Dám si kávuI'll Have a Coffee · 2 min · 106 wordsJana and Tom in their favourite café — and the accusative endings hiding in every order.Bydlím v PrazeI Live in Prague · 2 min · 103 wordsJana shows Tom her Prague — the river, the bridge, the park and the tram — with the locative case doing the walking.Náš bytOur Flat · 2 min · 91 wordsA room-by-room tour of Jana and Tom's flat — the kitchen where everything happens, the small bathroom, and Rex's favourite spot.Bez cukruWithout Sugar · 2 min · 86 wordsBabička is baking her famous bábovka — and the sugar jar is empty. A kitchen crisis powered by the genitive case.Nákup na víkendShopping for the Weekend · 2 min · 85 wordsJana and Tom shop for the chata weekend — a list, a market stall, deka of ham, and one item that isn't on the list.Pečení bábovkyBaking a Bundt Cake · 2 min · 76 wordsA Sunday at grandmother's: baking a marbled bábovka from flour, sugar and cocoa, the whole house filling with its smell, then coffee, cake, and the newspaper in the kitchen.Pan NovákMr Novák · 2 min · 117 wordsTom meets the neighbour — and learns vykání the hard way. A dialogue about ty, vy, and how Czech politeness actually works.Janin týdenJana's Week · 2 min · 104 wordsMonday to Sunday in Jana's calendar — school, floorball, babička's lunch — with days, times and one sacred rule about Fridays.Jak jezdím do práceHow I Get to Work · 2 min · 95 wordsJana's commute: tram number 22, eight stops, one transfer — and why she never drives. The habitual motion verbs at work.Cesta tramvají v PrazeTram Trip in Prague · 2 min · 86 wordsA ride on Prague's famous tram 22: waiting at the stop, buying a ticket, and watching old houses, the Vltava and Charles Bridge glide past the window.Výlet na hrad KarlštejnTrip to Karlštejn Castle · 2 min · 89 wordsA day trip from Prague to Karlštejn Castle: buying train tickets at the main station, the uphill walk, a guided tour past old paintings and weapons, and goulash for lunch.Víkend na chatěWeekend at the Cottage · 2 min · 91 wordsA classic Czech weekend: leaving the city on Friday for the family cottage, garden work, mushroom hunting in the forest, and sausages over the evening fire.
A2 · Little stories
Real narratives with a beginning, middle, and end
Narrative texts (150–280 words) that tell a story: a trip, a memory, a small adventure. Past tense appears, sentences breathe a little more.
Co se mi líbí na ČeskuWhat I Like About Czechia · 2 min · 105 wordsTom's list: trams that come on time, pubs where nobody hurries, forests everywhere — a love letter powered by the dative.Počasí v ČeskuThe Weather in Czechia · 2 min · 102 wordsFour seasons with the cast: spring at the chata, a heatwave, mushroom rain, and the first snow — in subjectless weather sentences.Včera byl dobrý denYesterday Was a Good Day · 2 min · 95 wordsTom tells his whole yesterday in the past tense — with jsem parked correctly in second position all the way through.Plány na víkendWeekend Plans · 2 min · 103 wordsFriday evening planning session: budu, půjdu, pojedu — and a weather forecast that changes everything.Četl jsem — a přečetlI Was Reading — and I Finished · 2 min · 94 wordsOne evening, one book, both aspects: Tom finally finishes his first Czech book — and learns the difference between četl and přečetl.U doktoraAt the Doctor's · 2 min · 103 wordsTom has a fever and a sore throat — a full doctor's visit in dialogue, from bolí mě to the pharmacy counter.Můj první den v práciMy First Day at Work · 2 min · 107 wordsPetr starts his first real job — new colleagues, a coffee machine mystery, and the question every Czech office asks at 11:30.Zahrádkářská kolonieThe Allotment Garden · 2 min · 124 wordsA beloved Czech escape from the apartment block: the allotment colony on the edge of town, where city families keep a little hut, grow their own vegetables and fruit, and spend summer weekends grilling and chatting with neighbours over the fence.Praha, nebo Brno?Prague or Brno? · 2 min · 110 wordsJana is from Prague, Petr studied in Brno — the eternal rivalry over one table, with comparatives flying and a šalina in the middle.Kolik lidí, tolik chutíSo Many People, So Many Tastes · 2 min · 104 wordsPlanning babička's garden party: five salads, ten rohlíky, many opinions — a story counted entirely in the genitive plural.Kdo přišel?Who's Arrived? · 2 min · 93 wordsThe doorbell rings all Saturday: guests arrive, leave, pop in and pop out — a doorbell farce built entirely on motion prefixes.Babička má svátekIt's Grandma's Name Day · 2 min · 114 wordsTom discovers the Czech name-day calendar — why babička gets flowers twice a year, and when exactly every Jana in the country celebrates.Vánoční kaprChristmas Carp · 2 min · 126 wordsCzech Christmas Eve, from the meat-free lunch and the golden piglet to a carp in the bathtub, fried carp with potato salad, and presents from Ježíšek.Velikonoce a pomlázkaEaster and the Pomlázka · 2 min · 125 wordsA famous and surprising Czech Easter custom: on Easter Monday, men and boys go house to house with a willow pomlázka, gently whipping the women for youth and health — and are rewarded with painted eggs, sweets, and a shot of slivovitz.Legenda o pražském GolemoviThe Legend of the Prague Golem · 2 min · 136 wordsThe most famous Prague legend: how Rabbi Loew shaped a servant from Vltava clay, brought it to life with a shem — and what happened when he forgot to remove it.Pověst o praotci ČechoviThe Legend of Forefather Čech · 2 min · 128 wordsOne of the oldest Czech legends: fleeing war and poverty, a wandering people led by the brothers Čech and Lech reach Mount Říp, where Čech climbs up, sees a green land of milk and honey, and founds Bohemia.České pivo a hospodaCzech Beer and the Pub · 2 min · 126 wordsWhy the pub is the living room of Czech culture: pale lager, hockey on the screen, goulash with dumplings, and the right way to say cheers.
B1 · Real stories
Longer stories with feelings, opinions, and plans
Stories and slice-of-life pieces (250–500 words) with several characters, dialogue, and a real arc. Future tense, aspect pairs, and opinions appear naturally.
Psi, nebo kočky?Dogs or Cats? · 2 min · 122 wordsTwo columns, one eternal question: Jana defends dogs, Petr defends cats — an op-ed pair full of opinion frames. Rex declines to comment.Dopis z DublinuA Letter from Dublin · 2 min · 128 wordsJana's cousin Klára writes home after a year in Ireland — joy, homesickness and the emotion frames with their cases, in one honest letter.Kdybych vyhrál milionIf I Won a Million · 2 min · 125 wordsThe lottery daydream, four ways: what Jana, Tom, Petr and babička would do with a million crowns — the conditional in full flight.Rady pro turistu v ČeskuAdvice for a Tourist in Czechia · 2 min · 119 wordsTom writes a guide for his visiting friends: what you should do, what's worth it, and the three mistakes every tourist makes.Tři filmy na víkendThree Films for the Weekend · 2 min · 134 wordsJana's mini-reviews: a classic comedy, a fairy tale you must see at Christmas, and one film Tom should skip — verdicts included.České filmové pohádkyCzech Film Fairy Tales · 3 min · 166 wordsA cornerstone of the Czech Christmas: the tradition of TV fairy tales, from the beloved 1973 'Three Wishes for Cinderella' to the new film premiered each Christmas Eve — gentle, witty stories where heroes are clever ordinary folk and even the devils aren't truly evil.Zprávy týdneNews of the Week · 2 min · 113 wordsA local news digest, Slavonaut edition: a tram line closure, a record mushroom season, and a dog who found his way home — in real news Czech.České pověryCzech Superstitions · 2 min · 132 wordsWhy you must look people in the eye when toasting, what the Christmas carp scale does in your wallet, and other rules Czechs half-believe.Výlet na SněžkuTrip to Sněžka · 3 min · 181 wordsClimbing the highest Czech mountain: by cable car in fifteen minutes or on foot through Obří důl — and why you should pack warm clothes even in July.Romantický Český KrumlovRomantic Český Krumlov · 3 min · 160 wordsA fairy-tale town in southern Bohemia on the Vltava: Český Krumlov's UNESCO-listed centre and vast Renaissance chateau, its winding lanes and medieval taverns, canoeing right through town under the castle, and the famous revolving open-air theatre.No jasně!Well, Obviously! · 2 min · 128 wordsTom finally cracks the particle code: one evening at the pub where no means yes, přece means come-on, and everything is v pohodě.Karel IV. a PrahaCharles IV and Prague · 3 min · 183 wordsHow a 14th-century king who spoke five languages turned Prague into one of Europe's great cities: the New Town, Charles Bridge, the first university in Central Europe, and Karlštejn.Jan Hus a husitské válkyJan Hus and the Hussite Wars · 3 min · 174 wordsThe Czech reformer a century before Luther: Jan Hus, who preached in Czech against a rich and corrupt Church, was branded a heretic and burned at the stake in Konstanz in 1415 — his death igniting the Hussite Wars and making him a lasting symbol of moral courage.Sametová revoluceThe Velvet Revolution · 3 min · 166 wordsNovember 1989, day by day: a student march turns into a national movement, keys ring out over Wenceslas Square, and a playwright becomes president.
B2 · Almost native
Texts with style: humour, suspense, and culture
Short fiction and cultural essays (400–800 words). Natural register shifts, reported speech, participles where the language uses them in print.
Dobrý voják ŠvejkThe Good Soldier Švejk · 4 min · 230 wordsThe world's most famous Czech novel: a Prague dog dealer in the Austro-Hungarian army whose obedient idiocy — real or brilliantly feigned — dismantles the machinery of war.Fenomén Jára CimrmanThe Phenomenon of Jára Cimrman · 4 min · 245 wordsThe greatest Czech who never lived: a fictional universal genius, a theatre built on perfect deadpan, and the TV poll he won so convincingly he had to be disqualified.Pražské jaro a rok 1968Prague Spring and 1968 · 4 min · 223 wordsA year of hope crushed: the 1968 Prague Spring, Dubček's 'socialism with a human face' and the end of censorship — then the Warsaw Pact invasion of tanks that ended it overnight, the futile street resistance, and the grey decades of 'normalization' that followed.Karel Čapek a slovo robotKarel Čapek and the word "robot" · 4 min · 217 wordsThe Czech word that conquered the world: how 'robot' was born in Karel Čapek's 1920 play 'R.U.R.' — suggested by his brother Josef from the old Slavic 'robota' (serf labour) — and how its author became one of interwar Europe's most humane and respected intellectuals.