vidět — to see | Czech Grammar

Vid ět means "to see." It is a verb of perception — it describes what your eyes register, not what you choose to look at. That distinction (perceiving versus deliberately looking) is built into Czech vocabulary: vidět is passive perception, while dívat se and koukat are intentional watching. Learning vidět also means learning when not to use it, so this page covers both.

Conjugation class

Vidět belongs to the Class IV (-í-) pattern of the trpět type — the same family as muset and slyšet. Drop the -ět to get the stem vid-, then add -ím, -íš, -í, -íme, -íte, -í.

Person	Present
já	vidím
ty	vidíš
on / ona / ono	vidí
my	vidíme
vy	vidíte
oni / ony / ona	vidí / vidějí

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As with other trpět-type verbs, the 3rd-person plural has two standard forms: the shorter vidí (more common in speech) and the fuller vidějí. Both are correct. The negative is regular: nevidím, nevidíš, …, nevidí / nevidějí.

Vidím ji každý den v tramvaji.

I see her every day on the tram.

Vidíš tamhle ten kostel?

Do you see that church over there?

Bez brýlí skoro nevidím.

Without my glasses I can hardly see.

Government: an accusative object

Vidět is transitive and takes its object in the accusative — the thing seen.

Vidím tě!

I see you!

Z okna vidíme celé město.

From the window we can see the whole city.

Viděl jsem tam zajímavou výstavu.

I saw an interesting exhibition there. (male speaker)

It can also take a clause when what you "see" is a fact or a situation: Vidím, že máš nového psa ("I see you have a new dog").

Vidím, že jsi unavený.

I can see that you're tired.

vidět vs dívat se / koukat — perception vs intention

This is the contrast that trips up English speakers, because English "see," "look," and "watch" don't map one-to-one onto Czech.

vidět = to see — passive, involuntary perception. Your eyes are open and an image lands on them. You don't decide to vidět.
dívat se (na + accusative) = to look at / watch — a deliberate, directed act. You point your attention somewhere.
koukat (na + accusative) = the same as dívat se but more colloquial/casual (informal).

So you vidíš a film by accident on a passing screen, but you díváš se na a film you sat down to watch.

Dívám se na televizi.

I'm watching TV. (intentional)

Vidím televizi z kuchyně.

I can see the TV from the kitchen. (it's in my line of sight)

Na co se to koukáš?

What are you looking at? (informal)

Podívej se na ten západ slunce!

Look at that sunset! (perfective imperative of dívat se)

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Quick rule of thumb: if you could swap in English "watch" or "look at," you want dívat se / koukat. If you mean "perceive with the eyes / catch sight of," you want vidět. The same passive-vs-intentional split separates slyšet ("hear") from poslouchat ("listen").

The perfective: uvidět

Vidět is imperfective (an ongoing perception or a state). Its perfective partner uvidět marks the moment of perception — "to catch sight of," "to spot" — and, very commonly, the future "will see." The prefix u- here turns continuous seeing into a single, completed event.

Because perfectives have no present meaning, the present-looking form uvidím is in fact future: "I'll see."

Uvidíme se zítra.

We'll see each other tomorrow. / See you tomorrow.

Uvidíš, že to zvládneš.

You'll see that you'll manage it.

Najednou jsem ho uviděl ve frontě.

Suddenly I caught sight of him in the queue. (male speaker)

Uvidíme.

We'll see. (a stock noncommittal reply)

Past tense

The past uses the l-participle viděl / viděla / vidělo plus the auxiliary být, dropped in the third person.

Subject	Past form
já (m.) / (f.)	viděl jsem / viděla jsem
ty (m.) / (f.)	viděl jsi / viděla jsi
on / ona / ono	viděl / viděla / vidělo
my (m.) / (f.)	viděli jsme / viděly jsme
vy (m.) / (f.)	viděli jste / viděly jste
oni / ony / ona	viděli / viděly / viděla

Viděla jsem ten film už dvakrát.

I've seen that film twice already. (female speaker)

Viděli jste dnes ráno tu duhu?

Did you see that rainbow this morning?

Future tense

The imperfective future ("will be seeing / will be able to see") uses budu vidět. For the one-off "will see," Czech prefers the perfective uvidím (see above).

Person	Future (imperfective)
já	budu vidět
ty	budeš vidět
on / ona / ono	bude vidět
my	budeme vidět
vy	budete vidět
oni / ony / ona	budou vidět

Z nového bytu budeme vidět na řeku.

From the new flat we'll be able to see the river.

Imperative

The everyday "look!" uses dívat se / podívat se, not vidět. The form viz survives almost exclusively in writing, meaning "see / cf." as a cross-reference (literary / academic).

Viz strana 42.

See page 42. (academic cross-reference)

Common mistakes

❌ Vidím na televizi celý večer.

Wrong if you mean 'watch': vidět is passive perception.

✅ Dívám se na televizi celý večer.

Correct: deliberate watching is dívat se na.

❌ Uvidíme se včera.

Wrong: uvidím is perfective and points to the future, not the past.

✅ Viděli jsme se včera.

Correct: a past meeting uses the past tense of vidět.

❌ Vidím na ten obraz.

Wrong: vidět doesn't take 'na' + accusative; that's dívat se.

✅ Vidím ten obraz.

Correct: 'I see the painting.'

✅ Dívám se na ten obraz.

Correct: 'I'm looking at the painting.'

❌ Oni viděj ten problém.

Colloquial only: *viděj is obecná čeština, not standard.

✅ Oni vidí ten problém. / Oni vidějí ten problém.

Correct standard forms: vidí or vidějí.

Key takeaways

vidět = "see" (passive perception); Class IV, vidím … vidí / vidějí, with an accusative object.
The perfective uvidět = "catch sight of / will see"; uvidíme se = "see you / we'll see."
For deliberate looking and watching, use dívat se na (neutral) or koukat na (informal), not vidět.
The parallel "hear" vs "listen" contrast is covered under slyšet.

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