"To pay" in Czech is the aspect pair platit / zaplatit. The imperfective platit is for paying as a process or a habit — what you regularly do, what is going on at the till right now. The perfective zaplatit packages one payment as a single finished act — the bill settled, the debt cleared. It is one of the most useful pairs a learner can own, because Czech daily life is full of paying, and one form of it, Zaplatím!, is how you ask for the bill in any restaurant in the country.
The two halves, conjugated side by side
Both verbs belong to the -í- conjugation (the prosí-class): the present runs on -ím, -íš, -í endings. The perfective is simply platit with the prefix za- bolted on — and, as always, the perfective "present" is really a future.
| Person | platit (imperfective) | zaplatit (perfective) |
|---|---|---|
| já | platím | zaplatím |
| ty | platíš | zaplatíš |
| on / ona / ono | platí | zaplatí |
| my | platíme | zaplatíme |
| vy | platíte | zaplatíte |
| oni | platí | zaplatí |
For the full machinery of this conjugation class, see Class -í- (prosí).
Present meaning vs future meaning
This is the trap every aspect pair sets. Platím is a genuine present — a habit or an action unfolding now. Zaplatím, despite its present-tense shape, looks forward.
Nájem platím vždycky k prvnímu.
I always pay the rent on the first of the month.
Počkej, hned to zaplatím kartou.
Hang on, I'll pay it by card right now.
Právě platím za parkování, vydrž chvilku.
I'm just paying for parking, hold on a moment.
That last sentence must use the imperfective platím — the action is happening before your eyes. Swap in zaplatím and it would mean "I will pay," not "I'm paying now."
What the verb governs: the thing, and za + accusative
There are two government patterns, and they are easy to mix up:
- Pay the thing itself (a bill, the rent, a fine) → that thing goes straight into the accusative, no preposition: zaplatit účet ("pay the bill").
- Pay for something you receive (a coffee, a ticket, the shopping) → use za + accusative: platit za kávu ("pay for the coffee").
The difference mirrors English "pay the bill" vs "pay for the coffee" almost exactly — za is your "for."
Zaplatím účet a pak půjdeme.
I'll pay the bill and then we'll go.
Za tu kávu zaplatím já, ty jsi platil minule.
I'll pay for the coffee, you paid last time.
Kolik platíš za nájem?
How much do you pay in rent?
You can also add the person you pay, in the dative: zaplatit někomu ("pay someone"). So a full sentence can carry the thing (accusative), the reason (za + accusative), and the recipient (dative) all at once. For the wider pattern of accusative-governing verbs, see Accusative Verbs.
The restaurant idiom: Zaplatím!
This is the single most practical thing on the page. To ask for the bill in a Czech restaurant or pub, you do not ask for a "check" — you simply announce that you are going to pay, in the perfective future:
Zaplatím, prosím!
The bill, please! (lit. I'll pay, please — one person paying)
Zaplatíme!
We'd like to pay! (lit. we'll pay — splitting or paying together)
Use Zaplatím if you alone are paying, Zaplatíme if the table is settling up together. Catch the server's eye, say the word, and the bill comes. The imperfective Platím! is not used for this — it is the perfective, "let's get this settled," that does the job. (informal-to-neutral; perfectly polite with prosím.)
Sejdeme se v sedm, platí?
Let's meet at seven, deal?
The past tense
Both verbs build the past from the l-participle plus the auxiliary, agreeing in gender and number. The aspect difference survives: platil jsem = "I was paying / used to pay"; zaplatil jsem = "I paid (and it was settled)."
| Subject | platit | zaplatit |
|---|---|---|
| masc. sg. | platil jsem | zaplatil jsem |
| fem. sg. | platila jsem | zaplatila jsem |
| masc. anim. pl. | platili jsme | zaplatili jsme |
| fem. pl. | platily jsme | zaplatily jsme |
Dřív jsme za elektřinu platili míň.
We used to pay less for electricity. (process / habit)
Nakonec za nás všechny zaplatil děda.
In the end grandpa paid for all of us. (one settled act)
The imperative
The imperative also splits by aspect, and watch the spelling: the stem-final t softens to ť. Perfective zaplať tells someone to settle up once; imperfective plať points to a habit or an ongoing duty, and is the form negatives prefer.
| platit | zaplatit | |
|---|---|---|
| ty | plať | zaplať |
| my | plaťme | zaplaťme |
| vy | plaťte | zaplaťte |
Zaplať to a jdeme.
Pay it and let's go. (one act, perfective)
Plať vždycky včas, ať nemáš pokutu.
Always pay on time so you don't get a fine. (habit, imperfective)
The shape to memorize
Platit / zaplatit is a model prefix-only pair: the imperfective and perfective share the same stem and endings, and the perfective just adds za-. That is the cleanest, most common way Czech builds a perfective — compare dělat / udělat, vařit / uvařit. The other big template stretches the stem instead, as in kupovat / koupit. Learn platit / zaplatit and you have both a survival phrase and a worked example of the simplest aspect-pair shape.
Common mistakes
❌ Teď zaplatím za parkování.
Incorrect if you mean now — zaplatím is future, not present.
✅ Teď platím za parkování.
I'm paying for parking now.
The perfective zaplatím always points forward; for an action happening at this moment, use platím.
❌ Zítra budu zaplatit účet.
Incorrect — perfectives never take budu.
✅ Zítra zaplatím účet.
Tomorrow I'll pay the bill.
Zaplatit is already future on its own; never put budu in front of it.
❌ Platím kávu.
Unidiomatic if you mean paying for it — needs za.
✅ Platím za kávu.
I'm paying for the coffee.
To pay for something you receive, use za + accusative; the bare accusative is for paying the bill/charge itself (platím účet).
❌ Platím! (asking for the bill)
Wrong aspect for the idiom — use the perfective.
✅ Zaplatím, prosím!
The bill, please!
Key takeaways
- platit = imperfective (paying as a process, habit, or in progress); zaplatit = perfective (one settled payment).
- Imperfective platím is a real present; perfective zaplatím means "I will pay."
- Pay the charge itself in the bare accusative (zaplatit účet); pay for something with za + accusative (platit za kávu).
- Zaplatím! / Zaplatíme! is how you ask for the bill; To platí / Platí! means "it's a deal."
- The pair is built by the prefix za- alone — the simplest and most common aspect-pair template.
Now practice Czech
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Start learning Czech→Related Topics
- Aspect Pairs: The Core SystemA2 — How most Czech verbs come as a two-member aspect pair — one imperfective, one perfective — and how to learn, look up, and choose between them.
- Class IV: -í- Verbs (prosit, trpět, sázet)A2 — The -í- present class, where three different infinitive endings all feed one tidy paradigm.
- Perfective Present = Future MeaningA2 — Why conjugating a perfective verb in the present yields a future meaning.
- Verbs Governing the AccusativeA2 — The accusative is the default object case in Czech: the vast majority of transitive verbs put their direct object in the accusative, and only a marked minority demand the dative, genitive, or instrumental instead.
- kupovat / koupit — to buyA1 — The prototypical Czech aspect pair: imperfective kupovat versus perfective koupit, conjugated side by side, with its accusative-plus-dative government.