Let’s Talk About the Nominative Case (aka the Friendly One)
Start your journey through Czech grammar with the nominative case — the simplest, most friendly form. Learn what it is, how it works, and why it matters.
If Czech cases were a group of friends, nominative would be the chill one. The one you meet first and keep coming back to. It’s simple, reliable, and it always shows up in your dictionary.
So, welcome to the start of your Czech case journey. And trust me: if you can get comfy with the nominative, you’re building the strongest foundation possible.
What Is the Nominative Case?
The nominative (in Czech: nominativ, 1. pád) is the basic form of a noun (the one you’ll find in the dictionary).
It’s used for the subject of the sentence – the thing or person that’s doing the action.
Ask yourself: Kdo? Co? – “Who?” “What?”
Examples
Student píše. – “The student is writing.”
Kočka spí. – “The cat is sleeping.”
Auto stojí před domem. – “The car is parked in front of the house.”
You don’t need any special prepositions or fancy grammar tricks here. Nominative is your starting point.
But Wait – What’s the Gender?
Here’s the catch. To work with the nominative case, you also need to know the gender of the noun (rod in Czech). Czech nouns come in three genders:
Masculine (muž, stůl) = mužský rod (m.)
Feminine (žena, kniha) = ženský rod (ž.)
Neuter (město, auto) = střední rod (s.)
Gender determines how the noun will change in other cases. So, learning the nominative + gender = essential grammar life skill.
Pro tip: When you learn a new word, always note the gender.
Like this:
Stůl (m.)
Kniha (f.)
Auto (n.)
Want to Check Declensions?
Use this magical link to Internetová jazyková příručka. Just type the word you want to decline into the search field Slovníková část and press Hledej.
How to search for a Czech word declension on Internetová jazyková příručka
It’s an amazing Czech grammar reference. You can type in any noun (like kniha) and it will show you all the forms of the word across all seven cases, in both singular and plural.
Searching for the noun “kniha” on Internetová jazyková příručka
Why the Nominative Is Worth Mastering
You’ll need it to:
Talk about people, animals, and things
Make basic sentences
Build vocabulary (this is your dictionary form!)
Know how nouns will behave in other cases
Want Help with All 7 Cases?
The nominative may be simple, but the rest? Not so much.
That’s why I created the Czech Cases Cheat Sheet. A super-friendly, easy-to-print PDF that explains all 7 Czech cases.
It includes:
Case-by-case breakdowns
Common verbs and prepositions
Questions for each case
Mini habits and tips for mastering them
A one-page printable reference table