spát "to sleep" is an everyday verb you'll use constantly, and once you see how its long infinitive á shortens to the present í, it's perfectly regular. It is a Class IV (-í-) verb of the trpět sub-type. Unlike most of the verbs in this section, spát has no neat one-word perfective partner — instead it leans on the reflexive vyspat se ("to get a good sleep") and on usnout ("to fall asleep"). This page covers all three.
A vowel that shortens
The trick with spát is the vowel alternation:
- The infinitive has a long á: sp-á-t.
- The present shortens it to í: sp-í-m, sp-í-š…
So the infinitive and the present don't rhyme. This á → í shortening is exactly what defines the -í- conjugation class; spát is a model member of it.
Present tense
The present stem is spí-. Note the alternative 3rd-plural spějí, which is more formal/literary; everyday speech uses spí for both 3rd singular and 3rd plural.
| Person | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | spím | spíme |
| 2nd | spíš | spíte |
| 3rd | spí | spí (formal: spějí) |
Tiše, dítě spí.
Quiet, the baby's sleeping.
Špatně spím, když je venku horko.
I sleep badly when it's hot outside.
Spíš ještě, nebo už jsi vzhůru?
Are you still asleep, or are you up already?
Past tense
The past is built on the infinitive stem, so the long á returns: spal-, with the auxiliary být in second position.
| Subject | l-participle | Full past form (1st person) |
|---|---|---|
| masculine sg. | spal | spal jsem |
| feminine sg. | spala | spala jsem |
| neuter sg. | spalo | spalo |
| masc. animate pl. | spali | spali jsme |
| feminine / masc. inan. pl. | spaly | spaly jsme |
| neuter pl. | spala | koťata spala (the kittens slept) |
V noci jsem skoro nespal.
I barely slept during the night (said by a man).
Spala jsem jako zabitá.
I slept like a log (literally: like someone killed; said by a woman).
Děti spaly celou cestu v autě.
The children slept the whole way in the car.
Future tense
spát is a normal imperfective verb, so its future is the regular budu + infinitive — no special prefixed form here (unlike the motion verbs).
| Person | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | budu spát | budeme spát |
| 2nd | budeš spát | budete spát |
| 3rd | bude spát | budou spát |
Dnes budu spát u kamaráda.
Tonight I'll sleep over at a friend's place.
Jestli budeš spát do poledne, prošvihneš oběd.
If you sleep until noon, you'll miss lunch.
Imperative
Built on the present stem spí-, the imperative is spi (short i), and the p softens to give spěte in the plural.
| Form | Imperative |
|---|---|
| 2nd sg. (ty) | spi |
| 1st pl. (let's) | spěme |
| 2nd pl. / formal (vy) | spěte |
Dobrou noc, spi sladce.
Good night, sleep tight (literally: sleep sweetly).
Spěte dobře, ráno musíme brzy vstávat.
Sleep well, we have to get up early in the morning.
spát is intransitive
spát takes no direct object — you can't sleep something. It works with adverbs and prepositional phrases of place, manner, and time: spát dobře (sleep well), spát doma (sleep at home), spát osm hodin (sleep eight hours, with the accusative of duration).
Spím obvykle osm hodin.
I usually sleep eight hours.
The perfective: vyspat se
Because spát describes an open-ended state, its natural perfective is reflexive: vyspat se "to get a good, full sleep / to sleep in / to sleep something off." The vy- prefix plus se packages sleeping into a satisfying, completed event. Its present-as-future forms run on vyspí-:
| Person | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | vyspím se | vyspíme se |
| 2nd | vyspíš se | vyspíte se |
| 3rd | vyspí se | vyspí se |
O víkendu se konečně pořádně vyspím.
At the weekend I'll finally get a proper night's sleep.
Vyspi se na to, ráno se rozhodneš.
Sleep on it; you'll decide in the morning.
A close cousin: usnout (to fall asleep)
Don't confuse the state of sleeping with the moment of dropping off. That moment is usnout (perfective), a Class II (-ne-) verb: usnu, usneš…, past usnul / usnula.
Nemůžu usnout, mám v hlavě samé starosti.
I can't fall asleep, my head is full of worries.
Usnul jsem u televize.
I fell asleep in front of the TV (said by a man).
Idiom: spát jako dudek
A very common simile: spát jako dudek — literally "to sleep like a hoopoe (a bird)," i.e. to sleep deeply and soundly, the equivalent of English "sleep like a log."
Po té túře jsem spal jako dudek.
After that hike I slept like a log (said by a man).
Common Mistakes
❌ Dítě spám.
Incorrect — the present is spí-: a baby spí, you spím. There is no *spám.
✅ Dítě spí.
The baby is sleeping.
❌ Včera jsem spil osm hodin.
Incorrect — the past uses the long-á stem: spal, not *spil.
✅ Včera jsem spal osm hodin.
Yesterday I slept eight hours (said by a man).
❌ Zítra vyspím do deseti.
Incorrect — the perfective vyspat is reflexive; the se is required.
✅ Zítra se vyspím do deseti.
Tomorrow I'll sleep in until ten.
❌ Nemůžu spát, ležím tu už hodinu.
Imprecise — for the moment of dropping off, Czech distinguishes usnout (fall asleep) from spát (be asleep).
✅ Nemůžu usnout, ležím tu už hodinu.
I can't fall asleep, I've been lying here for an hour.
❌ Spi dobře! (to several people / formally)
Incorrect — the plural/formal imperative is spěte, not spi.
✅ Spěte dobře!
Sleep well! (to several people or formally)
Key Takeaways
- Long infinitive spát shortens in the present: spím, spíš, spí, spíme, spíte, spí (formal spějí).
- Past restores the long á: spal, spala, spali, spaly.
- Future is the regular budu spát — no special prefixed form.
- The perfective is the reflexive vyspat se (vyspím se); the se is obligatory.
- spát = be asleep (state); usnout = fall asleep (the moment). Idiom: spát jako dudek.
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Start learning Czech→Related Topics
- spát / vyspat se — to sleep / to get a good sleepB1 — Side-by-side reference of imperfective spát and reflexive perfective vyspat se, why they aren't a clean aspect pair, plus usnout and prospat.
- Class IV: -í- Verbs (prosit, trpět, sázet)A2 — The -í- present class, where three different infinitive endings all feed one tidy paradigm.
- The Imperfective Future (budu + infinitive)A2 — How Czech builds the future of imperfective verbs with budu + an infinitive, why it pairs only with imperfectives, and when to use it instead of the perfective.
- 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.
- The Dative Reflexive siB2 — How the dative reflexive si marks an action done to, for, or in the interest of oneself — koupit si, dát si, umýt si ruce — and how it differs from accusative se.