Odpočet začíná teď.

Odpočet means countdown.

It is a masculine inanimate noun in Czech. In this sentence, it is in the nominative singular, because it is the subject of the verb:

• Odpočet začíná teď. = The countdown starts now.

A few singular case forms are:

• nominative: odpočet
• genitive: odpočtu
• dative: odpočtu
• accusative: odpočet
• locative: odpočtu
• instrumental: odpočtem

Začíná is the 3rd person singular present tense of začínat, which means to begin / to start.

It agrees with odpočet, which is singular:

• odpočet začíná = the countdown begins / is beginning

Basic present-tense forms of začínat:

• začínám = I begin
• začínáš = you begin
• začíná = he/she/it begins
• začínáme = we begin
• začínáte = you (plural/formal) begin
• začínají = they begin

Czech uses the present tense here in a very natural way, just like English does in sentences such as It starts now or The show begins now.

So:

• Odpočet začíná teď. literally = The countdown is beginning now / begins now / starts now

This is a normal way to announce that something is starting at this moment.

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

So odpočet can mean:

• a countdown
• the countdown

Which one is meant depends on context. In this sentence, English naturally uses the:

• Odpočet začíná teď. = The countdown starts now.

Teď means now.

Yes, you can also say nyní, which also means now, but the tone is a little different:

• teď = everyday, common, neutral spoken Czech
• nyní = more formal, written, official, or slightly elevated

So:

• Odpočet začíná teď. = natural everyday phrasing
• Odpočet začíná nyní. = correct, but more formal or dramatic

Yes. Czech word order is more flexible than English word order, because case endings and verb forms carry more grammatical information.

The neutral order here is:

• Odpočet začíná teď.

But you may also hear:

• Teď začíná odpočet.
• Začíná teď odpočet. (less neutral, more marked)

Different word orders can shift emphasis:

• Odpočet začíná teď. = neutral statement
• Teď začíná odpočet. = emphasis on now
• Odpočet teď začíná. = also possible, with slight focus on the timing

So the original sentence is a very natural default version.

A rough pronunciation guide for English speakers:

• Odpočet ≈ OD-po-chet
• začíná ≈ za-CHEE-naa
• teď ≈ something like tyeť or tehdy without the final vowel — the final consonant is soft and does not have an exact English equivalent

A few important pronunciation notes:

• č sounds like ch in church
• í is a long ee
• á is a long aa
• ď is a soft d sound, made with the tongue closer to the hard palate

Also, Czech stress is usually on the first syllable of each word:

• ODpočet
• ZAčíná
• TEĎ

Začínat is imperfective.

Its perfective partner is usually začít.

This matters because in Czech:

• imperfective verbs can normally form a true present tense
• perfective present forms usually refer to the future

So:

• začíná = is beginning / begins
• začne = will begin

Compare:

• Odpočet začíná teď. = The countdown starts now.
• Odpočet začne za minutu. = The countdown will start in a minute.

Yes, you might hear Odpočet začne teď, and it can work, but it has a slightly different feel.

• Odpočet začíná teď. = the countdown is starting now; this is the natural ongoing/immediate announcement
• Odpočet začne teď. = the countdown will start now; more like a punctual future event

Because teď means now, both can be understandable in context, but začíná teď is especially natural for a live announcement.

Czech usually does not need subject pronouns when the subject is clear from the noun or verb form.

Here the subject is explicitly stated:

• Odpočet = the countdown

So there is no need for a pronoun like it.

Czech often avoids unnecessary pronouns much more than English does.

Yes. In many contexts, Czech začínat corresponds to both begin and start in English.

So all of these are good translations depending on style:

• The countdown begins now.
• The countdown starts now.
• The countdown is beginning now.

English chooses among these based on tone and context, but the Czech sentence itself is straightforward and natural.

It is basically neutral.

• odpočet is a normal word
• začíná is neutral
• teď is common spoken/written Czech

So the sentence works well in many contexts:

• an announcement before a launch
• a game show or event
• a dramatic scene
• a countdown timer prompt

If you wanted a more formal tone, you might say:

• Odpočet začíná nyní.

But the original sentence is very natural and standard.