Mnozí lidé mají strach.

Because mnozí and mnoho work differently in Czech.

• mnozí behaves like an adjective-like word that agrees with the noun.
• mnoho is a quantity word and is followed by the genitive plural.

So:

• mnozí lidé = many people
• mnoho lidí = many people / a lot of people

Both are possible, but the grammar changes:

• Mnozí lidé mají strach.
• Mnoho lidí má strach.

Notice that with mnoho lidí, the verb is usually singular: má.

Also, mnozí can sound a bit more formal or written than some other ways of saying many people.

Mnozí is the masculine animate nominative plural form of mnohý in this meaning.

It matches lidé, which is also masculine animate plural and is the subject of the sentence.

That agreement is why you get:

• mnozí lidé for masculine animate plural

Compare with other genders:

• mnohé ženy = many women
• mnohá města = many towns/cities

So the ending of mnozí is there because it has to agree with lidé.

The singular is člověk = person.

Its plural is irregular:

• singular: člověk
• plural: lidé = people

So lidé is the standard nominative plural form used here because it is the subject of the sentence.

This is an important thing to remember: Czech does not form the plural of člověk in a regular way.

These are different forms or levels of usage:

• lidé = standard nominative plural; common in careful speech and writing
• lidi = very common colloquial form, especially in spoken Czech
• lidí = genitive plural

So in this sentence, lidé is used because it is the standard subject form.

Examples:

• Lidé mají strach. = People are afraid.
• Lidi mají strach. = same meaning, but more colloquial
• Mnoho lidí má strach. = Many people are afraid.

Because the subject is plural: mnozí lidé = many people.

mají is the 3rd person plural form of mít = to have.

A quick comparison:

• má = he/she/it has
• mají = they have

So:

• Člověk má strach. = A person is afraid.
• Lidé mají strach. = People are afraid.

Yes. The present tense of mít is:

• 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

In your sentence, the subject is plural, so Czech uses mají.

Here strach is in the accusative singular, because it is the direct object of mají.

The expression is:

• mít strach = literally to have fear

For masculine inanimate nouns like strach, the nominative singular and accusative singular often look the same, so the form does not change visibly.

That is why strach looks the same even though it is functioning as an object here.

It is a completely normal and very common Czech expression.

Literally, it means to have fear, but in natural English it is often translated as:

• to be afraid
• to be scared
• to feel fear

So Mnozí lidé mají strach is a very normal Czech sentence.

You can also expand it:

• mít strach z něčeho = to be afraid of something
• mít strach o někoho = to fear for someone
• mít strach, že... = to be afraid that...

Yes. That is another very common way to express a similar idea.

• mít strach = to have fear / be afraid
• bát se = to fear / be afraid

So:

• Mnozí lidé mají strach.
• Mnozí lidé se bojí.

Both are natural, though the grammar is different:

• mít strach uses the noun strach
• bát se is a reflexive verb and uses se

A learner should know both patterns.

Because Czech does not have articles like English.

So Czech does not need separate words for:

• a person
• the person
• the people

Context tells you whether something is specific or general.

That means Mnozí lidé mají strach can simply mean Many people are afraid, without needing an article.

Yes. Czech word order is more flexible than English because case endings and verb forms help show the structure.

The most neutral order here is:

• Mnozí lidé mají strach.

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

• Strach mají mnozí lidé.
• Mají mnozí lidé strach? = Do many people have fear? / Are many people afraid?

The basic meaning stays similar, but the focus changes.

In normal neutral speech, the first syllable of each word is stressed:

• MNO-zí LI-dé MA-jí strach

Czech stress is usually on the first syllable of the word.

If a speaker wants to emphasize a particular idea, they may stress one word more strongly, for example:

• MNOzí lidé mají strach = emphasis on many
• Mnozí lidé mají STRACH = emphasis on fear

So word order and sentence stress both help express nuance.

A rough English-friendly pronunciation is:

• MNO-zee LI-deh MA-yee strakh

A few useful notes:

• mnozí: the zí has a long vowel
• lidé: the dé has a long vowel
• mají: sounds roughly like ma-yee
• ch in strach is not like English ch in chair; it is the throaty sound heard in Scottish loch or German Bach

And again, the stress falls on the first syllable of each word.

It is correct and natural, but it can feel slightly more formal or written because of mnozí lidé.

In everyday speech, people might also say:

• Hodně lidí má strach.
• Spousta lidí má strach.
• Lidi mají strach.

These are more conversational.

So Mnozí lidé mají strach is perfectly good Czech, especially in writing, news, essays, or more careful speech.