V obci žije sto lidí.

Because v meaning in requires the locative case when it describes location.

The base form is obec = municipality / village / community.
In the locative singular, obec becomes obci.

So:

• obec = dictionary form
• v obci = in the municipality / in the village

Obec is a general administrative word for a municipality or local community. In real life, it often refers to a village or small town as an administrative unit.

So V obci žije sto lidí is something like:

• There are a hundred people living in the municipality
• or more naturally, A hundred people live in the village/community

It is a bit more official or administrative than vesnice (village).

This is a very common Czech pattern.

With numbers like pět, deset, sto and so on, the whole quantity expression often behaves grammatically as a kind of singular unit. That is why the verb is often singular, not plural.

So Czech says:

• sto lidí žije = literally something like a hundred people lives
• but in natural English: a hundred people live

This is normal Czech grammar.

After numbers from five and above, Czech normally uses the counted noun in the genitive plural.

The basic form is:

• člověk = person
• lidé = people

But after sto, you need the genitive plural:

• sto lidí = a hundred people

Compare:

• jeden člověk = one person
• dva lidé = two people
• pět lidí = five people
• sto lidí = a hundred people

So lidí is there because of the numeral sto.

Both verbs can relate to living somewhere, but they are not exactly the same.

• žít = to live
• bydlet = to reside / to have one’s home

In this sentence, žije sounds broad and neutral: it means that this many people live there.

If you said V obci bydlí sto lidí, that would also be possible, but it focuses a bit more on residence/home address.

Yes. The meaning is basically the same, but the focus changes.

• V obci žije sto lidí. = emphasis first on the place; this sounds natural when introducing information about the municipality.
• Sto lidí žije v obci. = emphasis first on the number of people.

Czech word order is more flexible than English, and it often shows what information is already known and what is new or important.

Yes, it is grammatical and natural, especially in an informative, descriptive, or official context.

You might see it in:

• a statistical description
• a geography text
• a municipal website
• a report about population

In everyday speech, a Czech speaker might also choose other wording depending on context, but this sentence is completely normal.

Usually no, because they mean different things.

• v obci = in the municipality / in the village
• na obci = often at the municipal office / at the town hall office

So here, if you mean people living in that place, v obci is correct.

Žije is pronounced roughly like zhi-ye.

A few details:

• ž sounds like the s in measure
• i + je gives two syllables: ži-je
• stress in Czech is normally on the first syllable, so: ŽI-je

So the whole sentence is roughly:

V obci žije sto lidí
≈ v obtsi ZHI-ye sto lee-dee

That is only an approximation, but it helps.

It is genitive plural.

That happens because sto belongs to the group of numerals that require the noun to be in the genitive plural.

So:

• lidé = nominative plural, people
• lidí = genitive plural, used after sto

This is one of the most important number patterns in Czech.

Yes, usually it would.

For example:

• V obci žilo sto lidí. = A hundred people lived in the municipality.

Notice žilo, not žili. That is the same agreement pattern: with larger numerals, the quantified phrase often triggers singular/neuter-style agreement.

So the sentence keeps the same basic logic in other tenses too.