Odbiju badmintonový míček forhendem.

Here odbiju means I will return / hit back the shuttlecock. It comes from the verb odbít, which in sports often has the sense of sending the ball or shuttlecock away or back to the other side.

The prefix od- often adds the idea of away, off, or back.

Because odbít is a perfective verb.

In Czech, the present-tense forms of perfective verbs usually refer to the future. So:

• odbiju = I will return / hit back
• not I am returning

If you wanted an ongoing or habitual present meaning, you would use the imperfective verb instead, for example odbíjím.

So the contrast is roughly:

• odbiju = one completed return in the future
• odbíjím = I am returning / I return

Czech often leaves out subject pronouns when they are clear from the verb ending.

The ending -u in odbiju already tells you the subject is I. So já is unnecessary unless you want extra emphasis or contrast.

For example:

• Odbiju badmintonový míček forhendem. = neutral
• Já odbiju badmintonový míček forhendem. = I will return it with a forehand, maybe contrasting with someone else

Czech usually prefers an adjective + noun structure where English often uses noun + noun.

So:

• badmintonový míček = literally badminton ball/shuttlecock

The adjective badmintonový means related to badminton.

This is very normal Czech word formation.

It is the direct object of the verb, so it is in the accusative singular.

However, míček is a masculine inanimate noun, and for masculine inanimate nouns, the accusative singular is the same as the nominative singular. That is why the form does not visibly change.

So:

• nominative: badmintonový míček
• accusative: badmintonový míček

The adjective badmintonový matches the noun in case, number, and gender.

Yes, míček is a diminutive form of míč, so literally it means little ball.

But in Czech sports vocabulary, míček is commonly used for small game objects, including the badminton shuttlecock. So even though it is not literally a round ball, badmintonový míček is a normal and standard expression.

Because forhendem is in the instrumental singular.

In Czech, the instrumental case is often used to express the means, method, or manner of an action. Here it means:

• forhendem = with a forehand / by means of a forehand stroke

The base form is forhend.

So the sentence is literally something like:

• I will return the shuttlecock with a forehand.

Yes, it is a borrowing from English, but adapted to Czech spelling:

• English: forehand
• Czech: forhend

Czech does this with many sports terms. The word then declines like a normal Czech noun, which is why you get forhendem in the instrumental.

Yes. Czech word order is flexible, and changing it usually changes focus or emphasis, not the core meaning.

For example:

• Odbiju badmintonový míček forhendem. = neutral
• Badmintonový míček odbiju forhendem. = puts more focus on the shuttlecock
• Forhendem odbiju badmintonový míček. = puts more focus on the forehand

The original sentence is perfectly natural.

A rough guide:

• odbiju ≈ OD-bee-yoo
• badmintonový ≈ BAD-min-to-no-vee
• míček ≈ MEE-chek
• forhendem ≈ FOR-hen-dem

A few useful pronunciation points:

• j is pronounced like English y
• č is pronounced like ch in chip
• í and ý are long vowels
• stress in Czech normally falls on the first syllable of each word

So the sentence is stressed roughly as:

• ODbiju BADmintonový MÍček FORhendem