Not every question is a request for information. Some are shaped like questions but function as statements, exclamations, complaints, or refusals — and Czech marks these with a small kit of particles (copak, snad, což, cožpak, kdepak, jestlipak) plus intonation and, sometimes, the conditional. English speakers stumble here in two ways: they take a rhetorical question literally and try to answer it, and they translate the particles word-for-word, missing the attitude they carry. This page teaches you to recognise these questions and to hear what they really mean.
Rhetorical questions: shaped like a question, meant as a statement
A rhetorical question expects no answer; it asserts the opposite of what it literally asks, usually with feeling. Czech loves the particles copak and cožpak ("do you really…?! surely not…?!") and což for this, and it often uses a negative form to make a strong positive point.
Copak to nevíš?
Don't you know that?! (i.e. 'surely you know that')
Cožpak je to možné?
How can that possibly be?! (i.e. 'that can't be')
Kdo by to byl řekl?
Who would have thought? (i.e. 'nobody would have')
None of these wants an answer. Copak to nevíš? is a reproach — "of course you know that." Kdo by to byl řekl? (with the past conditional byl řekl) expresses astonishment, not a genuine "who?". Recognising the rhetorical intent is the whole skill: the speaker is telling you something, dressed as a question.
Rhetorical questions frequently pair with the conditional to project a hypothetical the speaker considers absurd or obvious:
Kdo by tomu věřil?
Who would believe that? (nobody would)
Proč bych ti lhal?
Why would I lie to you? (I wouldn't)
Že se nestydíš?
Aren't you ashamed?! (a scolding, not a question)
That last one, Že se nestydíš?, is a set reproach — literally "that you're not ashamed?" — and is pure rebuke. For the conditional forms behind by here, see the present conditional with bych.
Echo and surprise questions: repeating back in disbelief
An echo question repeats part of what was just said, with sharply rising intonation, to signal surprise, disbelief, or a request to confirm. Czech's flagship is Cože?! ("What?!"), a heightened form of co used precisely when you can't believe your ears.
Odjel do Ameriky. — Cože?! Kdy?
He left for America. — What?! When?
Že prý odjel?
He supposedly left?! (echoing hearsay with disbelief — 'prý' = reportedly)
Kdo, já?
Who, me? (echoing to confirm you were meant)
The pattern Že prý…? deserves attention: prý flags second-hand information ("supposedly, they say"; see the reportative prý), and wrapping it in Že …? turns it into an incredulous echo — "he left, is that what you're telling me?!" English does this with intonation alone ("He left?!"); Czech adds the particles že and prý to spell out the attitude.
Tři tisíce? Cože, tak drahé?
Three thousand? What, that expensive?!
Ty ses rozešel s Klárou? — Že jo?
You broke up with Klára? — Right?! (echoing for confirmation)
Deliberative questions: asking oneself what to do
A deliberative question ponders a course of action — "What should I do? Shall we go?" Czech expresses these with mám / máme ("am I to…"), with ať in a deliberative frame, or with the conditional. There is no separate word for "should" here; the verb mít ("to have") carries the "am I to / should I" sense.
Co mám dělat?
What should I do? (literally 'what am I to do')
Máme jít, nebo počkat?
Should we go, or wait?
Půjdeme?
Shall we go? (a simple future used as a proposal)
The attitude particles: copak, cožpak, kdepak, jestlipak
Czech has a productive -pak suffix that attaches to question words and softens, colours, or intensifies them. Each carries a distinct flavour, and translating them literally is a mistake — you translate the attitude.
| Particle | Force | Example |
|---|---|---|
| copak | surprise / reproach ("do you really…?!") | Copak nevíš? |
| cožpak | stronger, indignant ("surely not…?!") | Cožpak je to možné? |
| kdepak | emphatic denial — "no way!", "not at all!" | Kdepak, to není pravda. |
| jestlipak | musing "I wonder if…" | Jestlipak si vzpomene? |
| kdopak / copak (+ noun) | gentle, coaxing "who / what" (to children) | Kdopak to přišel? |
The one that most surprises learners is kdepak — it looks like "where?" (from kde), but as a standalone reply it means "no way! / not at all!", a lively refusal. It is not asking about a place at all.
Byl to on? — Kdepak, ten to nebyl.
Was it him? — No way, it wasn't him.
Stihneme to? — Kdepak, už je pozdě.
Will we make it? — Not a chance, it's already too late.
Jestlipak víš, kolik je hodin?
I wonder if you realise what time it is. (musing, often pointed)
Why English speakers stumble
English marks most of these functions with intonation and context alone — you hear that "Do you know that?!" is rhetorical, or that "He left?!" is an echo. Czech externalises the same attitudes into words you must learn: copak, cožpak, kdepak, cože, že prý. The English-speaker's twin errors follow directly: (1) treating a rhetorical or echo question as a real request for information and trying to answer it, and (2) translating the particle literally (rendering kdepak as "where?", copak as a plain "what?") and losing the whole point. The remedy is to learn these particles as attitude markers, not as vocabulary with dictionary meanings.
Common Mistakes
❌ Copak to nevíš? — Ne, nevím. (answering a reproach literally)
Missed intent — this is a rhetorical reproach ('of course you know'), not a real question to answer
✅ Copak to nevíš? (understood as: 'come on, you obviously know')
Don't you know that?! (rhetorical — read the attitude, don't answer)
❌ Byl to on? — Kdepak? (as if asking 'where?')
Wrong reading — as a reply 'Kdepak' means 'no way!', not 'where?'
✅ Byl to on? — Kdepak, nebyl.
Was it him? — No way, it wasn't.
❌ Co jsem povinen dělat?
Overbuilt — for everyday 'what should I do?' don't calque a heavy 'am I obliged to'; the deliberative is 'Co mám dělat?'
✅ Co mám dělat?
What should I do?
❌ What?! → Co?! (flat, as a plain question)
Under-marked — for disbelief Czech heightens 'co' to 'Cože?!'; plain 'Co?' sounds like a neutral 'what?'
✅ Odjel? — Cože?!
He left? — What?!
❌ Že prý odjel. (as a flat statement, missing the echo)
Lost nuance — with rising intonation and a question mark this is an incredulous echo, not a report
✅ Že prý odjel?!
He supposedly left?! (incredulous echo)
Key Takeaways
- Rhetorical questions assert, they don't ask — often via copak / cožpak / což, a negative form, or the conditional (Kdo by to řekl?).
- Echo/surprise questions repeat back in disbelief: Cože?!, Že prý…?!, Kdo, já? — with sharply rising intonation.
- Deliberative "what should I / shall we?" uses mít (Co mám dělat?) or the plain future (Půjdeme?).
- The -pak particles carry attitude: copak (reproach), cožpak (indignation), kdepak (a flat "no way!"), jestlipak (musing).
- Learn these as attitude markers, not dictionary words — and never try to "answer" a rhetorical or echo question.
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