Learn Hardcore Czech: Když je čaj horký, moje maminka je šťastná.

It expresses a general condition that is regularly true. Depending on context, když can also be translated as if when it describes a general conditional situation:

Když mám čas, čtu. = When I have time / If I have time, I read.

But for a single future event, you more often use až (when, once) instead of když:

Až bude čaj horký, moje maminka bude šťastná.
= When (once) the tea is hot, my mom will be happy.

Why is there a comma in the middle of Když je čaj horký, moje maminka je šťastná?

The comma separates a subordinate clause from the main clause:

Když je čaj horký – subordinate clause (introduced by když)
moje maminka je šťastná – main clause

In Czech, when a subordinate clause comes first, you must put a comma before the main clause:

Když je čaj horký, moje maminka je šťastná.
Moje maminka je šťastná, když je čaj horký.

Both word orders are correct, and both require a comma between the clauses, just like in English.

Why is je repeated twice? Could I say Když je čaj horký, moje maminka šťastná?

You need je in both clauses because each clause has its own verb:

je čaj horký – the tea *is hot*
maminka je šťastná – my mom *is happy*

So the sentence has two separate to be verbs, one in each clause.

Leaving out the second je (moje maminka šťastná) would sound incomplete or poetic, not normal everyday Czech. In standard speech and writing, keep both:

✅ Když je čaj horký, moje maminka je šťastná.

Why is it moje maminka and not moji maminka or some other form?

Moje is the correct possessive form for a feminine singular noun in the nominative case:

maminka = feminine, singular, nominative
possessive můj / moje agrees in gender and number with the possessed noun, not with the speaker.

Forms (nominative singular):

masculine (animate & inanimate): můj bratr, můj dům
feminine: moje maminka, moje sestra
neuter: moje auto, moje dítě

You might also hear the short form má maminka instead of moje maminka – both are correct in nominative:

moje maminka = má maminka = my mom

What is the difference between maminka, máma, and matka?

All three mean roughly mother, but differ in tone:

maminka – very affectionate, somewhat diminutive; like mommy / mum (warm, childlike or affectionate)
máma – neutral, everyday informal; like mom / mum
matka – formal, neutral-to-cold; like mother in official or serious contexts
(e.g. documents: matka a otec dítěte – the mother and father of the child)

In this sentence, maminka gives it a warm, affectionate feel:
Když je čaj horký, moje maminka je šťastná.

Why is it horký and not horká or horké after čaj?

The adjective horký must agree with čaj in gender, number, and case.

čaj = masculine, singular, nominative
so the predicate adjective is horký (masculine singular nominative).

Other nominative singular forms of horký:

masculine: horký čaj
feminine: horká polévka (hot soup)
neuter: horké mléko (hot milk)

Since čaj is masculine, horký is the correct form.

Why is it šťastná and not šťastný after maminka?

Again, adjective agreement:

maminka = feminine, singular, nominative
so the predicate adjective must also be feminine, singular, nominative: šťastná.

Compare:

Můj bratr je šťastný. (brother – masculine → šťastný)
Moje sestra je šťastná. (sister – feminine → šťastná)
To dítě je šťastné. (child – neuter → šťastné)

So we say:
Moje maminka je šťastná.

Can I change the word order, for example Moje maminka je šťastná, když je čaj horký or Když čaj je horký?

Yes, Czech word order is relatively flexible, but there are natural and less natural options.

Both of these are normal:

Když je čaj horký, moje maminka je šťastná.
Moje maminka je šťastná, když je čaj horký.

They mean the same; the only difference is which part you put first for emphasis or flow.

Když čaj je horký is grammatically possible but sounds more marked, as if you are emphasizing čaj (contrast: when the tea is hot (not the coffee, etc.)). For a neutral statement, Když je čaj horký is better.

So:

✅ very natural: Když je čaj horký, …
✅ natural: Moje maminka je šťastná, když je čaj horký.
⚠️ marked/emphatic: Když čaj je horký, …

Is there a difference between horký čaj and čaj je horký?

Yes, it’s the difference between an attributive adjective and a predicate adjective:

horký čaj – hot tea (adjective before the noun)
- just describes which tea: hot tea vs cold tea
čaj je horký – the tea is hot (complete sentence)
- makes a statement about the tea’s current state.

In Když je čaj horký, horký is a predicate after the verb je:

je (to be) + horký → is hot

If you said:

Když je horký čaj, moje maminka je šťastná.

this would sound more like When there is hot tea, my mom is happy – a slightly different nuance (existence of hot tea vs temperature of specific tea).

How would the sentence change if I talk about the future, like “When the tea gets hot, my mom will be happy”?

For a future event, you normally use future tense in Czech, and often až instead of když:

Až bude čaj horký, moje maminka bude šťastná.
= When (once) the tea is hot, my mom will be happy.

Key points:

bude čaj horký – future of být (to be): bude
- adjective
bude šťastná – will be happy

If you used když with future:

Když bude čaj horký, moje maminka bude šťastná.

it is still understandable, but až is more idiomatic for “once it becomes hot” (one concrete time in the future). Když is more typical for general or repeated situations.

Why is there no word for the or a before čaj in Czech?

Czech has no articles like English the, a, or an.

The noun čaj by itself can mean:

tea
the tea
a tea

The exact meaning (definite vs indefinite) is inferred from context, not from a separate word. In this sentence, we naturally read it as the tea because of the context of a specific situation:

Když je čaj horký, moje maminka je šťastná.
→ When the tea is hot, my mom is happy.

Could když here also be understood as if, not only when?

Yes. In sentences that describe a general condition or a repeated situation, když can often be translated as when or if, depending on which sounds more natural in English:

Když je čaj horký, moje maminka je šťastná.

Possible translations:

When the tea is hot, my mom is happy.
If the tea is hot, my mom is happy.

The Czech meaning is a general rule: whenever / if it happens that the tea is hot, then my mom is happy.

For a more clearly conditional if, Czech might also use jestli or pokud, but když is very common in this “whenever/if” sense.

How do you pronounce the words in Když je čaj horký, moje maminka je šťastná?

Approximate pronunciation (Czech stress is always on the first syllable of each word):

Když – [gdyzh]; k like in ski, d as in day, ž like s in measure
je – [yeh]; like ye in yes
- short e
čaj – [chai]; č like ch in chocolate, aj like in eye
horký – [HOR-kee]; r is rolled, ý is a long ee sound
moje – [MO-ye]; j is like English y
maminka – [MA-min-ka]; all short vowels, clear k at the end
šťastná – [SHCHAST-naa];
- š = sh
- ť is a soft t, somewhat like t in tune in many British accents
- á is a long a (like aa in father but held longer)

Word-by-word:
Když je čaj horký, moje maminka je šťastná.
[Gdyzh yeh chai HOR-kee, MO-ye MA-min-ka yeh SHCHAST-naa.]