Learn Hardcore Czech: Po večeři rád odpočívám doma s rodinou. - After dinner I like to relax at home with my family.

This is a bit confusing because for this noun, the accusative singular is also večeři, so you can’t tell the case just from the form; you need to know the preposition:

Mám večeři v šest. – I have dinner at six. (večeři = accusative)
Po večeři jdu spát. – After dinner I go to sleep. (večeři = locative after po)

With “after”, you always use po + locative in Czech:
po škole, po práci, po obědě, po snídani, etc.

Why is there no word for “I” in the sentence? Where is the subject?

Czech usually omits personal subject pronouns (já, ty, on, etc.) when they are not needed for emphasis, because the verb ending already shows who the subject is.

The verb odpočívám ends in -ám, which clearly marks 1st person singular (I) in the present tense.

Odpočívám. – I am resting.
If you do say Já odpočívám, it usually adds emphasis: I am the one who’s resting (not someone else).

So in everyday Czech, “Po večeři rád odpočívám…” naturally means “After dinner I like to rest…” even without já.

What exactly does “rád” mean here? Is it like “like”, “gladly”, or something else?

Rád is an adverb-like word that literally means something like “gladly / with pleasure”, but in practice it’s often used to express “(I) like doing something.”

In this pattern:

(já) rád odpočívám ≈ I like to rest / I enjoy resting.

A few important points:

Gender agreement
Rád changes with the gender and number of the subject:
- masculine singular: rád
  - Jsem rád. – I’m glad. (said by a man)
- feminine singular: ráda
  - Jsem ráda. – I’m glad. (said by a woman)
- plural mixed/masc animate: rádi
- plural non-masc animate: rády
So a woman would say:
- Po večeři ráda odpočívám doma s rodinou.
With verbs
You use rád + verb to say you like doing that action:
- Rád čtu. – I like reading.
- Ráda vařím. – I (female) like cooking.

How is “rád odpočívám” different from using “mám rád odpočinek”?

Both express liking, but they differ in style and structure:

Rád odpočívám
- Very natural, common, and idiomatic.
- Literally “I rest gladly.”
- Focuses on the activity of resting.
- This is what most Czech speakers would normally say.
Mám rád odpočinek
- Literally “I like rest.”
- Grammatically correct, but sounds more like you like the concept of rest, not “I like to relax in the evening.”
- It can sound a bit heavier or less natural in this exact context.

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

Why is it “odpočívám” and not something like “odpočinu si”? What aspect is being used?

Odpočívám is the imperfective verb (odpočívat), used for:

Habits and repeated actions
Ongoing or general situations

In this sentence, we’re describing a habitual action:

Po večeři rád odpočívám…
= After dinner I (usually) like to rest at home with my family.

Odpočinu si is the perfective form, used more for a single, completed resting event:

Po večeři si odpočinu.
= After dinner I’ll (have a rest / take a break). (one particular time)

So for a general habit, odpočívám is correct and natural.

What’s the difference between “doma” and something like “v domě” or “v domě s rodinou”?

Doma is an adverb meaning “at home”:

Jsem doma. – I’m at home.
Odpočívám doma. – I rest at home.

It doesn’t need a preposition and is the standard way to say “at home.”

V domě literally means “in the house/building.” It’s more neutral and doesn’t necessarily carry the personal sense of “home”:

Jsem v domě. – I’m in the house (building).
(Could be any house, not necessarily your home.)

So:

doma = at (my/our) home
v domě = inside a house/building (more physical, less “homey”)

In this sentence, doma is exactly what you want.

Why is it “s rodinou” and not “s rodina”? What case is rodinou?

The preposition s meaning “with” normally takes the instrumental case.

rodina (family) is a feminine noun.
Its instrumental singular form is rodinou.

So:

s + rodinou (instrumental) = “with (my/the) family”

This is a general rule:

s kamarádem – with a (male) friend
s kamarádkou – with a (female) friend
s bratrem – with (my) brother
s mámou – with (my) mum

Using s + nominative (s rodina) would be incorrect.

When do you use “s” and when “se” before words like rodinou? I’ve seen both forms.

The base preposition is s, but in spoken and written Czech, it often changes to se for easier pronunciation, especially before certain consonant clusters or sounds.

Before r, ř, s, z, š, ž (and some clusters), se is more natural:
- se synem (with [my] son)
- se sestrou (with [my] sister)
- se psem (with the dog)

With rodinou, both s rodinou and se rodinou can be heard, but s rodinou is very common and easy to pronounce, so it’s perfectly fine.

You don’t change the case: it’s always s/se + instrumental.

Can the word order be different, like “Rád po večeři odpočívám doma s rodinou”? Does it change the meaning?

Yes, Czech word order is quite flexible, and your alternative is grammatically fine:

Po večeři rád odpočívám doma s rodinou.
Rád po večeři odpočívám doma s rodinou.
Rád odpočívám po večeři doma s rodinou.

All of these are understandable and basically mean the same thing: “After dinner I like to rest at home with my family.”

Subtle differences:

Starting with Po večeři puts more emphasis on “after dinner” as the time frame.
Starting with Rád emphasizes more your liking/enjoyment of the activity.
Czech speakers will choose the word order based on what they want to highlight, but all of these are natural.

If the speaker is a woman, how does the sentence change?

Only rád has to change to agree with the speaker’s gender:

Male speaker:
Po večeři rád odpočívám doma s rodinou.
Female speaker:
Po večeři ráda odpočívám doma s rodinou.

Everything else stays the same. The verb odpočívám and the rest of the sentence are unchanged.

What tense is “odpočívám” and does it mean “I rest” or “I am resting” in English?

Odpočívám is present tense.

Czech present tense typically covers both:

I rest (in general / habitually) – Po večeři odpočívám… (habit)
I am resting (right now) – Teď odpočívám. (right now)

In this sentence, because of “Po večeři” and the use of rád, it’s understood as a habitual action:

After dinner I (usually) like to rest at home with my family.

Czech does not have a separate continuous tense like English “am resting”—context decides.