Learn Hardcore Czech: Můj otec rád vaří večeři v čisté kuchyni. - My father likes to cook dinner in the clean kitchen.

Můj otec rád vaří… = My father likes to cook…
Otec rád vaří… = Father likes to cook… (sounds like a general “the father” or a very formal/literary style, or something you might see in e.g. a family chronicle).

In everyday speech, when talking about your own family, people almost always say můj otec, moje sestra, etc.

What exactly does rád vaří mean? Is it the same as “likes to cook”?

Yes, rád vaří means “(he) likes to cook” or “(he) enjoys cooking.”

Grammatically:

rád is an adverb that expresses liking/pleasure in doing something.
It must match the gender and number of the subject:
- Můj otec rád vaří – My father likes to cook. (masculine singular)
- Moje matka ráda vaří – My mother likes to cook. (feminine singular)
- Moji rodiče rádi vaří – My parents like to cook. (masc. plural)
- Moje děti rády vaří – My children like to cook. (non‑masc. plural)

So the pattern is:
[subject] + rád/ráda/rádi/rády + [finite verb] = “subject likes to do that verb.”

Could I say Můj otec miluje vařit večeři instead of rád vaří večeři?

You can, but it’s not quite the same.

rád vaří večeři = he enjoys / likes cooking dinner. Very natural and neutral; the usual way to express liking an activity.
miluje vařit večeři = he loves cooking dinner. This is stronger and can sound a bit exaggerated in everyday speech, unless you really mean “he absolutely loves it.”

Also note:

mít rád + NOUN – to like (a thing/person)
- Můj otec má rád vaření. – My father likes cooking (as a thing).
rád + VERB – to like doing (an action)
- Můj otec rád vaří. – My father likes to cook.

For everyday “likes doing X”, rád + verb is the most natural choice.

Why is večeři with an -i at the end? What case is that?

Večeři is the accusative singular of večeře (dinner).

In this sentence, večeři is the direct object of the verb vaří (cooks), so it must be in the accusative:

Nominative (dictionary form): večeře – dinner
Accusative: večeři – (he cooks) dinner

Pattern (for this type of feminine noun):

Nominative sg: -e → Accusative sg: -i
- kavárna → kavárnu (different pattern)
- večeře → večeři

So: vaří co? – večeři.

Why is it v čisté kuchyni, not v čistá kuchyně or something closer to the dictionary forms?

Because both čisté and kuchyni are in the locative singular feminine after the preposition v (in).

kuchyně (kitchen) – feminine noun:
- Nominative sg: kuchyně (dictionary form)
- Locative sg: kuchyni
- The preposition v (in) usually takes the locative when it means “in/inside”:
  - v kuchyni – in the kitchen
čistý (clean) – adjective:
- Feminine nominative sg: čistá
- Feminine locative sg: čisté
- It must agree with kuchyni in gender, number, and case:
  - v čisté kuchyni – in a/the clean kitchen

So the preposition v forces kuchyně → kuchyni, and the adjective čistý must match that case: čistá → čisté.

Why v čisté kuchyni and not ve čisté kuchyni? When do we use v and when ve?

v and ve are the same preposition (“in”), but ve is used only to make pronunciation easier.

In practice:

Use ve mainly before words beginning with v or some consonant clusters where v + consonant is hard to pronounce. Common examples:
- ve škole – in (the) school
- ve vsi – in the village
- ve vodě – in (the) water
- ve Vídni – in Vienna
v čisté kuchyni is easy to pronounce, so v is fine and standard.
- ve čisté kuchyni would sound unnatural.

So: same meaning, just a pronunciation convenience rule.

Can I change the word order, for example Můj otec večeři rád vaří v čisté kuchyni?

Czech word order is freer than English, but not everything sounds equally natural.

Your original:

Můj otec rád vaří večeři v čisté kuchyni.
Very natural, neutral: My father likes to cook dinner in a clean kitchen.

Other possible variants (all grammatically correct, but with slightly different emphasis):

Můj otec večeři rád vaří v čisté kuchyni.
Acceptable. Emphasis may fall a bit more on večeři as the thing he likes to cook.
Můj otec rád vaří v čisté kuchyni večeři.
Also possible, but less usual; sounds a bit clumsy in neutral speech.
Večeři rád vaří můj otec v čisté kuchyni.
Stronger focus on večeři (as opposed to lunch, breakfast, etc.). Could be used in a contrasting context.

General rule:

Neutral: [subject] – (time/place) – rád – [verb] – [object] – (place/time)
Too much shuffling is allowed grammatically, but can sound odd stylistically. The original sentence is a very natural choice.

Why is rád placed before vaří? Could I say Můj otec vaří rád večeři?

Rád usually appears immediately before the verb it modifies, especially in neutral sentences:

Můj otec rád vaří večeři. – Most neutral and common.

Other positions are possible but less neutral:

Můj otec vaří rád večeři.
- Grammatically OK, but the rhythm and emphasis change. It might sound a bit marked, as if you were stressing how he cooks dinner (that he cooks it gladly, maybe in contrast to something else).

In everyday speech, learners should stick to rád directly before the verb: rád vaří, ráda čte, rádi cestují, etc.

What’s the difference between vaří and uvaří? Could I say Můj otec rád uvaří večeři?

Czech verbs have aspect:

vařit – imperfective: focuses on the process or habitual action (to be cooking / to cook regularly).
uvařit – perfective: focuses on a completed event (to cook something to completion, to get it done).

In your sentence:

Můj otec rád vaří večeři.
= He enjoys the activity of cooking dinner (in general, habitually).
Můj otec rád uvaří večeři.
= He is happy/willing to cook dinner (i.e., to take care of it, get it done). This often sounds like: “He doesn’t mind cooking dinner; he’ll gladly do it (for us).”

Both are possible, but rád vaří večeři is the default for “likes cooking dinner” as an activity.

Why is it Můj otec and not Můj táta? Is there a difference?

Both mean “my father”, but the register/style is different:

otec – more formal, neutral, written language, official documents, or a bit more distant tone.
táta – informal, familiar, what children and family usually say in everyday speech.

So:

Můj otec rád vaří večeři… – perfectly fine, maybe a bit “textbook” or formal.
Můj táta rád vaří večeři… – more colloquial, natural in spoken language.

Meaning-wise they are the same person.

Does rád change for feminine subjects, like “My mother likes to cook dinner in a clean kitchen”?

Yes, rád must agree with the subject in gender and number. For a feminine subject:

Moje matka ráda vaří večeři v čisté kuchyni.
- ráda is the feminine singular form.

Comparison:

Můj otec rád vaří … – masculine singular
Moje matka ráda vaří … – feminine singular
Moji rodiče rádi vaří … – masculine plural (mixed or all-male group)
Moje sestry rády vaří … – non‑masculine plural (all women/girls)

The verb vaří itself doesn’t change with gender; only rád/ráda/rádi/rády does.

Is kuchyně feminine? How can I tell, and does that explain čisté kuchyni?

Yes, kuchyně is feminine. Clues:

Many feminine nouns end in -e / -ě / -a in the nominative singular:
- žena (woman), ulice (street), kuchyně (kitchen).
The adjective form that matches it in nominative singular is čistá kuchyně (clean kitchen).
- čistý muž – clean man (masc.)
- čistá kuchyně – clean kitchen (fem.)
- čisté město – clean city (neuter)

In v čisté kuchyni, the form čisté kuchyni is locative singular feminine, which depends on kuchyně being feminine and on the preposition v requiring locative.

Pronunciation: how do I pronounce můj, otec, vaří, večeři, kuchyni?

Approximate pronunciations (using English-like hints):

můj – [mooy]
- ů is like a long oo in food.
- j is like English y in yes.
otec – [oh-tets]
- c = ts (as in cats).
- Stress is always on the first syllable: O-tec.
vaří – [vah-zhee]
- ř is a special Czech sound; you can approximate it as a rolled/flapped r
  - zh (like vision).
- Long í is like a long ee in see.
večeři – [veh-cheh-zhi] (approx.)
- č = ch as in church.
- Again ř ≈ r + zh.
kuchyni – [koo-khi-nyi]
- ch = a voiceless guttural sound like German Bach or Scottish loch.
- y and i are both like short i in bit (for learners, they sound the same).

All words have stress on the first syllable: Můj, Otec, Rád, Vaří, Večeři, v, Čisté, Kuchyni.