Learn Hardcore Czech: Moje kamarádka má bílé boty, které se hodí k jejím modrým šatům. - My friend has white shoes which go well with her blue dress.

kamarádka = female friend → feminine singular
The possessive for feminine singular is moje.
můj is masculine singular (for words like můj kamarád – my (male) friend).

So:

Moje kamarádka = my (female) friend
Můj kamarád = my (male) friend

Using můj kamarádka would be a gender mismatch and is incorrect.

What is the difference between kamarádka and přítelkyně?

Both can be translated as friend, but the nuance is different:

kamarádka
- usually means female friend in a general, non-romantic sense
- neutral, informal; can be used for classmates, colleagues, etc.
přítelkyně
- can mean close (female) friend
- very often means girlfriend (romantic partner), especially in adult contexts

So Moje kamarádka is safely understood as my (female) friend, not my girlfriend.

Why is there a comma before které?

Které se hodí k jejím modrým šatům is a relative clause (a subordinate clause giving extra information about the shoes).

In Czech, a comma is usually placed before conjunctions and relative words that introduce a subordinate clause, such as:

že, protože, když, aby, který/která/které, jestli etc.

So we write:

Moje kamarádka má bílé boty, které se hodí k jejím modrým šatům.
“My friend has white shoes that go well with her blue dress.”

The comma separates the main clause from the relative clause.

Why is the relative pronoun které and not která or který?

The relative pronoun must:

Agree in gender and number with the noun it refers to.
Take the case required by its role in the relative clause.

Here it refers to boty (shoes):

boty → feminine plural (nominative)
In nominative plural (for feminine nouns), který becomes které.

Also, in the clause které se hodí k jejím modrým šatům, the pronoun is the subject, which is nominative.

So:

boty, které se hodí… = shoes that go well…
(not která or který).

What does se hodí mean exactly, and why do we need se?

Hodit se is a reflexive verb meaning:

to suit, to be suitable, to match, to go well (with).

Examples:

Ty boty se hodí k šatům. – Those shoes go well with the dress.
To se nehodí. – That’s not appropriate / That doesn’t fit (the situation).

Without se, the verb hodit usually means to throw:

Hodit míč. – To throw a ball.

So se is essential here. Hodit se k něčemu = to suit / go well with something.

Why is the preposition k used, and what case does it take?

k (or ke before some consonant clusters) means to, towards, by/at and also in some idioms with in the sense of matching.

It always takes the dative case.

Here:

k
- jejím modrým šatům (dative plural)

Literally: The shoes suit *to her blue dress.
Idiomatic English: The shoes go well **with her blue dress.*

So after k, you must put the following noun phrase into the dative.

How do jejím, modrým, and šatům agree, and what form are they?

They all agree with šatům (from šaty) in case, number, and gender:

šatům
- noun: šaty (dress/dresses)
- gender: masculine (in grammar)
- number: plural
- case: dative plural (-ům)
modrým (from modrý – blue)
- adjective in dative plural: modrým (same form for all genders in plural dative)
jejím (from její – her)
- possessive adjective, dative plural: jejím

So the whole phrase k jejím modrým šatům is dative plural and everything matches:

prep k
- dative → jejím (D pl) + modrým (D pl) + šatům (D pl)

Why is it k jejím modrým šatům and not k svým modrým šatům?

Czech has a reflexive possessive svůj/svoje, which normally refers back to the subject of the same clause.

Moje kamarádka má ráda své šaty.
The subject is kamarádka → své šaty = her own dress.

In our sentence, the relative clause subject is které (= shoes):

které se hodí k jejím modrým šatům

If we used svým, it would grammatically refer to the shoes (the subject of that clause), not to my friend. That would sound like shoes that match their own blue dress, which is odd.

So we use jejím to refer back to a third person feminine (the friend), not to the clause subject:

jejím = her (someone else’s)
svým = its/their own (belonging to the subject of that clause)

Therefore k jejím modrým šatům is correct here.

Could we leave out jejím and just say k modrým šatům?

Yes, grammatically you can say:

Moje kamarádka má bílé boty, které se hodí k modrým šatům.

This would mean “…that go well with the blue dress(es)” in general, without explicitly saying her. Whether it’s understood as her blue dress depends on context.

k jejím modrým šatům – clearly to her blue dress
k modrým šatům – just to (the) blue dress(es), possibly hers, possibly not

So using jejím makes the ownership explicit.

Why does bílé end in -é in bílé boty?

The adjective bílý (white) must agree with boty in gender, number, and case:

boty – feminine plural, nominative (subject or object form here)
Feminine plural nominative ending for adjectives: -é

So:

bílý boty – wrong
bílé boty – correct (fem. pl. nom./acc.)

This is the same pattern as:

modré boty – blue shoes
nové boty – new shoes

Why are boty and šaty plural, even though in English we might say “a pair of shoes” or “a dress”?

Czech treats these nouns a bit differently:

boty (shoes)
- usually used in the plural for a pair:
  - boty = shoes / a pair of shoes
- singular bota = one shoe (e.g., one of a pair, or a boot)
šaty (dress/dresses, clothes)
- normally plural only (pluralia tantum)
- šaty can mean a dress or dresses depending on context:
  - modré šaty = a blue dress / blue dresses

So bílé boty and modré šaty are naturally plural in Czech.

Could I change the word order, for example to Moje kamarádka má boty bílé?

You can change word order in Czech for emphasis, but not all orders are equally neutral.

Moje kamarádka má bílé boty.
Neutral: simply states that her shoes are white.
Moje kamarádka má boty bílé.
Puts extra emphasis on bílé (contrasting with some other color you might expect). Sounds more marked, even poetic or contrastive.
Bílé boty má moje kamarádka.
Strongly emphasizes white shoes, as opposed to something else.

In ordinary, neutral speech, adjective + noun (bílé boty) is the most natural order.

Is there a synonym for hodí se k in this sentence?

Yes, a common synonym is ladit s:

Moje kamarádka má bílé boty, které ladí s jejími modrými šaty.

Ladit s (+ instrumental case) also means to go well with / to match (mostly about colors, style, harmony).

Difference in structure:

hodit se k něčemu → k
- dative
ladit s něčím → s
- instrumental

Both are natural here; hodit se k is slightly more general, ladit s often focuses on visual “harmony” (colors, style).

How do you pronounce the tricky parts like jejím, šatům, and hodí?

Some quick pronunciation tips:

j is like English y in yes:
- jejím ≈ yeh-yeem (both je and jí have that y sound)
š is like English sh:
- šatům ≈ sha-toom (short a, long ú in tům)
hodí
- h is a voiced h from the throat
- o is like o in more (but shorter)
- í is a long ee
  → hodí ≈ ho-dee (with a long í)

Stress in Czech is almost always on the first syllable:

MO-je ka-ma-RÁD-ka má BÍ-lé BO-ty, KTE-ré se HO-dí k JE-jím MO-drým ŠA-tům.