mýt se / umýt se — to wash (oneself) | Czech Grammar

This is the aspect card for mýt se / umýt se — washing yourself. The imperfective mýt se is the process or the habit ("I'm washing," "I wash every morning"); the perfective umýt se is the single completed act ("I washed," "I'll have a wash"). The verb belongs to the krýt type (Class III, -je-), which means it carries the classic mý-/myj- alternation: the long-vowel stem mý- in the infinitive and past, but a myj- stem in the present. Get those two stems straight and the rest is mechanical.

The pair at a glance

	Imperfective	Perfective
Infinitive	mýt se	umýt se
Meaning	to be washing; to wash (habitually)	to wash, get washed (one act)
Present	myju se / myji se ("I'm washing")	umyju se ("I'll wash")
Past	myl se	umyl se
Imperative	myj se	umyj se

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The perfective is just the imperfective with the prefix u- glued on: every form of umýt se is u- plus the matching mýt se form — umyju se = u + myju se, umyl se = u + myl se, umyj se = u + myj se. Learn one verb and one prefix.

The mý-/myj- alternation

This is the one thing to lock in. The infinitive and the past run on the long-vowel stem mý- (mýt, myl), but the present drops the long ý and grows a -j-: myj- (myju, myješ). It is exactly the krýt → kryju pattern (see the krýt paradigm): krýt / kryl but kryju. There is no shortcut — you learn mýt → myju as a matched pair.

Person	mýt se (present)	umýt se (future)
já	myju se / myji se	umyju se / umyji se
ty	myješ se	umyješ se
on/ona/ono	myje se	umyje se
my	myjeme se	umyjeme se
vy	myjete se	umyjete se
oni/ony	myjou se / myjí se	umyjou se / umyjí se

As across the whole -je- class, the 1st singular and 3rd plural split into colloquial myju / myjou and bookish myji / myjí. Both are standard; myju dominates everyday speech. And the perfective twist holds: umyju se has present shape but future meaning ("I'll wash").

Myju se každé ráno studenou vodou, probudí mě to.

I wash every morning with cold water, it wakes me up. (habit — imperfective myju se)

Umyju se a hned jdu spát, jsem vyřízená.

I'll have a wash and go straight to bed, I'm wiped out. (perfective umyju se; female speaker)

se vs si vs transitive: wash yourself, wash a part of you, wash the dishes

Like the dressing verbs, this one has three patterns kept apart by the clitic:

1. mýt se / umýt se (reflexive se) = wash yourself (the whole you), no body part named.

Než půjdeš ke stolu, jdi se umýt.

Before you come to the table, go and wash up. (reflexive se — washing oneself)

2. mýt si / umýt si + accusative body part (dative-reflexive si) = wash a part of yourself. You name the part (ruce, hands; vlasy, hair; zuby are čistit, not mýt), and the clitic is si.

Umyj si ruce, než budeš jíst!

Wash your hands before you eat! (umýt si + accusative ruce — perfective imperative)

Každý druhý den si myju vlasy.

I wash my hair every other day. (mýt si + accusative vlasy)

3. mýt / umýt + accusative object (no clitic) = wash something else — dishes, the car, the floor.

Ty utíráš a já myju nádobí, platí?

You dry and I'll wash the dishes, deal? (transitive — accusative object nádobí, no clitic)

O víkendu umyju auto, je celé od bláta.

At the weekend I'll wash the car, it's all covered in mud. (perfective transitive umýt auto)

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The clitic decides the meaning: se = wash all of me, si + accusative = wash a part of me (umýt si ruce), no clitic + accusative = wash an external thing (mýt nádobí). Note also that teeth are čistit si zuby ("clean"), not mýt.

The past tense

Both partners build the past from the l-participle on the mý- stem, agreeing with the subject. With já / ty / my / vy the auxiliary být (jsem, jsi, jsme, jste) joins it.

Subject	mýt se (impf.)	umýt se (pf.)
masc. sg.	myl se	umyl se
fem. sg.	myla se	umyla se
neut. sg.	mylo se	umylo se
masc. anim. pl.	myli se	umyli se
fem. pl.	myly se	umyly se

Umyla jsem si ruce a sedla si k večeři.

I washed my hands and sat down to dinner. (female speaker — umyla si + accusative ruce)

The imperative: myj se vs umyj se

The imperfective imperative myj se / myjte se is the routine, repeated prod ("wash, keep washing"); the perfective umyj se / umyjte se is the single "get washed (now)." For one-off commands — what a parent actually says — the perfective is the natural choice.

Umyj se a běž spát, je pozdě.

Get washed and go to bed, it's late. (perfective imperative umyj se)

Myj si ruce pořádně, ne jen tak opláchnout.

Wash your hands properly, not just a quick rinse. (imperfective imperative myj si — the ongoing 'do it properly')

Common Mistakes

❌ Umýju si ruce.

Spelling — the present stem is short: umyju (no long ý in the present), even though the infinitive is umýt.

✅ Umyju si ruce.

I'll wash my hands.

❌ Umyju ruce.

Missing clitic — washing a part of yourself needs the dative-reflexive si: umyju si ruce.

✅ Umyju si ruce.

I'll wash my hands.

❌ Myju se nádobí.

Wrong pattern — washing the dishes takes no clitic; se would mean 'I'm washing myself'.

✅ Myju nádobí.

I'm washing the dishes.

❌ Mýju se každé ráno.

Spelling — the present is myju (short y + j), not mýju; the long ý belongs to the infinitive mýt and the past myl.

✅ Myju se každé ráno.

I wash every morning.

❌ Hned se myju a jdu spát.

Aspect mismatch — one completed act before bed needs the perfective umyju se.

✅ Hned se umyju a jdu spát.

I'll have a quick wash and go to bed.

Key Takeaways

mýt se (imperfective) = be washing / wash habitually; umýt se (perfective) = wash, get washed (one act) — just u-
- the imperfective.
Krýt-type mý-/myj- alternation: long stem in the infinitive/past (mýt, myl) but myj- in the present (myju, myješ). See the krýt paradigm.
The clitic decides it: se = wash all of yourself, si
- accusative = wash a body part (umýt si ruce), no clitic
  - accusative = wash a thing (mýt nádobí).
The present is always short (myju, umyju); only the infinitive and past carry the long ý.
Imperatives: imperfective myj se (keep at it) vs perfective umyj se (do it now).

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