Hádanka je na stěně.

A rough English-friendly pronunciation is HAA-dan-ka ye na STYE-nyeh.

A few notes:

• há- has a long á, so hold that vowel a little longer.
• je sounds like ye.
• stěně is the hardest part. The tě and ně are both soft. A learner approximation like stye-nyeh is fine at first.

If you want a more exact pronunciation, it is approximately [haːdanka jɛ na scɛɲɛ].

Je means is. It is the 3rd person singular present-tense form of the verb být, meaning to be.

So:

• já jsem = I am
• ty jsi = you are
• on/ona/ono je = he/she/it is

In this sentence, Hádanka je na stěně, je links the subject to its location: The riddle is on the wall.

Hádanka is in the nominative singular, which is the basic dictionary form. It is in that form because it is the subject of the sentence.

So in grammatical terms:

• hádanka = the thing being talked about
• je = is
• na stěně = on the wall

Also, hádanka is a feminine noun, which you can often guess from the ending -a.

Because after na when it means a fixed location, Czech uses the locative case.

The dictionary form is:

• stěna = wall

But after na for location:

• na stěně = on the wall

So stěně is the locative singular form of stěna.

Because Czech makes a difference between location and movement.

• na stěně = on the wall already there, location
• na stěnu = onto the wall, movement toward the wall

So:

• Hádanka je na stěně. = The riddle is on the wall.
• Dám hádanku na stěnu. = I will put the riddle onto the wall.

This is a very common Czech pattern:

• na
  • locative = location
• na
  • accusative = movement onto something

Here, stěně is locative singular.

You may notice that the same form can sometimes also be dative in other contexts, but in this sentence it is definitely locative, because it follows the preposition na in a location meaning.

So the structure is:

• na
  • locative = on, at, in some location contexts

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

So Hádanka je na stěně can mean:

• A riddle is on the wall
• The riddle is on the wall

Which one is meant depends on the context.

This is normal in Czech. You usually understand definiteness from the situation, previous sentences, or word order.

Yes. Czech word order is fairly flexible because the case endings show what each word is doing.

For example:

• Hádanka je na stěně.
• Na stěně je hádanka.

Both are grammatical, but the emphasis changes a little.

• Hádanka je na stěně. focuses more naturally on the riddle.
• Na stěně je hádanka. sounds more like There is a riddle on the wall, with more focus on the location.

So the basic meaning stays the same, but the information focus can shift.

They are important parts of Czech spelling.

• á means a long a sound. So há is longer than ha.
• ě is more complicated. It usually changes or softens the consonant before it.

In stěně:

• tě is pronounced with a soft t
• ně is pronounced with a soft n

So ě is not just decoration; it changes pronunciation.

Yes, stěna is a normal word for wall, especially for a wall as a surface or side of a room.

You can also hear zeď, which often refers more concretely to a wall as a solid structure.

In many everyday situations, both can translate as wall, but they are not always interchangeable in every context.

For this sentence, na stěně sounds perfectly natural for on the wall.

In a normal present-tense sentence like this, je is usually kept.

So:

• Hádanka je na stěně. = normal and correct

Czech does sometimes omit forms of to be in special styles, headings, notes, or very informal situations, but for standard full sentences, keeping je is the safe choice.