Občanský průkaz je veřejná listina.

Because Czech adjectives must agree with the noun they describe in gender, number, and case.

• občanský describes průkaz
• veřejná describes listina

Here:

• průkaz is masculine singular nominative, so the adjective is občanský
• listina is feminine singular nominative, so the adjective is veřejná

So the different endings are just normal adjective agreement.

All the main words are in the nominative singular:

• občanský průkaz = the subject
• veřejná listina = the predicate noun phrase after je

So this sentence has the structure:

X je Y = X is Y

This is very common when giving a definition or classification.

Good question. After být (to be), Czech can use either nominative or instrumental, depending on style and meaning.

In a sentence like this, the nominative sounds like a definition or a formal classification:

• Občanský průkaz je veřejná listina.

The instrumental is also possible:

• Občanský průkaz je veřejnou listinou.

That version can sound a bit more like describing what role/status it has. In legal or formal language, both can occur, but the nominative is very natural for a definition-type sentence.

Because Czech has no articles. There is no direct equivalent of English a/an or the.

So Občanský průkaz je veřejná listina could be understood as:

• An identity card is a public document
• The identity card is a public document

The exact interpretation depends on context. In this sentence, it is a general/legal statement, so English usually uses an and a.

Yes. Občanský průkaz is the normal fixed term for the Czech national ID card.

Literally:

• občanský = civic / citizen-related
• průkaz = pass, card, document proving something

But you should learn občanský průkaz as one unit, not as a freely invented phrase. In real life, Czechs often shorten it to občanka in informal speech.

Průkaz is a document or card that proves identity, status, permission, or entitlement.

Examples:

• občanský průkaz = ID card
• řidičský průkaz = driver’s license
• průkaz pojištěnce = insurance card

So průkaz is not just any document. It usually means some kind of official proof.

It sounds formal and especially legal/administrative.

• veřejná = public
• listina = document, deed, written instrument

In everyday speech, people are more likely to say dokument or doklad in many situations. But veřejná listina is a specific legal term, so in a sentence like this it sounds official and precise.

No. In normal Czech, X je Y is complete by itself.

• Občanský průkaz je veřejná listina. = perfectly normal

You can add to in some contexts for emphasis or spoken style:

• Občanský průkaz, to je veřejná listina.

But that changes the tone a little. It is not necessary, and the basic sentence without to is the standard form.

Czech word order is fairly flexible, but changing it changes the focus or emphasis.

The neutral version is:

• Občanský průkaz je veřejná listina.

If you say:

• Veřejná listina je občanský průkaz

it sounds unusual in most contexts, because now the emphasis is different, almost as if you are identifying which thing counts as a public document.

So yes, word order can change, but the original order is the natural neutral one.

A rough learner-friendly approximation is:

OB-chan-skee PROO-kahs yeh VEH-rzheh-nah LIS-ti-nah

A few important points:

• č sounds like ch in church
• ů sounds like a long oo as in food
• j sounds like English y
• ř in veřejná is a special Czech sound with no exact English equivalent; beginners often approximate it with something between r and zh
• Czech stress is almost always on the first syllable of each word

So the hardest word here is usually veřejná because of ř.

This sentence is singular.

• průkaz = singular
• listina = singular
• je = is

A plural version would be:

• Občanské průkazy jsou veřejné listiny.

Notice the changes:

• občanský → občanské
• průkaz → průkazy
• je → jsou
• veřejná listina → veřejné listiny

That is normal plural agreement across the whole sentence.