chtít — Want, Will, Intend

Chtít "to want" is the engine of volition in Czech — the verb you use for desires, intentions, and the plans you're leaning toward. It behaves like a modal: it loves to sit in front of an infinitive (chci jít "I want to go"), but it also takes plain objects (chci kávu "I want a coffee"). What trips English speakers up is not the meaning but the syntax around it — how to say "I want you to do something", and how Czech handles the moods of wanting. This page is about using chtít; for the full conjugation in every tense, see the verb reference entry.

The present forms, briefly

You'll need the present at your fingertips, so here it is — but note the irregular chtějí in the third plural, which doesn't match the rest of the paradigm:

The negative is regular: nechci, nechceš, nechce, nechceme, nechcete, nechtějí. In casual speech you'll also hear chtěj / chtějou for the third plural, but chtějí is the standard written form.

Two basic patterns: object and infinitive

Chtít can want a thing (an accusative object) or an action (an infinitive). Both are everyday.

Used this way, chtít covers wants, intentions, and near-future plans all at once — chci se učit can mean "I want to study", "I intend to study", or "I'm going to study", depending on context.

When you want someone else to act: the aby-clause

Here is the big structural lesson. In English, "I want you to come" uses an infinitive: want + you + to come. Czech cannot do this. The moment the wanter and the doer are different people, the infinitive is impossible, and you must switch to an aby-clause — a subordinate clause introduced by aby with a conditional-flavoured verb. So "I want you to come" becomes chci, abys přišel, literally "I want that-you-would-come".

The aby verb agrees with the doer and carries the -s of the conditional auxiliary fused in (abych, abys, aby, abychom, abyste, aby). The mechanics are laid out on the aby-clauses page; the rule to burn in now is simply: different subject → aby, never an infinitive.

The polite face: chtěl bych

Bare chci "I want" can sound blunt — fine with friends, a little demanding with strangers. The courteous version pushes chtít into the conditional: chtěl bych / chtěla bych "I would like". This is the default for requests, orders, and anything you ask of someone you address formally, and it's covered in depth on polite requests.

The impersonal chce se mi — "I feel like…"

Czech has a beautifully economical impersonal twist on chtít. To express not a deliberate want but a bodily urge or inclination — feeling sleepy, feeling like doing nothing — you use chce se mi + infinitive, literally "it wants itself to-me". There's no subject; the verb is frozen in the third singular chce se, and the experiencer goes in the dative (mi, ti, mu…). This is how you say you "feel like" or "are in the mood for" something.

The contrast with plain chci is real and useful: nechci pracovat "I don't want to work" is a decision or refusal, while nechce se mi pracovat "I don't feel like working" is a mood, a lack of inclination — softer, more bodily, less of a stance.

Common Mistakes

Get the four patterns straight — object (chci kávu), infinitive (chci jít), aby-clause for a different subject (chci, abys přišel), and the impersonal mood-verb (chce se mi spát) — and chtít will carry an enormous share of everything you ever need to express about wanting, intending, and planning in Czech.