Czech has two ways to say "the house is being built" or "the book was written" — and they are not interchangeable. One is the participial passive (být + a passive participle in -n or -t), which behaves like the English be-passive and is at home in formal and written register. The other is the reflexive passive (a 3rd-person verb plus the clitic se), which is far more frequent in ordinary speech. This page is a reference for forming both: the participle endings, the agreement they trigger, and where the agent goes when you express it.
The participial passive: být + passive participle
The structure mirrors English closely: a form of být ("to be") carries the tense, and the passive participle carries the lexical meaning. Unlike English, though, the participle is an adjective: it agrees with the subject in gender and number, taking short-form (nominal) adjective endings.
| Subject | Participle (postavit "to build") | Full passive |
|---|---|---|
| masc. inanim. sg (dům) | postaven | dům je postaven |
| feminine sg (kniha) | postavena | kniha je postavena |
| neuter sg (okno) | postaveno | okno je postaveno |
| masc. anim. pl (vojáci) | postaveni | vojáci jsou postaveni |
| masc. inanim. / fem. pl | postaveny | domy jsou postaveny |
| neuter pl (okna) | postavena | okna jsou postavena |
The tense lives entirely in být: present je / jsou, past byl / byla / bylo / byli / byly, future bude / budou. The participle does not change for tense — only for gender and number.
Most byl postaven v roce 1357.
The bridge was built in 1357. (past: byl + masc. participle postaven)
Ta kniha je přeložena do dvanácti jazyků.
That book is translated into twelve languages. (present: je + fem. participle přeložena)
Nové laboratoře budou otevřeny příští rok.
The new laboratories will be opened next year. (future: budou + fem. pl participle otevřeny)
Forming the passive participle
The participle is built from the perfective infinitive stem (most passives are perfective). Three stem types cover almost everything.
Type 1: stems in -t / -d / -s → -en / -ena
Verbs whose root ends in a consonant (the nést / vést type, and most -it verbs) form the participle in -en. The root consonant often softens: d → z/ď, t → c/ť, s → š under the rule that produces these palatalizations.
| Infinitive | Participle (masc.) | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| nést | nesen | carried |
| vést | veden | led |
| přinést | přinesen | brought |
| postavit | postaven | built |
| koupit | koupen | bought |
| vrátit | vrácen | returned (t → c) |
| nakreslit | nakreslen | drawn |
Type 2: -a- / -ova- stems → -án / -ána
Verbs of the dělat (class A) and kupovat types — the long open-vowel stems — form the participle in -án.
| Infinitive | Participle (masc.) | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| dělat | dělán | done |
| udělat | udělán | done (pf.) |
| napsat | napsán | written |
| kupovat | kupován | (being) bought |
| poslat | poslán | sent |
| volat | volán | called |
Type 3: -nout and monosyllabic stems → -t / -ta
A set of verbs — the -nout class plus short vocalic roots like přijmout, zavřít, otevřít — forms the participle in -t instead of -n. This is the smaller, but very common, group.
| Infinitive | Participle (masc.) | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| otevřít | otevřen | opened (n-type!) |
| zavřít | zavřen | closed (n-type!) |
| přijmout | přijat | accepted / received |
| zapomenout | zapomenut | forgotten |
| obléknout | oblečen | dressed (n-type) |
| vytisknout | vytištěn / vytisknut | printed |
Dveře byly otevřeny dokořán.
The door was wide open. (otevřít → fem. pl participle otevřeny)
Návrh byl jednomyslně přijat.
The proposal was unanimously accepted. (přijmout → -t participle přijat)
Smlouva byla podepsána včera.
The contract was signed yesterday. (podepsat → fem. participle podepsána)
The reflexive (se) passive
The second passive is built with the clitic se plus an ordinary 3rd-person active verb. There is no participle and no agreement with a "subject" — the verb simply matches its grammatical subject (often inanimate, or none). This is the workhorse of spoken Czech: where English says "Czech is spoken here" or "the house is being built", everyday Czech reaches for the se form, not the participial one.
Tady se mluví česky.
Czech is spoken here. (literally: it speaks itself in Czech here)
Ten dům se staví už dva roky.
That house has been under construction for two years. (stavět se — reflexive passive, present)
Tyhle knihy se prodávají dobře.
These books sell well / are sold well. (prodávat se, 3rd pl. agreeing with knihy)
The reflexive passive leans imperfective and stays in the 3rd person. A handy contrast: the participial passive tends to report a completed result (dům je postaven — the house stands finished), while the reflexive passive describes an ongoing or general process (dům se staví — building is in progress).
Pivo se v Česku vaří odjakživa.
Beer has always been brewed in Czechia. (general process → reflexive se passive)
Expressing the agent: the instrumental
When you do name the doer, Czech does not use a preposition like English by. The agent goes into the instrumental case — bare, no preposition. This is the same instrumental of means you meet with tools (psát perem — to write with a pen).
Most byl postaven dělníky během jednoho léta.
The bridge was built by the workers in a single summer. (agent dělníky in the instrumental)
Tato studie byla napsána předním odborníkem.
This study was written by a leading expert. (agent odborníkem, instrumental). (formal)
Quick comparison
| Participial passive | Reflexive (se) passive | |
|---|---|---|
| Form | být + participle -n/-t | 3rd-person verb + se |
| Agreement | participle agrees in gender/number | verb agrees with subject only |
| Register | formal, written, "result" | everyday, spoken, "process" |
| Agent (if any) | instrumental: dělníky | rarely expressed |
| Aspect tendency | often perfective (result) | often imperfective (process) |
Common Mistakes
❌ Kniha je napsaná dobře.
Often wrong in the passive slot — this is the long attributive form ('a well-written book'). For the verbal passive use the short form.
✅ Kniha je napsána dobře.
The book is well written. (short-form participle napsána)
❌ Most byl postaven od dělníků.
Incorrect — the agent does not take a preposition; English 'by' is not 'od' here.
✅ Most byl postaven dělníky.
The bridge was built by the workers. (agent in the bare instrumental)
❌ Domy jsou postaveni.
Wrong agreement — domy is masculine inanimate plural, so the participle is postaveny, not the animate postaveni.
✅ Domy jsou postaveny.
The houses are built.
❌ Tady mluví se česky.
Wrong clitic placement — se is a second-position clitic; it cannot sit after the verb when something else opens the clause.
✅ Tady se mluví česky.
Czech is spoken here. (se in second position)
Key Takeaways
- The participial passive = být + a participle in -n / -t that agrees in gender and number: dům je postaven, kniha byla napsána, okna byla otevřena.
- Participle types: consonant stems → -en (nesen, postaven), -a-/-ova- stems → -án (dělán, kupován), -nout/short stems → -t (přijat) — but otevřít/zavřít stay -n.
- The reflexive (se) passive uses a 3rd-person verb + se and dominates speech: mluví se česky, dům se staví, knihy se prodávají.
- A named agent goes in the bare instrumental — postaven dělníky — never with od.
Now practice Czech
Reading grammar gets you part of the way. The exercises are where it sticks — free, no signup needed.
Start learning Czech→Related Topics
- The Participial Passive (být + -n/-t participle)B2 — Forming the periphrastic passive with být and the passive participle.
- The Reflexive Passive (dělá se)B2 — Using se to form an agentless passive/impersonal.
- Expressing the Agent in the PassiveC1 — Naming who or what did it with the instrumental case (and od + genitive).
- Agreement in the Participial PassiveB2 — How the passive participle agrees with the subject.
- The Passive: Participial versus ReflexiveB2 — The two Czech passives, their meanings, and when each is preferred.