Toto je poškození vodou.

Toto means this.

In Czech, all three can point to something, but they differ a bit in style:

• toto = this; a bit more explicit and slightly more formal/book-like
• to = it / that / this depending on context; very common in everyday speech
• tohle = this here / this one; common and conversational

So in everyday Czech, you will often hear:

• To je poškození vodou.
• Tohle je poškození vodou.

Your sentence with toto is correct, just a little more formal or emphatic.

Je is the 3rd person singular form of být (to be).

So:

• toto = this
• je = is

Together, Toto je ... means This is ...

It is the standard way to identify or describe something.

Poškození is a noun, not a verb.

It comes from the verb poškodit (to damage) and means damage or damage/damaging depending on context.

Grammatically, it is a neuter noun. You can often recognize many neuter nouns by endings like -í, although not every noun ending in -í works exactly the same way.

In this sentence, poškození is the thing being identified:

• Toto je poškození vodou.
• This is water damage.

Because vodou is the instrumental singular form of voda (water).

Czech uses the instrumental case in many expressions involving means, cause, or agency. Here, poškození vodou literally means something like:

• damage by water
• damage caused by water

So:

• voda = nominative form, the basic dictionary form
• vodou = instrumental form

This is a very common pattern in Czech.

The instrumental here expresses the means or cause of the damage.

So poškození vodou means:

• damage by water
• damage caused by water

English often uses a preposition like by or turns it into a compound noun like water damage, but Czech often uses a noun + instrumental structure instead.

Compare:

• poškození ohněm = damage by fire
• poškození mrazem = damage by frost
• poškození větrem = damage by wind

This is a very useful pattern to learn.

Yes, it is natural and correct.

However, Czech may also use other expressions depending on context, for example:

• škoda způsobená vodou = damage caused by water
• poškození od vody = damage from water

But poškození vodou is a standard and concise way to say it.

A small nuance:

• poškození often focuses on the damage itself or the state of being damaged
• škoda can sometimes sound more like loss or harm, especially in insurance/legal contexts

Czech does not have articles like English a/an and the.

So where English says:

• This is water damage
• This is the damage caused by water
• This is a type of water damage

Czech may simply say:

• Toto je poškození vodou.

The exact English article is understood from context.

This is one of the biggest differences English speakers notice when learning Czech.

Yes, Czech word order is more flexible than English word order.

The neutral order here is:

• Toto je poškození vodou.

But you may also hear:

• To je poškození vodou.
• Poškození vodou to je. — much more marked/emphatic, less neutral

Even though word order can change, the basic sentence you have is the most straightforward and natural for simply identifying something.

A rough pronunciation guide is:

• Toto ≈ TO-to
• je ≈ ye
• poškození ≈ po-shko-ZE-nee
• vodou ≈ VO-doh

A more connected approximation:

• TO-to ye po-shko-ZE-nee VO-doh

A few useful pronunciation notes:

• Czech stress is usually on the first syllable of each word.
• š sounds like sh in shoe.
• ž sounds like s in measure.
• ou in vodou is like a diphthong, roughly oh-oo said smoothly.

Here it is singular.

Even though in English damage is usually uncountable, in Czech poškození behaves as a noun with grammatical number.

So:

• poškození = singular
• poškození can also look the same in some plural forms, depending on case, which can be confusing at first

In this sentence, it is singular because the sentence is identifying one instance/type of damage.

No, not in this sentence.

You need toto because it is the neuter form, matching the implied idea of this thing / this situation or matching the neuter predicate noun idea.

Czech demonstratives change for gender:

• ten = masculine
• ta = feminine
• to = neuter

And expanded forms include:

• tento = this (masculine)
• tato = this (feminine)
• toto = this (neuter)

So tato would be wrong here. Toto is the correct form.

They are related, but not always interchangeable.

• poškození = damage, impairment, physical damage, the state/result of being damaged
• škoda = damage, harm, loss, detriment; often broader and common in legal/financial contexts

For example:

• poškození vodou = water damage
• způsobit škodu = to cause damage / cause loss
• hmotná škoda = material damage
• škoda na majetku = property damage

In your sentence, poškození is a very good fit because it refers to actual physical damage caused by water.