Czech Grammar Wants to Know Your Gender (Every. Single. Time.)

One of the first shocks English speakers get when learning Czech is that the language really cares whether you’re male, female, or even a group of mixed people. In English, “I was” is just “I was.” Done. No drama.

But in Czech? If you’re a man, you’d better say já jsem byl.
If you’re a woman, you have to say já jsem byla.
Same “I was,” but gendered!

Yep, Czech grammar is basically standing there with a magnifying glass saying: “So, who exactly are you?

The Magic Formula

The past tense in Czech works like this little sandwich:

1. Pronoun + 2. Helping Verb + 3. Past Participle

Example with “to be” (být):

• Já jsem byl – I was (male speaker)

• Já jsem byla – I was (female speaker)

It’s that last piece – the past participle – that changes its outfit depending on gender. Masculine gets -l, feminine wears -la, neuter slips into -lo, and plural forms go crazy with endings like -li, -ly, -la.

So, if you’re a guy and you say já jsem byla – expect confused looks. You just accidentally gender-swapped yourself.

How you speak Czech depends on your gender

More Examples (because Czech loves endings!)

• dělat (to do)

  • Já jsem dělal (male)

  • Já jsem dělala (female)

• vidět (to see)

  • Já jsem viděl (male)

  • Já jsem viděla (female)

• mluvit (to speak)

  • Já jsem mluvil (male)

  • Já jsem mluvila (female)

• pracovat (to work)

  • Já jsem pracoval (male)

  • Já jsem pracovala (female)

Notice the pattern? Same sandwich, different filling. The participle ending changes depending on who’s speaking.

Watch Out for Plurals

Czech doesn’t stop at male/female. It also wants to know what kind of “they” you’re talking about.

• Oni byli – They were (group of men, or mixed group, for example lidé, muži, páni)

• Oni byly – They were (group of things in masculine gender, for example stoly, hrady, stroje)

• Ony byly – They were (group of women or things in feminine gender, for example holky, osoby, židle)

• Ona byla – They were (group of things in neuter gender, for example kuřata, města, auta)

Fun fact: even objects have grammatical gender. Your book (kniha) is feminine, your car (auto) is neuter, but your beer (pivo) is also neuter. (Yes, beer transcends gender categories.)

If you’re tired of guessing genders, grab my Czech Gender Sheet. It’s a super clear cheat-sheet that shows you exactly how genders change verbs, adjectives, and more — so you can stop second-guessing and start sounding like a native.

Rád or Ráda?

Here’s another daily trap: saying you like something.

In Czech, you use the word rád (literally “glad”), but it still insists on gender:

• Jsem rád, že vás vidím. – I’m glad to see you. (male speaker)

• Jsem ráda, že vás vidím. – I’m glad to see you. (female speaker)

If you forget and mix them up, you’ll sound like you borrowed someone else’s identity. Imagine a big bearded guy walking into the pub saying: Jsem ráda, že tu jsem. Czechs will definitely raise an eyebrow.

Learning Czech past tense and the little word rád/ráda can feel like walking through a grammar minefield. But honestly, it’s also part of the fun: every time you speak, the language pushes you to reveal a tiny bit about yourself.

So next time you’re in Prague, don’t just say “I was here” in English. Say it the Czech way – Já jsem byl tady (if you’re a guy) or Já jsem byla tady (if you’re a woman). Czechs will love you for it. And if all else fails? Just order a pivo. It’s neuter, and nobody argues with beer.