Děti mají radost.

Děti means children. It is the nominative plural form of dítě (child).

This is an important word to notice because its plural is irregular:

• dítě = child
• děti = children

In this sentence, děti is the subject, so nominative is the expected case.

Because the subject děti is plural.

The verb mít means to have, and in the present tense it changes depending on the person and number:

• já mám = I have
• ty máš = you have
• on/ona/ono má = he/she/it has
• my máme = we have
• vy máte = you have
• oni/ony mají = they have

Since děti = children / they, the correct form is mají.

Yes, literally it does mean The children have joy.

But in natural English, this is usually expressed as:

• The children are happy
• The children are glad
• The children are delighted

In Czech, mít radost is a very common expression, and it often corresponds to English to be happy/glad rather than a literal have joy.

Radost is in the accusative singular.

That is because mít normally takes a direct object, and in the phrase mít radost, the noun radost functions as that object.

A useful thing to know is that radost is a feminine noun, and its nominative singular and accusative singular look the same:

• nominative: radost
• accusative: radost

So the form does not change here, even though the case is accusative.

Because Czech does not have articles like English a/an and the.

So Děti mají radost can mean:

• Children are happy
• The children are happy

The exact meaning depends on context. English forces you to choose an article, but Czech often leaves that information unstated.

A rough pronunciation guide is:

• Děti ≈ dyeti
• mají ≈ ma-yee
• radost ≈ RA-dost

A few helpful points:

• dě sounds roughly like dye
• j in Czech is pronounced like English y
• Stress in Czech is usually on the first syllable of each word:
  • DĚ-ti
  • MA-jí
  • RA-dost

So the sentence is roughly:

DYE-ti MA-yee RA-dost

Yes, you could, but it is not exactly the same.

• Děti mají radost = the children are glad / joyful, often because of something specific
• Děti jsou šťastné = the children are happy, which can sound broader or more general

So mít radost often suggests a feeling of joy about something, while být šťastný/šťastná/šťastné can describe a more general state of happiness.

Grammatically, yes, but it is less natural in everyday speech.

• radostný / radostná / radostné means joyful
• Děti jsou radostné sounds more descriptive, literary, or stylistically marked

In normal conversation, Czech speakers are more likely to say:

• Děti mají radost
• Děti jsou šťastné
• Děti se radují = The children are rejoicing

So for a basic everyday sentence, Děti mají radost is the most natural choice.

Yes. Czech word order is more flexible than English.

The neutral, ordinary order is:

• Děti mají radost.

But other orders are possible for emphasis or contrast, for example:

• Radost mají děti. = It is the children who are happy / The children are the ones who are happy.
• Mají děti radost? = Are the children happy/glad?

So word order in Czech often helps show what is new, emphasized, or being contrasted.

Very much so. Mít radost is a common Czech expression meaning to be glad / to be happy / to feel joy.

It is often expanded with z + genitive to say what someone is happy about:

• Mám radost. = I’m happy.
• Mám radost z dětí. = I’m happy about the children.
• Děti mají radost z dárků. = The children are happy about the gifts.

So it is a very useful phrase to learn as a whole.

Yes. This is a good noun to memorize carefully.

The singular is dítě (child), but the plural is děti (children), which does not follow the most basic regular patterns learners first meet.

So it is best to learn them together:

• dítě = child
• děti = children

This is similar to learning English child / children as a pair rather than trying to guess the plural.