Bolí mě záda.

Literally, it is something like The back hurts me.

• bolí = hurts / is hurting
• mě = me
• záda = back (but grammatically plural in Czech)

The grammatical subject is záda, not I. Czech usually expresses pain with the pattern something hurts someone.

So English My back hurts becomes Czech Bolí mě záda.

Because Czech often leaves out possessive words like my, your, his, etc. with body parts when the owner is already clear.

Here, mě already tells us whose back it is: it is my back, because it is hurting me.

So Czech prefers:

• Bolí mě záda. = My back hurts.

rather than a more explicit version like:

• Moje záda mě bolí.

That longer version is possible, but it sounds more emphatic, as if you are stressing my back specifically.

In Czech, záda is a plural noun. It is one of those nouns that are grammatically plural even though English uses a singular word.

So:

• English: back
• Czech: záda

This is completely normal and something you just have to learn as part of the word.

Because of that, you will also see plural agreement with adjectives:

• bolavá záda = a sore back
• namožená záda = a strained back

Even though English thinks of it as one back, Czech treats it grammatically as plural.

Mě is the accusative form of já = I.

In this sentence, it means me, because the pain is affecting me:

• Bolí mě záda. = My back hurts.
  • literally: The back hurts me

With bolet in this type of sentence, the person who feels the pain is usually in the accusative:

• Bolí mě hlava. = My head hurts.
• Bolí tě zub. = Your tooth hurts.
• Bolí ho noha. = His leg hurts.

So mě is exactly the form Czech expects here.

Because the verb agrees with the thing that hurts, not with the person feeling the pain.

In this sentence, the thing that hurts is záda, so Czech uses the 3rd-person form:

• Bolí mě záda.

Czech does not structure this as I hurt in my back. Instead, it structures it as The back hurts me.

A useful comparison:

• Bolí mě hlava. = My head hurts.
• Bolí mě nohy. = My legs hurt.
• Bolí mě záda. = My back hurts.

Also, in the present tense, bolí is the same form for both 3rd person singular and plural, so you will see bolí with both singular nouns and plural nouns.

It is nominative, because it is the subject of the sentence.

That can be confusing because for many neuter plural nouns, the nominative and accusative forms look the same. So záda could look like either one, but here its job in the sentence is the subject, so it is nominative.

So the roles are:

• záda = subject, nominative
• mě = object/experiencer, accusative

The word order is flexible, but different orders sound slightly different in emphasis.

Common possibilities:

• Bolí mě záda. = neutral, very common
• Záda mě bolí. = puts more emphasis on back
• Mě bolí záda. = puts more emphasis on me

In everyday conversation, Bolí mě záda is a very natural default sentence.

So yes, you can move the words, but the version you were given is a standard, idiomatic one.

A rough English-friendly approximation is:

BO-lee myeh ZAA-da

A few helpful notes:

• Czech stress is normally on the first syllable of each word:
  • BO-lí
  • mě
  • ZÁ-da
• í is a long vowel.
• ě in mě is not exactly plain ye, but myeh is a decent approximation for beginners.

A more careful pronunciation is roughly:

• bolí ≈ bo-lee
• mě ≈ myeh
• záda ≈ zaa-da

To make it negative, add ne- to the verb:

• Nebolí mě záda. = My back doesn’t hurt.

To make it a question, Czech often just uses intonation:

• Bolí mě záda? = Does my back hurt?
  (less common as a self-question, but grammatically fine)
• Bolí tě záda? = Does your back hurt?
• Bolí vás záda? = Does your back hurt? / Do your backs hurt?
  (vás can be plural or polite singular)

You mainly change the pronoun:

• Bolí mě záda. = My back hurts.
• Bolí tě záda. = Your back hurts. (informal singular)
• Bolí vás záda. = Your back hurts. (polite or plural)
• Bolí ho záda. = His back hurts.
• Bolí ji záda. = Her back hurts.
• Bolí nás záda. = Our back hurts / Our backs hurt.
• Bolí je záda. = Their back hurts / Their backs hurt.

The pattern stays the same: bolí + pronoun + body part.

Yes. A few alternatives are possible, but they are not all identical in tone.

• Bolí mě záda.
  The most natural everyday way to say My back hurts.

• Mám bolesti zad.
  Literally I have pains of the back = I have back pain.
  This sounds more formal or medical.

• Bolí mě v zádech.
  Literally It hurts me in the back.
  Also common, especially when talking about pain in the back area more generally.

So if you just want the normal everyday sentence, Bolí mě záda is an excellent choice.