Breakdown of V sobotu chci jen být doma s rodinou.
Questions & Answers about V sobotu chci jen být doma s rodinou.
V sobotu literally means “on Saturday” in the sense of when something happens.
- v + [day of the week] = on [that day]
- v sobotu – on Saturday
- v pátek – on Friday
- v neděli – on Sunday
Na sobotu is different. It usually means “for Saturday” in the sense of a deadline, plan, or target time:
- Mám to hotové na sobotu. – I’ll have it done for Saturday (by then).
- Pojďme si na sobotu něco naplánovat. – Let’s plan something for Saturday.
So:
- v sobotu chci… – what you will be doing on Saturday
- na sobotu chci… – what you want to have for Saturday (e.g. a result, an event)
The dictionary form is sobota (Saturday), but in v sobotu it appears as sobotu because:
- It’s in the accusative singular: sobotu.
- The preposition v can take different cases; for days of the week used as “on X-day”, it uses the accusative.
So:
- nominative (basic form): sobota – Saturday
- accusative: sobotu – used here: v sobotu (on Saturday)
- locative: sobotě – used in other contexts, e.g. o sobotě (about Saturday – stylistically a bit old-fashioned)
For most practical purposes, just memorize:
“On Saturday” = v sobotu (not v sobotě).
In Czech, the verb chtít (to want) is followed directly by an infinitive, without any linking word like “to”:
- chci být – I want to be
- chci jít – I want to go
- chci spát – I want to sleep
So chci jen být doma is literally “I want only be at home”, but Czech grammar does not need a separate word for “to” in this structure. The infinitive ending -t (být, jít, spát) already plays that role.
Jen is a focusing word (like “just / only”) and Czech is quite flexible with word order. Where you place jen changes what is limited:
V sobotu jen chci být doma s rodinou.
Emphasis: It’s only that I want to be at home (and nothing more, e.g. you’re not asking for anything complicated).V sobotu chci jen být doma s rodinou.
Emphasis: I just want to be at home (not go out, not work, etc.).
→ This is your original sentence.V sobotu chci být jen doma s rodinou.
Emphasis: I want to be only at home with my family (not anywhere/somewhere else, for example not at work or out with friends).
All are grammatically correct.
The original chci jen být doma s rodinou most naturally answers “What do you want (on Saturday)?” – I just want to be at home with my family, that’s all.
Both can translate as “only / just”, but:
- jen is more informal and very common in speech.
- pouze is more formal, written, or “polite official” sounding.
So you could say:
- V sobotu chci jen být doma s rodinou. – perfectly natural, everyday Czech.
- V sobotu chci pouze být doma s rodinou. – grammatically fine, but sounds more formal / bookish.
When speaking normally, jen is the usual choice.
Doma is an adverb meaning “at home”. It’s the standard, idiomatic way to say you’re at home:
- Jsem doma. – I am at home.
- Chci být doma. – I want to be at home.
V domě literally means “in the house/building” and is more neutral or physical (inside a building), not necessarily your home:
- Je hodně lidí v domě. – There are many people in the building/house.
So in your sentence, doma is exactly the natural choice for “at home” in the personal sense.
doma = at home (location, static)
- Jsem doma. – I am at home.
- Chci být doma. – I want to be at home.
domů = (to) home (direction, movement towards home)
- Jdu domů. – I’m going home.
- Pojedeme domů. – We will go home.
In your sentence there is no movement; it’s about being somewhere, so we use doma, not domů.
Because of case and agreement:
- The dictionary form is rodina (family) – nominative singular.
- The preposition s (“with”) requires the instrumental case.
- Instrumental singular of rodina is rodinou.
So:
- nominative: rodina – a/the family
- instrumental: rodinou – (with) the family → s rodinou
This is a fixed pattern:
- s kamarádem – with a friend (m.)
- s mámou – with (my) mom
- s rodinou – with (my) family
In Czech, possessive pronouns (můj, moje, můj etc.) are often omitted when it’s obvious from context whose thing/person it is, especially with close family:
- Jsem doma s rodinou. – I am at home with (my) family.
- Jdu za mámou. – I’m going to (my) mom.
- Mluvím s bratrem. – I’m talking with (my) brother.
If you really want to emphasize “my own family”, you can say:
- s mojí rodinou – with my family
- se svojí rodinou – with my (own) family
But in most normal contexts, just s rodinou is completely natural and will be understood as your family.
Rodinou is instrumental singular of rodina.
Rough pattern for a common feminine noun like rodina:
- Nominative: rodina – family (subject form)
- Genitive: rodiny – of (a) family
- Dative: rodině – to/for a family
- Accusative: rodinu – (see) a family
- Locative: rodině – about a family / in a family
- Instrumental: rodinou – with/by a family
You recognize rodinou by the -ou ending, which is a typical instrumental ending for many feminine nouns ending in -a (škola → školou, kniha → knihou, rodina → rodinou).
Both are grammatically correct, but they feel different:
chci = I want – direct, neutral in everyday speech.
- V sobotu chci jen být doma s rodinou. – Normal, informal, sounds like talking to friends or family.
chtěl bych = I would like – more polite/soft, often used when you don’t want to sound demanding:
- V sobotu bych chtěl jen být doma s rodinou. – I’d just like to be at home with my family on Saturday.
To sound more polite / less pushy, especially with strangers or in more formal situations, chtěl bych (for men) / chtěla bych (for women) is safer. With friends or family, chci is completely fine.
Yes, you can, but the meaning changes:
V sobotu chci jen být doma s rodinou.
– I (just) want to be at home with my family on Saturday.
Focus on your wish/intention.V sobotu budu jen doma s rodinou.
– On Saturday I will (just) be at home with my family.
Focus on the fact/plan of what will actually happen.
So:
- chci být – expresses desire.
- budu (jen) doma – expresses a stated or decided future reality.