Learn Hardcore Czech: Moje maminka říká, že nejdůležitější je jíst zdravé jídlo každý den. - My mom says that the most important thing is to eat healthy food every day.

Moje maminka is the most common, neutral, everyday form.
Má maminka sounds a bit more formal, old‑fashioned, or stylistically marked (you might see it in literature or more elevated speech).

So in ordinary conversation, Moje maminka říká… is more natural than Má maminka říká….

Why is it maminka? Is there any difference between maminka, máma, and matka?

All three mean mother, but the style is different:

maminka – very common, affectionate, slightly “diminutive” feel (like “mommy” or just “mom” with a warm tone).
máma – neutral and very common in speech (like “mom”).
matka – formal, neutral-to-cold, often used in official contexts, documents, or when you want emotional distance (like “mother” in legal language).

In everyday speech, Moje maminka or Moje máma is more usual than Moje matka, unless you want to sound formal or distant.

What exactly does říká express? Why not řekne or řekla?

říká is the 3rd person singular present tense of říkat (imperfective verb).

říká = she says / she keeps saying / she always says (habitual or repeated action in general).
řekne = future, perfective, “she will say (once)” or “she will have said”.
řekla = past, perfective, “she said (once / at some specific time)”.

In Moje maminka říká, že…, the idea is that this is something your mom says regularly, as a general rule or opinion, not just one specific occasion. That’s why říká is used.

Why is there a comma before že? Is it always required?

Yes, in this type of sentence a comma before že is required in Czech.

že introduces a subordinate clause (že nejdůležitější je jíst…).
Czech punctuation rules: you normally put a comma before conjunctions like že, protože, když, jestli when they introduce subordinate clauses.

So Moje maminka říká, že… is correct. Writing it without a comma would be a mistake in standard Czech:
✗ Moje maminka říká že…

What does že actually do here? Is it the same as English “that”?

Yes. že is a conjunction that works like that in English in sentences such as:

My mom says *that the most important thing is…*

So:

Moje maminka říká, že…
= My mom says that…

You can think of it as marking the start of the content of what she says.

The word order že nejdůležitější je jíst… feels strange to me. Could it also be že je nejdůležitější jíst…? Is there any difference?

Both word orders are possible and correct:

že nejdůležitější je jíst zdravé jídlo každý den
že je nejdůležitější jíst zdravé jídlo každý den

Differences are subtle and mostly about emphasis and rhythm:

Version 1 (že nejdůležitější je…) puts nejdůležitější right after že, so the word “most important” is highlighted early.
Version 2 (že je nejdůležitější…) feels slightly more neutral and is often the first version learners are taught.

In everyday speech, you’ll hear both, and neither sounds wrong. Czech word order is more flexible than English, especially for elements like je (“is”).

What is nejdůležitější grammatically? How is it formed and what does it agree with?

nejdůležitější is the superlative form of the adjective důležitý (important).

Formation:

důležitý → comparative: důležitější (more important)
důležitější → superlative: nejdůležitější (most important)

In the sentence nejdůležitější je jíst…, nejdůležitější is used predicatively, and it’s basically neuter singular (agreeing with an implied neutral “thing”, like “to” / “that / “what we are talking about”). You could imagine a fuller version:

Moje maminka říká, že (to) nejdůležitější je jíst zdravé jídlo každý den.
(My mom says that the most important (thing) is to eat healthy food every day.)

Czech often omits that neutral pronoun to in such constructions.

Why is the verb je placed after nejdůležitější instead of before it?

Czech word order is more flexible than English. Both:

nejdůležitější je jíst…
je nejdůležitější jíst…

are grammatically fine.

Placing je after nejdůležitější helps:

Keep the focus on nejdůležitější (“the most important”), and
Smoothly introduce what exactly is “the most important” (the infinitive jíst…).

It’s a very common pattern in Czech, especially with predicate adjectives:
Důležité je porozumět. – What’s important is to understand.

Why is jíst in the infinitive? Could it be a different form?

jíst is the infinitive of to eat, and here it functions like a noun phrase – it acts as the thing that is most important.

Compare:

English: The most important *thing is to eat healthy food every day.*
Czech: Nejdůležitější je jíst zdravé jídlo každý den.

So jíst zdravé jídlo každý den is essentially the “subject complement” (the content of what is important).

You could rephrase with a finite verb, but the meaning and nuance would change, for example:

Nejdůležitější je, abys jedl zdravé jídlo každý den.
The most important thing is that you eat healthy food every day.
(now it’s more specifically directed at “you”, with abys jedl)

Why is it zdravé jídlo and not zdravá jídlo or zdravý jídlo?

Because jídlo (food) is neuter singular.

Adjectives must agree with the noun in gender, number, and case:

jídlo – neuter, singular, accusative (object of jíst)
The adjective zdravý must take the matching form: zdravé (neuter singular nominative/accusative)

So:

zdravé jídlo = healthy food (correct)
✗ zdravá jídlo – zdravá is feminine
✗ zdravý jídlo – zdravý is masculine

Pattern (singular, nominative/accusative):

masculine inanimate: zdravý stůl (a healthy table – silly, but grammatical form)
feminine: zdravá polévka (healthy soup)
neuter: zdravé jídlo (healthy food)

Why is zdravé jídlo in the accusative case? I don’t see any preposition.

The verb jíst (to eat) takes a direct object in the accusative case:

eat what? → zdravé jídlo

In Czech, you don’t need a preposition for this; the case ending (here, the form of the adjective and noun) shows it’s an object.

jíst jídlo – to eat food
pít vodu – to drink water (vodu = accusative of voda)
číst knihu – to read a book (knihu = accusative of kniha)

So zdravé jídlo is accusative, functioning as the direct object of jíst.

Why is it každý den? What case is that, and why no preposition like “on” or “for”?

den (day) here is in the accusative singular: každý den.

Time expressions in Czech often use the accusative without a preposition to express how often or for how long something happens:

každý den – every day
celý týden – (for) the whole week
každý rok – every year

So:

jíst zdravé jídlo každý den = eat healthy food every day

You don’t say “on every day” or “for every day” in Czech here; the accusative form itself is enough to show it’s a time expression.

Can I drop moje and just say Maminka říká, že…?

Yes. Maminka říká, že… is perfectly natural.

In Czech, possessive pronouns (můj, tvůj, jeho…) are often omitted when the owner is obvious from context, especially with family members:

Maminka říká… – My/our mom says…
Táta pracuje v Praze. – My dad works in Prague.

If it’s clear you are talking about your own mother, Maminka říká… is fine and often more natural than repeating moje all the time. You use Moje maminka when you need to be explicit or contrastive (e.g., My mom says X, but your mom says Y).

Does Moje maminka říká, že nejdůležitější je jíst zdravé jídlo každý den sound childish because of maminka?

No, not necessarily. maminka is very common in adult speech too, especially when:

Talking warmly about your own mother, or
In informal contexts.

It can have a tender or affectionate tone, but it doesn’t automatically sound childish. It’s similar to calling your mother “mom” rather than “mother”.

If you want a very neutral, non-diminutive word, you could say:

Moje máma říká, že… – very common, neutral
Moje matka říká, že… – more formal or emotionally distant

How should I pronounce říká and jíst? The letter ř and the long í confuse me.

Key points:

říká:
- ř is a special Czech sound (a rolled r combined with ž).
- í is a long vowel; hold it longer: ŘÍ‑ká.
- Stress is on the first syllable: ŘÍ‑ká.
jíst:
- j is like English y in yes.
- í is long: JÍ‑st.
- The final st is pronounced clearly; no extra vowel.

Whole phrase rhythm (stressed syllables in caps):
MO‑je MA‑min‑ka ŘÍ‑ká, že NEJ‑dů‑le‑ži‑TĚJ‑ší je JÍST ZDRA‑vé JÍ‑dlo KAŽ‑dý DEN.

In practice, focus on:

Keeping stress on the first syllable of each word, and
Making the í in říká and jíst clearly long.