It is in the nominative case because it is the subject of the sentence.
So the structure is:
In sentences with být (to be), the adjective after the verb normally agrees with the subject.
Je is the 3rd person singular present tense of být (to be).
So:
In Přeplatek je malý, je means is.
In normal standard Czech, no: you usually keep je in this kind of sentence.
So the standard sentence is:
Leaving out je would sound incomplete in ordinary speech. You may sometimes see omission in headlines, notes, or very compressed styles, but not as the normal full sentence.
That is a very common question.
Czech adjectives usually come before a noun when they are directly describing it inside a noun phrase:
But in your sentence, malý is not directly attached to the noun as part of one noun phrase. It comes after je and functions as a predicate adjective:
So:
No. Czech does not use articles like English a and the.
So Přeplatek je malý can be understood as:
In real use, context tells you which interpretation is intended. Very often, English translations use the even though Czech has no separate word for it.
A simple pronunciation guide:
A few key pronunciation points:
So the rhythm is roughly:
PŘEplatek je MAlý
Yes, Czech word order is flexible, but the neutral order here is:
That is the most natural basic statement.
Other word orders are possible, but they change emphasis:
So for a beginner, Přeplatek je malý is the best normal pattern to learn.
It can refer to more than physical size.
With something like přeplatek, malý usually means the amount is small / low / minor, not that it has small physical dimensions.
So Czech uses malý in a broad way, much like English small can refer to:
Here it refers to the size of the overpayment as an amount.