"To close" is the aspect pair zavírat (imperfective) / zavřít (perfective). It is the mirror image of otvírat / otevřít ("to open") and behaves exactly the same way: the imperfective is a comfortable Class V (-á-) verb, while the perfective is a Class I (-e-) verb built on a stem that hides the famous Czech consonant ř. Learn the two side by side and you have both halves of the open/close pair at once.
The two halves, conjugated side by side
The imperfective zavírat patterns like dělat (Class V, -á- endings). The perfective zavřít is built on the present stem zavř- and takes the -u/-eš/-e endings of the nese/bere-type class.
| Person | zavírat (imperfective) | zavřít (perfective) |
|---|---|---|
| já | zavírám | zavřu |
| ty | zavíráš | zavřeš |
| on / ona / ono | zavírá | zavře |
| my | zavíráme | zavřeme |
| vy | zavíráte | zavřete |
| oni / ony | zavírají | zavřou |
Present meaning versus future meaning
This is the heart of every aspect pair. Zavírám is a genuine present — closing right now, or habitually (opening hours, a daily routine). Zavřu wears present-tense endings but points to the future, because a perfective verb cannot sit inside the unfinished present moment.
V kolik zavíráte?
What time do you close? (asking a shop)
Počkej, zavřu okno, je tu průvan.
Hold on, I'll close the window, there's a draft.
Obchod zavírají v šest a o víkendu vůbec.
The shop closes at six and not at all on weekends.
The first and third sentences describe habitual closing times (imperfective); the second is a single act about to happen (perfective future). You could not swap them: zavřu can't mean "we close at six every day," and zavírám can't mean "I'll shut it this once."
What the verb governs: the accusative
Both verbs are plainly transitive. The thing you close stands in the accusative, with no preposition.
Zavři dveře, prosím, je venku zima.
Close the door, please, it's cold outside.
Nezavírej to okno, čekám, až se vyvětrá.
Don't close that window, I'm waiting for it to air out.
Here dveře ("door," a plural-only noun in Czech) and okno are accusative direct objects.
The past tense
Both build the past from the l-participle plus the auxiliary, agreeing in gender and number. The aspect contrast holds: zavíral jsem = "I was closing / kept closing"; zavřel jsem = "I closed (and it's shut now)."
| Subject | zavírat | zavřít |
|---|---|---|
| masc. sg. | zavíral jsem | zavřel jsem |
| fem. sg. | zavírala jsem | zavřela jsem |
| masc. anim. pl. | zavírali jsme | zavřeli jsme |
| fem. pl. | zavíraly jsme | zavřely jsme |
Před spaním jsem zavíral všechna okna.
Before bed I was closing all the windows. (male speaker)
Zavřela za sebou dveře a bylo ticho.
She closed the door behind her and it went quiet.
The first reports a repeated, drawn-out activity; the second a single decisive act with a lasting result. English "closed" covers both; Czech splits them.
The future and the imperative
Future and imperative split by aspect, as always:
- Imperfective future: budu zavírat, budeš zavírat… — closing as a repeated or ongoing future activity.
- Perfective future: just zavřu — never budu zavřít.
- Imperative: perfective zavři / zavřete for a single act ("shut it"); imperfective zavírej / zavírejte for habits and, very often, for negative warnings.
| zavírat | zavřít | |
|---|---|---|
| ty | zavírej | zavři |
| my | zavírejme | zavřeme |
| vy | zavírejte | zavřete |
Od listopadu budeme zavírat dřív, už v pět.
From November we'll be closing earlier, at five.
Zavři za sebou, ať netáhne.
Close the door behind you so there's no draft.
The reflexive zavřít se
Add se and the verb turns intransitive: zavřít se / zavírat se = "to close (by itself), to shut." A door closes, a flower closes, or a person shuts themselves in.
Dveře se samy zavřely a já zůstal venku.
The door closed by itself and I was left outside.
Zavřel se v pokoji a celý den nevyšel.
He shut himself in the room and didn't come out all day.
One more usage worth recognising: zavřít někoho can mean, informally, "to lock someone up / put them in jail" — Zavřeli ho na dva roky (informal) = "They put him away for two years."
The antonym: otvírat / otevřít
Always store zavírat / zavřít together with its opposite, otvírat / otevřít ("to open"). They are built identically — imperfective Class V (zavírám / otvírám), perfective Class I with ř (zavřu / otevřu) — so learning one paradigm gives you the other for free.
Otevřu okno na pět minut a pak ho zase zavřu.
I'll open the window for five minutes and then close it again.
Common mistakes
❌ Teď zavřu okno.
Incorrect if you mean now — zavřu is future, not present.
✅ Teď zavírám okno.
I'm closing the window now.
❌ Zítra budu zavřít obchod.
Incorrect — a perfective never combines with budu.
✅ Zítra zavřu obchod.
Tomorrow I'll close the shop.
❌ Zavru dveře.
Incorrect — the perfective stem keeps the ř: it's zavřu, never zavru.
✅ Zavřu dveře.
I'll close the door.
❌ Zavři okna každý večer.
Incorrect — a nightly habit needs the imperfective: zavírej.
✅ Zavírej okna každý večer.
Close the windows every evening.
❌ Zavřu se dveře.
Incorrect — for 'the door closes' the se attaches to the verb in second position: dveře se zavřou.
✅ Dveře se zavřou samy.
The door will close by itself.
Key takeaways
- zavírat = imperfective (closing now, habits, opening hours); zavřít = perfective (one completed closing).
- Imperfective zavírám (Class V, like dělat); perfective zavřu (Class I, nese-type endings) — and the ř is in every perfective form.
- The thing closed is in the accusative: zavři dveře, zavřu okno.
- Perfective "present" zavřu = "I will close"; the imperfective future is budu zavírat.
- Reflexive zavřít se = "to close by itself / shut oneself in." Pair the whole verb with its antonym otvírat / otevřít.
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- otvírat / otevřít — to openA2 — The aspect pair for opening: imperfective otvírat (process, habit) versus perfective otevřít (one completed act), with the tricky ř in the perfective stem and the otví-/otev- alternation.
- 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.
- Perfective Present = Future MeaningA2 — Why conjugating a perfective verb in the present yields a future meaning.
- 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 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.