Czech has only one imperative, but it ends in one of three ways — a bare consonant (zero ending), -i, or -ej — and choosing the wrong one makes a command sound foreign or simply wrong. The good news is that the choice is mechanical: it is decided entirely by the shape of the present stem, not by the infinitive and not by guesswork. Learn to read the end of the present stem and the right ending falls out automatically.
Start from the present stem, not the infinitive
To find a Czech imperative, take the present-tense stem — most reliably the 3rd-person plural minus its ending — and look at the consonant(s) it ends in. nesou → stem nes-; berou → ber-; čtou → čt-; dělají → děl(aj)-. The ending you add depends only on that final shape.
| Present stem ends in… | Ending (ty / my / vy) | Example (ty) |
|---|---|---|
| a single consonant | -ø / -me / -te | nes! → Nes to nahoru! |
| a hard consonant cluster | -i / -ěte (-ete) / -ěme (-eme) | čti! → Čti nahlas! |
| -aj- (the -á- class) | -ej / -ejte / -ejme | dělej! → Dělej, ať stihneme vlak! |
Type 1: the zero ending after a single consonant
When the present stem ends in a single, easily pronounceable consonant, you add nothing for the familiar "you" (ty) command, and -me / -te for "let's" and the plural/polite forms. This is the most common type.
Polož to na stůl, ať máš volné ruce.
Put it on the table so you have your hands free.
Ber si, kolik chceš, je toho dost.
Take as much as you want, there's plenty.
Kup k tomu ještě mléko, doma žádné nemáme.
Buy some milk to go with it, we don't have any at home.
A small but important wrinkle: a final t, d, n softens to ť, ď, ň, and a long stem vowel often shortens. platit → stem plať- → Plať!; koupit → kup (the ou shortens to u); vstát → Vstaň! This softening is covered in detail on the consonant-softening page.
Plať hned, nebo nám zruší rezervaci.
Pay now, or they'll cancel our reservation.
Type 2: -i after a difficult cluster
When the present stem ends in a cluster that is hard to pronounce with no vowel — čt-, sp-, pošl-, mysl- — Czech inserts a helping -i for the ty command, and -ěte / -ete for the plural. The choice between -ěte and -ete depends on the preceding consonant (after p, b, m, t you get ě: spěte, čtěte; after l, s you get plain e: pošlete, myslete).
Pošli mi to e-mailem, ať to mám písemně.
Send it to me by email so I have it in writing.
Čti nahlas, ať tě slyší i babička.
Read aloud so grandma can hear you too.
Spi dobře a ráno uvidíme, jak na tom budeš.
Sleep well, and in the morning we'll see how you feel.
Mysli na to, než něco podepíšeš.
Think about it before you sign anything.
Type 3: -ej for the -á- class
Verbs of the -á- present class (the dělat type, whose 3rd plural ends in -ají) form their imperative on the stem-final -aj-, which becomes -ej: dělají → dělej, čekají → čekej, ptají se → ptej se, poslouchají → poslouchej. The plural simply adds -te / -me: dělejte, čekejte.
Poslouchej, mám skvělý nápad na víkend.
Listen, I've got a great idea for the weekend.
Počkej chvilku, hned jsem zpátky.
Wait a moment, I'll be right back.
Ptej se, na co chceš, nestydím se za odpovědi.
Ask whatever you want, I'm not embarrassed by the answers.
Nečekej na mě s večeří, přijdu pozdě.
Don't wait for me with dinner, I'll be late.
A recipe you can run on any verb
Because the ending follows from the stem, you can derive almost any imperative in three steps:
- Take the 3rd-person plural present and strip its ending: kupují → kup-, berou → ber-, čtou → čt-, čekají → čekaj-.
- Look at what the stem ends in: one clean consonant → zero; a hard cluster → -i; -aj- → turn it into -ej.
- Apply softening and shortening to the final consonant/vowel where needed: plať, kup, vstaň.
Vrať mi ten klíč, než odejdeš.
Give me back that key before you leave.
Otevři okno, je tady k zalknutí.
Open the window, it's stifling in here.
One more thing worth flagging: the same imperative form is used whatever the aspect, but the choice of verb matters. A perfective imperative (zavři "close it", from zavřít) urges a single completed act; an imperfective one (zavírej "keep closing / be closing", from zavírat) urges an ongoing or repeated one. That contrast — and why negative commands prefer the imperfective — has its own page; here, just know that the endings in this lesson apply to both members of an aspect pair.
Putting the plural forms together
Each type's full set of forms is predictable once the ty form is fixed:
| Type | ty | my (let's) | vy / polite |
|---|---|---|---|
| zero (nést) | nes | nesme | neste |
| -i (číst) | čti | čtěme | čtěte |
| -i (poslat) | pošli | pošleme | pošlete |
| -ej (dělat) | dělej | dělejme | dělejte |
For the broader picture of how the imperative fits with aspect and politeness, see the formation overview.
Common Mistakes
❌ Číst nahlas!
Incorrect — that's the infinitive; a command can't be the dictionary form, it needs the imperative čti.
✅ Čti nahlas!
Read aloud!
❌ Čekaj tady na mě!
Incorrect — an -á- verb takes -ej in the imperative, not the bare present stem.
✅ Čekej tady na mě!
Wait here for me!
❌ Pošl mi to dnes.
Incorrect — the cluster -šl- can't stand alone; it needs the helping -i.
✅ Pošli mi to dnes.
Send it to me today.
❌ Plat účet u baru.
Incorrect — the final t softens to ť in the imperative of platit.
✅ Plať účet u baru.
Pay the bill at the bar.
❌ Nesi tu tašku opatrně.
Incorrect — nést already ends in one clean consonant, so the imperative is the zero-ending nes, not *nesi.
✅ Nes tu tašku opatrně.
Carry that bag carefully.
Key Takeaways
- The imperative ending depends on the present stem, not the infinitive.
- Single consonant → zero ending (nes, ber, kup), with t/d/n softening to ť/ď/ň and long vowels shortening.
- Hard cluster → -i (čti, pošli, spi), plural -ěte/-ete.
- -á- class → -ej (dělej, čekej, ptej se).
- Never command with the infinitive, and never add -i to a stem that already ends cleanly.
Now practice Czech
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Start learning Czech→Related Topics
- Forming the ImperativeA2 — How Czech builds the command forms (2sg, 1pl 'let's', 2pl/polite) from the present stem, with the zero-ending, -i, and -ej patterns.
- Consonant Softening in the ImperativeB2 — Palatalization changes that appear in imperative forms.
- Irregular ImperativesA2 — The handful of high-frequency commands — buď, měj, jez, věz, pojď, pojeď, vezmi, pověz, pomoz — that cannot be derived from the present tense and must simply be memorized.
- Imperatives of být and mítA2 — The high-frequency commands buď and měj.
- Class V: -á- Verbs (dělat)A1 — The largest and most regular present class, ending in -á-.