psát / napsat — to write | Czech Grammar

psát "to write" comes as an aspect pair: imperfective psát for the process of writing, and perfective napsat for the finished act of having written something. It belongs to the mazat-type within Class I, which means the present stem looks quite different from the infinitive — a consonant alternation s → š turns up the moment you conjugate it. Get that alternation under your belt and the whole pair falls into place.

The aspect pair at a glance

	Imperfective	Perfective
Infinitive	psát	napsat
Present / future stem	píš- (present meaning)	napíš- (future meaning)
Past stem	psal-	napsal-
Imperative	piš	napiš

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The perfective napsat is just psát with the empty prefix na- glued on. The prefix doesn't change the meaning ("write"), only the aspect — it packages the action as complete. So every form of napsat equals na- plus the matching form of psát: napíšu = na + píšu, napsal = na + psal.

The stem alternation you must notice

This verb has two faces:

The infinitive and past use the psa- stem: psát, psal, napsat, napsal.
The present and imperative switch to the píš- stem, with the s → š alternation and a long í: píšu, piš.

That switch is the heart of the verb. You cannot derive píšu by mechanically dropping an ending from psát; you have to know the present stem is píš-.

Present tense — psát (imperfective)

In the imperfective, the present has present meaning. Note the two registers in the 1st sg. and 3rd pl.: the -u / -ou endings are everyday speech, the -i / -í endings are more formal/literary.

Person	Singular	Plural
1st	píšu (formal: píši)	píšeme
2nd	píšeš	píšete
3rd	píše	píšou (formal: píší)

Právě píšu e-mail šéfovi.

I'm writing an email to the boss right now.

Co píšeš? — Domácí úkol.

What are you writing? — My homework.

Děti se ve škole učí, jak se píše dopis.

At school the children learn how to write a letter.

Future of napsat (perfective present = future)

The perfective napsat has no present-time meaning. Its present-tense forms point to the future — to a single, completed act of writing.

Person	Singular	Plural
1st	napíšu (formal: napíši)	napíšeme
2nd	napíšeš	napíšete
3rd	napíše	napíšou (formal: napíší)

Napíšu ti, až dorazím.

I'll write to you when I arrive.

Do pátku napíšeme tu zprávu.

We'll write the report by Friday (and have it finished).

To talk about an ongoing future writing process, you need the imperfective future budu psát ("I'll be writing") — see the imperfective future.

Past tense

Both verbs build the past on the psa- stem with the auxiliary být in second position. The aspect difference is meaning, not form-shape: psal jsem = "I was writing / I wrote (over time)," napsal jsem = "I wrote / I got it written."

Subject	Imperfective (psát)	Perfective (napsat)
masculine sg.	psal jsem	napsal jsem
feminine sg.	psala jsem	napsala jsem
masc. animate pl.	psali jsme	napsali jsme
feminine / masc. inan. pl.	psaly jsme	napsaly jsme
neuter pl.	psala	napsala

Celý večer jsem psal diplomovou práci.

I was writing my thesis all evening (process, said by a man).

Napsala jsem mu dlouhý dopis.

I wrote him a long letter (and finished it, said by a woman).

Spisovatel psal ten román deset let, než ho dopsal.

The writer was working on that novel for ten years before he finished it.

Imperative

The imperative is built on the píš- present stem: piš (note the short i here, not í).

Form	Imperfective	Perfective
2nd sg. (ty)	piš	napiš
1st pl. (let's)	pišme	napišme
2nd pl. / formal (vy)	pište	napište

Aspect matters in commands: the imperfective piš! urges the activity ("keep writing / write away"), while the perfective napiš! demands a finished result ("write it (and get it done)").

Piš čitelně, prosím.

Write legibly, please.

Napiš mi, až budeš mít čas.

Drop me a line when you have time.

What psát governs

psát / napsat takes a direct object in the accusative (the thing written) and an optional dative addressee (the person written to). This double-object pattern — write someone something — works just like English, but the cases are explicit.

Napíšu ti dopis.

I'll write you a letter (ti = dative, dopis = accusative).

Píšu článek o češtině.

I'm writing an article about Czech.

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Don't confuse this verb with the look-alike psát se ("to be spelled / to be written"): Jak se to píše? "How is that spelled?" The reflexive se flips it into a passive-like meaning.

Common Mistakes

❌ Právě psám e-mail.

Incorrect — there is no *psám; the present stem is píš-, giving píšu.

✅ Právě píšu e-mail.

I'm writing an email right now.

❌ Zítra budu napsat dopis.

Incorrect — napsat is perfective; its present already means future. Don't add budu.

✅ Zítra napíšu dopis.

Tomorrow I'll write the letter.

❌ Napíšu ti dopisem.

Incorrect — the thing written is the direct object (accusative dopis), not an instrument.

✅ Napíšu ti dopis.

I'll write you a letter.

❌ Včera jsem píšel zprávu.

Incorrect — the past is built on psa-, not on the present stem: psal.

✅ Včera jsem psal zprávu.

Yesterday I was writing the report (said by a man).

❌ Píš mi, až dorazíš.

Incorrect — a single, completed future act of writing wants the perfective imperative napiš.

✅ Napiš mi, až dorazíš.

Write to me once you arrive.

Key Takeaways

One pair, two faces: psa- in the infinitive and past, píš- in the present and imperative.
Present píšu, píšeš, píše, píšeme, píšete, píšou (formal píši … píší).
Perfective napíšu is a future; imperfective ongoing future is budu psát.
Governs accusative (what) + optional dative (to whom): napíšu ti dopis.
This is the model mazat-type verb — the s → š alternation recurs across the class.

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