nechat (imperfective nechávat) is one of those small, everyday Czech verbs that punches far above its weight. It covers three related ideas that English splits across different words: "leave" (Nech to tady "Leave it here"), "let / allow" (Nech mě jít "Let me go"), and the causative "have / get something done" (Nechal jsem si ostříhat vlasy "I had my hair cut"). The third sense is the one English speakers most often fail to produce, because in English you build it with the verb have plus a passive participle — a structure Czech does not use here at all. Once you see how nechat threads these meanings together, a very natural and very common verb becomes available to you.
Sense 1: "leave" — leave something/someone somewhere or as they are
The most concrete meaning of nechat is "to leave" — to let something stay where it is, or to let someone be.
Nech to tady, vyzvednu si to později.
Leave it here, I'll pick it up later.
Nechal jsem klíče doma.
I left the keys at home.
Nech ho být, je unavený.
Leave him alone, he's tired. (let him be)
The set phrase nechat někoho být ("leave someone be / alone") and nechat někoho na pokoji ("leave someone in peace") are everyday idioms built on this sense.
Nech mě na pokoji, potřebuju se soustředit.
Leave me alone, I need to concentrate.
Sense 2: "let / allow" — permit someone to do something
With a person in the accusative plus an infinitive, nechat means "let / allow" — you permit someone to carry out the action. The pattern is nechat + koho (accusative) + infinitive.
Nech mě jít, mám naspěch.
Let me go, I'm in a hurry.
Nenech ho čekat venku, je tam zima.
Don't let him wait outside, it's cold there.
Rodiče mě nechali jet samotného.
My parents let me travel on my own.
Nech mě to dodělat, jsem skoro hotový.
Let me finish it, I'm almost done.
This "let" overlaps in feel with dovolit "to permit" and smět "to be allowed", but nechat is the everyday, hands-on verb — it's what you say when you physically allow or stop someone, not when you grant formal permission. (For granting/denying permission as such, see smět — permission.)
Sense 3: the causative — "have / get something done"
This is the sense to study hardest, because it has no parallel construction in English. To say you arranged for a service to be performed — typically on yourself or your possessions — Czech uses nechat si + infinitive. The reflexive dative si marks that the action is done for you / to your benefit; the infinitive names the service.
Nechal jsem si ostříhat vlasy.
I had my hair cut. (I arranged for someone to cut my hair)
Nechali jsme si opravit auto.
We had the car repaired. (we got someone to fix it)
Nechám si ušít nový oblek.
I'm going to have a new suit made.
Měla by sis nechat zkontrolovat ten zub.
You should have that tooth checked. (have a dentist look at it)
Note what isn't happening here. English uses a passive participle ("had my hair cut", "had the car repaired"). Czech uses an active infinitive (ostříhat, opravit) — you are commissioning the act, and nechat si carries the "have it done for me" meaning. The agent (the hairdresser, the mechanic) is left unmentioned, exactly as in the English. This is not the passive voice; for the actual passive, see choosing the passive.
The dative reflexive si is what flags the benefit-to-self. Drop it and the meaning shifts: nechat opravit auto still works as "have the car repaired" but loses the explicit "for myself" framing; nechat si opravit auto foregrounds that it's my car and I am the beneficiary. For the wider role of this little word, see the dative reflexive si.
Distinguishing the three senses
Because all three live in one verb, learners worry they'll be ambiguous. In practice the structure disambiguates:
| Sense | Structure | Example |
|---|---|---|
| leave | nechat + object (no infinitive) / nechat + object + adverbial | Nech to tady. — "Leave it here." |
| let / allow | nechat + accusative person + infinitive | Nech mě jít. — "Let me go." |
| have done | nechat si + infinitive of a service | Nechal si spravit hodinky. — "He had his watch fixed." |
The presence of si is the strongest signal of the causative; an accusative person + infinitive signals "let"; a bare object with no infinitive signals "leave".
Nech to spadnout.
Let it fall. (let — accusative thing + infinitive)
Nech si to spravit.
Get it fixed. / Have it repaired. (causative — si + infinitive)
These two differ by a single si, and that si flips "let it fall" into "have it repaired".
The imperative is everywhere
Much of nechat's real-life use is in the imperative: nech (informal singular), nechte / nechme (plural/polite), and the negative nenech / nenechte. These are the forms you hear constantly.
Nechte mě prosím projít.
Please let me through. (polite/plural imperative)
Nenech se otrávit, zvládneš to.
Don't let it get you down, you'll manage. (don't let yourself be discouraged)
For how these imperatives are built, see imperative formation.
Common Mistakes
❌ Měl jsem ostříhané vlasy u kadeřníka.
Wrong structure — this describes a state ('I had cut hair'); for 'I had my hair cut' use the causative nechat si: nechal jsem si ostříhat vlasy.
✅ Nechal jsem si ostříhat vlasy.
I had my hair cut.
❌ Nechal jsem opravit moje auto sám.
Confused — if a mechanic did it, drop 'sám' and use the causative with si; 'sám' would mean you did it yourself, contradicting nechat.
✅ Nechal jsem si opravit auto.
I had the car repaired.
❌ Nech mě být sám.
Redundant/odd — 'nech mě být' already means 'leave me be / alone'; adding 'sám' is unnatural here.
✅ Nech mě být.
Leave me alone.
❌ Nechej ho čekat venku.
Wrong meaning — this tells someone TO make him wait outside; if you mean 'don't', you need the negative nenech.
✅ Nenech ho čekat venku.
Don't leave him waiting outside.
❌ Nechám spravit si hodinky.
Wrong order — the reflexive si is a second-position clitic, so it precedes the infinitive: nechám si spravit hodinky.
✅ Nechám si spravit hodinky.
I'll have my watch fixed.
Key Takeaways
- nechat covers three senses: leave (Nech to tady), let / allow (Nech mě jít), and the causative have/get something done (Nechal jsem si opravit auto).
- The "let" pattern is nechat + accusative person + infinitive; the causative is nechat si + infinitive of a service.
- The causative uses an active infinitive, not a passive participle — nechat si ostříhat, not "have cut". English "have/get X done" ≈ Czech nechat si + infinitive.
- The reflexive si is the key marker of the causative (done for / to you) and sits in second position before the infinitive.
- Most real use is imperative: nech, nechte, nenech — Nech ho být, Nenech se otrávit.
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Start learning Czech→Related Topics
- 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.
- 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.
- smět — May, Be AllowedB1 — How to use smět for permission and, crucially, its negative nesmět for prohibition — the form English speakers most often get wrong.
- Uses of the InfinitiveA2 — The main jobs the Czech infinitive does — after modals and phase verbs, as a complement, as a subject or predicate, and in fixed impersonal expressions.
- Choosing Between the Two PassivesB2 — A decision guide for when to use the reflexive passive (se) versus the participial passive (být + participle) in Czech.