Dům je velký.

to be

Breakdown of Dům je velký.

• dům: the house
• velký: big

Questions & Answers about Dům je velký.

Why do we say dům without any article (like "the" or "a")?

Czech doesn’t use articles. Nouns simply appear by themselves, and context usually makes the meaning clear.

Why is je used here instead of something like "is"?

In Czech, je is the third-person singular form of the verb být ("to be"). It corresponds to "is" in English.

Why does velký end with -ý?

In Czech, the adjective ending -ý is for masculine singular nouns in the nominative case. Since dům is a masculine singular noun, the adjective also takes the masculine singular form velký.

How would I make the sentence plural, for "The houses are big"?

You would say Domy jsou velké. The noun dům becomes domy in the plural, and the adjective changes to velké for plural masculine animate or inanimate nouns in the nominative case, along with the verb form jsou.

How should I pronounce dům and velký?

• dům: The ů sounds like a long "oo" in English, so it’s similar to "doom," but with a slightly more rounded vowel quality.
• velký: The e is short, and ý is a long "ee" sound. So you would say something like "vel-kee," with the stress on vel.