Chtít means "to want." It is one of the first verbs you will need — to order, to ask, to decline politely — and it is irregular, so it pays to learn its forms carefully rather than guessing. The present tense in particular does not look like the infinitive, and its conditional form chtěl bych is the standard polite way to say "I would like," which you will use constantly.
Present tense — irregular
The most common beginner error is to invent a regular -í- form like *chtím by analogy with muset. That form does not exist. The real present-tense stem is chc- (with chtěj- in the third-person plural):
| Person | Present |
|---|---|
| já | chci |
| ty | chceš |
| on / ona / ono | chce |
| my | chceme |
| vy | chcete |
| oni / ony / ona | chtějí |
The negative simply prefixes ne-: nechci, nechceš, nechce, nechceme, nechcete, nechtějí.
Chci kávu, prosím.
I want a coffee, please.
Co chceš k obědu?
What do you want for lunch?
Nechtějí čekat tak dlouho.
They don't want to wait that long.
What chtít takes: accusative object OR infinitive
Chtít works two ways, and they map neatly onto English:
- chtít + accusative noun — "to want something." The thing wanted goes in the accusative case.
- chtít + infinitive — "to want to do something." A second verb follows in the infinitive.
Chci nový telefon.
I want a new phone. (accusative object)
Chci jít domů.
I want to go home. (dependent infinitive)
Chceš vodu, nebo džus?
Do you want water or juice? (accusative object)
Nechce o tom mluvit.
He doesn't want to talk about it. (dependent infinitive)
To want someone else to do something, Czech does not use an infinitive — it uses a chci, aby… clause with the conditional. That is a step beyond A1, but worth knowing exists: Chci, abys přišel ("I want you to come").
Past tense
The past uses the l-participle chtěl / chtěla / chtělo plus the auxiliary být, dropped in the third person. Note the ě in the stem.
| Subject | Past form |
|---|---|
| já (m.) / (f.) | chtěl jsem / chtěla jsem |
| ty (m.) / (f.) | chtěl jsi / chtěla jsi |
| on / ona / ono | chtěl / chtěla / chtělo |
| my (m.) / (f.) | chtěli jsme / chtěly jsme |
| vy (m.) / (f.) | chtěli jste / chtěly jste |
| oni / ony / ona | chtěli / chtěly / chtěla |
Chtěla jsem ti zavolat, ale neměla jsem čas.
I wanted to call you, but I didn't have time. (female speaker)
Vždycky chtěl být pilotem.
He always wanted to be a pilot.
Future tense
Chtít is imperfective, so its future is budu chtít and so on.
| Person | Future |
|---|---|
| já | budu chtít |
| ty | budeš chtít |
| on / ona / ono | bude chtít |
| my | budeme chtít |
| vy | budete chtít |
| oni / ony / ona | budou chtít |
Až vyrosteš, budeš chtít cestovat.
When you grow up, you'll want to travel.
The polite conditional: chtěl bych = "I would like"
This is the form you will reach for most as a learner. Saying Chci kávu ("I want a coffee") is grammatical but can sound blunt — like barking "I want coffee." The conditional chtěl bych ("I would like") is the standard, courteous way to ask for things in a café, shop, or restaurant. It agrees in gender and number, and the auxiliary bych / bys / by / bychom / byste / by sits in second position.
| Subject | Conditional |
|---|---|
| já (m.) / (f.) | chtěl bych / chtěla bych |
| ty (m.) / (f.) | chtěl bys / chtěla bys |
| on / ona | chtěl by / chtěla by |
| my | chtěli bychom / chtěly bychom |
| vy | chtěli byste / chtěly byste |
| oni / ony | chtěli by / chtěly by |
Chtěl bych jedno pivo, prosím.
I'd like one beer, please. (male speaker)
Chtěla bych se zeptat na cenu.
I'd like to ask about the price. (female speaker)
Chtěli bychom rezervovat stůl pro dva.
We'd like to reserve a table for two.
The (rarely used) imperative is chtěj / chtějte; volition is hard to command, so you will almost never need it.
Reflexive: nechce se mi — "I don't feel like it"
A very common idiom uses chtít impersonally with the reflexive se and a dative experiencer: chce se mi ("I feel like…"), most often heard in the negative nechce se mi ("I don't feel like it / I can't be bothered"). The person is in the dative (mi, ti, mu, jí, nám…), and any verb that follows is an infinitive.
Nechce se mi dnes nikam chodit.
I don't feel like going anywhere today.
Chce se ti zmrzlina?
Do you feel like an ice cream?
Common mistakes
❌ Chtím čaj.
Wrong: *chtím does not exist; chtít is irregular.
✅ Chci čaj.
Correct: 'I want' is chci.
❌ Oni chtí počkat.
Wrong: the 3rd-person plural is not *chtí.
✅ Oni chtějí počkat.
Correct: 'they want' is chtějí.
❌ Chci kávu pít.
Unnatural word order / redundant: just use the object or the infinitive, not a stranded one.
✅ Chci kávu.
Correct: 'I want a coffee.'
✅ Chci se napít kávy.
Correct: 'I want to have a coffee.'
❌ Chtěla bych pivo (said by a man).
Wrong: the participle must match the speaker's gender.
✅ Chtěl bych pivo.
Correct: a male speaker uses chtěl bych.
Key takeaways
- Present tense is irregular: chci, chceš, chce, chceme, chcete, chtějí.
- chtít takes an accusative object (chci kávu) or an infinitive (chci jít).
- Use the conditional chtěl bych ("I'd like") to be polite — see polite requests.
- The idiom nechce se mi ("I don't feel like it") uses a dative experiencer.
Now practice Czech
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Start learning Czech→Related Topics
- chtít — Want, Will, IntendA2 — Using chtít to express desires, intentions and plans — with an object, with an infinitive, with an aby-clause when the subjects differ, and in the impersonal chce se mi pattern.
- Irregular Present: chtítA2 — Why the present tense of chtít ('to want') is irregular — the cht → chc stem change in chci/chceš/chce and the odd third plural chtějí.
- muset — must, to have toA1 — Conjugation and usage of the modal verb muset, with the crucial difference between nemuset (don't have to) and nesmět (mustn't).
- Conditional for Polite RequestsA2 — How Czech builds politeness into the grammar itself — chtěl bych, mohl byste, prosil bych — so that asking with the conditional, not just adding 'please', is what makes a request courteous.
- Wishes and Preferences with the ConditionalB1 — Expressing wishes using rád/raději plus the conditional.