Toto je důležitá volba.

Toto means this.

In Czech, toto is a demonstrative pronoun, used to point to something near the speaker or something being presented. In this sentence, it refers to this thing / this matter / this choice.

A learner may also notice that Czech has several forms related to this, such as:

• to = it / that / this in some contexts
• ten / ta / to = the one / that / this, depending on gender
• toto = a more explicit this

So Toto je důležitá volba is something like This is an important choice.

In everyday speech, tohle is also very common for this:

• Tohle je důležitá volba.

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

So:

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

In Toto je důležitá volba, the subject is toto, which is singular, so Czech uses je = is.

Because důležitá must agree with volba.

In Czech, adjectives change their endings to match the noun they describe in:

• gender
• number
• case

Here, volba is:

• feminine
• singular
• nominative

So the adjective must also be feminine singular nominative:

• masculine: důležitý
• feminine: důležitá
• neuter: důležité

That is why you get:

• důležitá volba = an important choice

A big clue is the ending -a, which very often marks a feminine noun in Czech.

So volba is feminine, and that affects other words connected to it, especially adjectives.

For example:

• důležitá volba = feminine
• důležitý problém = masculine
• důležité rozhodnutí = neuter

As always, there are exceptions in Czech, but -a is a very common sign of a feminine noun.

Czech has no articles, so there is no direct equivalent of a, an, or the.

That means volba can mean:

• a choice
• the choice

The exact meaning depends on context.

So důležitá volba could be understood as:

• an important choice
• the important choice

In your sentence, the natural English translation is usually This is an important choice, but Czech itself does not mark that difference with an article.

The phrase důležitá volba is a noun phrase, and in Czech the adjective normally comes before the noun:

• důležitá volba = important choice

The whole sentence is arranged as:

• Toto = subject
• je = verb
• důležitá volba = predicate noun phrase

So the order is perfectly normal.

Czech word order is more flexible than English, though, because endings carry a lot of grammatical information. You may also see different word orders for emphasis, for example:

• To je důležitá volba.
• Důležitá volba to je.
  This sounds more marked or emphatic.

But Toto je důležitá volba is a standard, neutral word order.

It is in the nominative case.

After the verb být (to be), Czech often uses the nominative for predicate nouns, especially in ordinary statements like this one.

So:

• volba = nominative singular
• důležitá = nominative singular feminine, matching volba

A learner may later encounter instrumental after být in some contexts, especially in more formal style or with professions and roles, but in a sentence like this, nominative is the expected form.

A rough pronunciation guide is:

doo-leh-zhi-tah

Some important parts:

• ů sounds like a long oo
• ž sounds like the s in measure
• á is a long a

So:

• dů = long doo
• le = leh
• ži = zhi
• tá = long tah

Czech stress is usually on the first syllable, so the stress is on dů.

Both can mean this, but they differ a bit in style and tone.

• toto is correct and clear, but can sound a little more formal, written, or careful
• tohle is very common in everyday spoken Czech

So both of these are possible:

• Toto je důležitá volba.
• Tohle je důležitá volba.

A native speaker might often prefer tohle in casual conversation.

Yes, very often.

To je důležitá volba is extremely common and natural. In many contexts, to can mean this or that, depending on the situation.

So these are all possible:

• To je důležitá volba.
• Tohle je důležitá volba.
• Toto je důležitá volba.

The differences are mostly about style and emphasis:

• to = very common, neutral
• tohle = common spoken this
• toto = more explicit or slightly more formal/literary

Not naturally in this sentence.

Czech often drops subject pronouns when the verb ending already makes the subject clear:

• Jsem unavený. = I am tired.

But here, toto is not just a grammatical subject pronoun like I or you. It is a demonstrative word meaning this, and it carries important information. If you removed it, you would just get:

• Je důležitá volba.

That does not work well as a normal standalone sentence meaning This is an important choice. So in this case, the demonstrative subject should stay.

Not exactly, though they are related.

• volba = choice, selection, sometimes also election
• rozhodnutí = decision

So:

• důležitá volba = an important choice
• důležité rozhodnutí = an important decision

A choice is the set of options or the act of choosing. A decision is the final result of deciding. In many situations they are close in meaning, but they are not always interchangeable.