"To show" in Czech is the aspect pair ukazovat / ukázat. The imperfective ukazovat describes showing as a process or a habit ("I'm showing them around," "she always shows me her photos"); the perfective ukázat packages one act of showing as a finished whole ("I'll show you," "show me!"). The pair is worth a careful look because each half belongs to a different — and very common — conjugation class, and the perfective hides a spelling alternation, z → ž, that trips up nearly every learner.
The two halves, side by side
The imperfective ukazovat runs on the productive -ova- / -uje- machinery (the same kupuje-class you meet in kupovat / koupit). The perfective ukázat belongs to the mazat-type of Class I, where the -e- endings attach to a stem whose final consonant shifts: z becomes ž.
| Person | ukazovat (impf.) — present | ukázat (pf.) — future meaning |
|---|---|---|
| já | ukazuju / ukazuji | ukážu / ukáži |
| ty | ukazuješ | ukážeš |
| on / ona / ono | ukazuje | ukáže |
| my | ukazujeme | ukážeme |
| vy | ukazujete | ukážete |
| oni | ukazujou / ukazují | ukážou / ukáží |
The double forms are a register split, not a meaning difference. Ukazuju / ukážu and ukazujou / ukážou are the everyday spoken forms (informal); ukazuji / ukáži and ukazují / ukáží are the literary written ones (formal). You will say ukážu to a friend and read ukáži in a printed instruction manual.
The z → ž alternation
This is the feature to fix in your memory. The infinitive and the past keep z (ukázat, ukázal), but every present-tense form of the perfective swaps it for ž: ukážu, ukážeš, ukáže.... It is the same alternation you see across the whole mazat-class — mazat → mažu ("to smear"), řezat → řežu ("to cut"), kázat → káži ("to preach"). The consonant softens before the front vowel -e-.
Ukážu ti, jak se to dělá.
I'll show you how it's done.
Když mu ukážeš pas, pustí tě dovnitř.
If you show him your passport, he'll let you in.
So: ukázat / ukázal with z, but ukážu / ukážeš / ukáže with ž. Mixing them up (ukázu, ukažal) is the classic slip.
What the verb governs: accusative + dative
Both halves take the thing shown in the accusative and the person you show it to in the dative — exactly like "show someone something" in English, but with the cases doing the work instead of word order. The pattern is show [dative person] [accusative thing].
Ukázala mi fotky z dovolené.
She showed me her holiday photos.
Ukaž mi to, prosím.
Show me it, please.
In Ukázala mi fotky, fotky ("photos") is accusative and mi ("to me") is the dative recipient. The neat clitic ti / mi / mu ("to you / to me / to him") carries the whole "to someone" idea with no preposition — see verbs that take the dative.
ukázat na — to point at
With the preposition na plus the accusative, ukázat shifts from "show" to "point at / point to." Here you are not handing over information but directing attention with a gesture.
Ukázal na ten vysoký dům na konci ulice.
He pointed at that tall building at the end of the street.
Holčička ukázala prstem na psa.
The little girl pointed her finger at the dog.
So ukázat někomu něco = "show someone something," but ukázat na něco = "point at something." Keep the two government frames apart: the dative-plus-accusative frame is about displaying, the na + accusative frame is about pointing.
The imperative
The imperative splits by aspect, and the perfective shows the z → ž softening again: ukaž! ("show!"). The imperfective ukazuj suggests a repeated or general "keep showing."
| ukazovat (impf.) | ukázat (pf.) | |
|---|---|---|
| ty | ukazuj | ukaž |
| my | ukazujme | ukažme |
| vy | ukazujte | ukažte |
Ukaž, co máš za zády!
Show me what you've got behind your back!
Tak nám ukažte, co umíte.
So show us what you can do.
For one specific act — "show me!" right now — the perfective ukaž / ukažte is the natural command. The imperfective imperative is more about keeping a habit going.
The past tense
Both halves form the past from the l-participle plus the auxiliary, and the participle agrees in gender and number. The z stays put throughout the past (no softening): ukázal, ukázala, ukázali.
| Subject | ukazovat | ukázat |
|---|---|---|
| masc. sg. | ukazoval jsem | ukázal jsem |
| fem. sg. | ukazovala jsem | ukázala jsem |
| masc. anim. pl. | ukazovali jsme | ukázali jsme |
| fem. pl. | ukazovaly jsme | ukázaly jsme |
Průvodce nám celé dopoledne ukazoval staré město.
The guide showed us the old town all morning.
Nakonec mi ukázal, kde je chyba.
In the end he showed me where the mistake was.
Feel the aspect in the past: ukazoval nám město paints an ongoing scene ("was showing / kept showing us the town"), while ukázal mi chybu reports one finished act ("showed me the mistake").
ukázat se — to turn out / to appear
The reflexive ukázat se ("show oneself") is extremely common in two senses: literally "to show up / appear," and figuratively "to turn out (to be)." The figurative use is usually impersonal: Ukázalo se, že... = "It turned out that..."
Ukázalo se, že měl celou dobu pravdu.
It turned out he'd been right the whole time.
Konečně se ukázalo slunce.
The sun finally came out.
Note the clitic se sits in second position and the participle in the impersonal Ukázalo se takes the neuter ending -o. This is a high-value chunk: ukázalo se, že introduces a fact you've just discovered.
Common mistakes
❌ Teď ti ukážu fotky. (meaning: right now, in progress)
Incorrect if you mean 'I'm showing them now' — ukážu is future.
✅ Teď ti ukazuju fotky.
I'm showing you the photos now.
The perfective ukážu points forward ("I will show"). For an action unfolding at this moment, use the imperfective ukazuju.
❌ Ukázu ti to.
Incorrect spelling — the present keeps the soft ž.
✅ Ukážu ti to.
I'll show you it.
Every present-tense form of the perfective has ž: ukážu, ukážeš, ukáže. The plain z survives only in the infinitive ukázat and the past ukázal.
❌ Ukázal mě cestu.
Incorrect case — the person shown is dative, not accusative.
✅ Ukázal mi cestu.
He showed me the way.
The recipient is dative (mi, "to me"), not accusative (mě). "Show someone something" puts the someone in the dative.
❌ Ukázal mi na mapu. (meaning: showed me on the map)
Incorrect — to 'point at the map' is na + accusative; to 'show on the map' use the locative.
✅ Ukázal mi to na mapě.
He showed it to me on the map.
Keep the two na uses apart: na mapě (locative) = "on the map" as a location, while na mapu (accusative) would mean pointing at the map itself.
Key takeaways
- ukazovat = imperfective (in progress, habit); ukázat = perfective (one completed act).
- The perfective present has z → ž: ukážu, ukážeš, ukáže — but the infinitive and past keep z (ukázat, ukázal).
- Government: ukázat někomu (dative) něco (accusative) = show someone something.
- ukázat na
- accusative = "point at"; ukázat se = "show up / turn out" (often impersonal ukázalo se, že).
- Perfective ukážu means "I will show," never "I am showing" — use ukazuju for the present.
Now practice Czech
Reading grammar gets you part of the way. The exercises are where it sticks — free, no signup needed.
Start learning Czech→Related Topics
- kupovat / koupit — to buyA1 — The prototypical Czech aspect pair: imperfective kupovat versus perfective koupit, conjugated side by side, with its accusative-plus-dative government.
- Class III: -je- Verbs (krýt, kupovat)A2 — The -je- present class — including the enormous, fully productive -ovat group where nearly every borrowed and newly coined Czech verb ends up.
- Class I: -e- Verbs (nést, brát)A2 — The -e- conjugation, where the present stem can look nothing like the infinitive and has to be memorised verb by verb.
- Verbs That Govern the DativeA2 — The important class of Czech verbs whose only object stands in the dative, even though English uses a direct object.
- 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.