Chci se víc učit češtinu.

I want to study Czech more.

Breakdown of Chci se víc učit češtinu.

• já: I
• chtít: to want
• se: oneself
• učit se: to study
• čeština: Czech
• víc: more

Questions & Answers about Chci se víc učit češtinu.

What does chci mean exactly, and what is the base verb?

Chci means “I want”. It is the 1st person singular present form of the verb chtít (to want).

Basic present-tense forms of chtít are:

• já chci – I want
• ty chceš – you (sg.) want
• on/ona/to chce – he/she/it wants
• my chceme – we want
• vy chcete – you (pl./formal) want
• oni chtějí – they want

So Chci se víc učit češtinu literally is “I want to learn Czech more.”

Why is there no “já” (I) in the sentence?

Czech normally drops subject pronouns when the verb ending already shows who the subject is.

• Chci se víc učit češtinu. – I want to study Czech more.
• The ending -i in chci already tells you the subject is já (I), so já is optional.

You can say Já chci se víc učit češtinu, but:

• it sounds a bit clumsy because of the word order with se (more on that below), and
• using já adds emphasis: I (as opposed to someone else) want to…

A more natural emphatic version is:

• Já se chci víc učit češtinu. – I want to study Czech more.

Why is učit used with se? What is the difference between učit and učit se?

Učit and učit se are two different verbs:

• učit = to teach (someone else)
  
  • Učím děti češtinu. – I teach children Czech.
• učit se = to learn / to study (a skill, language, etc.)
  
  • Učím se češtinu. – I am learning Czech.

The se here is a reflexive particle that changes the meaning of učit from teaching others to teaching oneself / learning.

So in your sentence, učit se must be used, because you are the learner, not the teacher.

What exactly does se do in this sentence?

In učit se, the word se is:

• a reflexive marker that is part of the verb,
• not really a separate object like “myself” in English.

You can think of učit se as one lexical unit: “to learn”. The se:

• does not mean “myself” in a literal way here;
• simply tells you this is the “learn” meaning, not “teach”.

Other common pairs:

• holit – to shave (someone else)
  holit se – to shave (oneself)
• pamatovat si – to remember (reflexive verb)
• bát se – to be afraid

So se is grammatically important, but often not translated word-for-word.

Why is se after chci and not next to učit, since učit se belongs together?

This is about Czech clitic word order.

Words like se, si, mi, ti, ho, mě are short, unstressed clitics. In Czech, clitics typically go in “second position” in the clause – after the first stressed element.

In Chci se víc učit češtinu:

• Chci is the first stressed word.
• So se comes immediately after it: Chci se …

Even though se logically belongs with učit, word order rules pull it forward.

This is why forms like:

• Chci víc se učit češtinu – sound wrong/ungrammatical, because se is no longer in the second position.
• But you can move other parts and keep se second:
  • Víc se chci učit češtinu. – More I want to study Czech.
  • Češtinu se chci víc učit. – Czech I want to study more.

In all these, se stays right after the first stressed element (Víc, Češtinu, etc.).

Is “Se chci víc učit češtinu.” possible?

No, that is wrong.

• Se cannot stand at the very beginning of the sentence.
• As a clitic, it must come after the first stressed word, not before it.

Correct placements:

• Chci se víc učit češtinu.
• Já se chci víc učit češtinu.
• Víc se chci učit češtinu.

But never start the sentence with se.

Why is it češtinu and not čeština?

Čeština is a noun: “the Czech language”.

In Chci se víc učit češtinu, Czech is the direct object of the verb učit se (to learn what? → Czech), so it must be in the accusative case.

• Nominative (basic dictionary form): čeština
• Accusative singular (direct object): češtinu

Similar examples:

• Mám rád češtinu. – I like Czech.
• Studuju matematiku. – I study mathematics.

So češtinu is just the accusative (object) form of čeština.

What is the difference between češtinu and česky?

• čeština / češtinu = the Czech language (noun)
  
  • Učím se češtinu. – I’m learning Czech (the language).
• česky = in Czech, Czech-ly (adverb)
  
  • Mluvím česky. – I speak Czech.
  • Literally “I speak in a Czech way”.

You typically use:

• učit se češtinu – to learn Czech (as a subject).
• mluvit česky – to speak Czech.

So your sentence correctly uses the noun: učit se češtinu.

Could I say “Chci se víc učit česky.” instead?

You can, and it will be understood, but it’s less typical in this exact context.

• Chci se víc učit česky. sounds like “I want to learn more in Czech / to learn more how to speak Czech,” a bit vague.
• Chci se víc učit češtinu. clearly means “I want to study the Czech language more (as a subject).”

Both are not “wrong,” but učit se češtinu is the more standard way to say you’re studying the language itself.

What is the difference between učit se and studovat? Could I say Chci víc studovat češtinu?

Both are possible, but there is a nuance:

• učit se = to learn / to study, often in a broad or practical sense, including self-study, homework, memorizing, etc.
• studovat = to study (formally, systematically), often used for school/university subjects or fields.

Examples:

• Učím se češtinu každý den. – I’m learning Czech every day.
• Studuju češtinu na univerzitě. – I study Czech at university.

So:

• Chci se víc učit češtinu. – I want to learn/study Czech more (general learning).
• Chci víc studovat češtinu. – I want to study Czech more (could sound a bit more serious/systematic).

Both are correct; učit se is more neutral and common in everyday speech.

What is the difference between učit se and naučit se? Could I say Chci se víc naučit češtinu?

Czech verbs have aspect: imperfective vs perfective.

• učit se – imperfective: the process of learning.
  
  • Chci se víc učit češtinu. – I want to spend more time learning Czech.
• naučit se – perfective: to learn something completely / to manage to learn it.
  
  • Chci se naučit česky. – I want to (manage to) learn Czech (to the point of knowing it).

Chci se víc naučit češtinu sounds odd; more natural:

• Chci se naučit víc češtiny. – I want to learn more (of) Czech.
• Chci se líp naučit česky. – I want to learn to speak Czech better.

So with víc meaning “more time/effort,” učit se (imperfective) fits much better in your original sentence.

What is the difference between víc and více here?

Víc and více both mean “more” (as an adverb):

• Chci se víc učit češtinu.
• Chci se více učit češtinu.

The difference is mainly style:

• víc – more common in everyday, spoken Czech; neutral in conversation.
• více – a bit more formal / written or slightly more emphatic.

In normal speech, víc is perfectly natural and very frequent.

Could I change the word order to “Chci se učit víc češtinu” or “Chci učit se víc češtinu”?

• Chci učit se víc češtinu – sounds wrong: učit se is split unnaturally, and se is no longer in “second position” after chci.
• Chci se učit víc češtinu – grammatically possible, but sounds unnatural / clumsy to most native speakers.

The most natural neutral word order is:

• Chci se víc učit češtinu.

Other natural variants (with changed emphasis) are:

• Češtinu se chci víc učit. – Emphasis on češtinu (Czech).
• Víc se chci učit češtinu. – Emphasis on víc (more).

But you generally keep:

1. finite verb (chci),
2. clitic (se),
3. adverb (víc),
4. infinitive (učit),
5. object (češtinu).

Why is the present tense chci used, even though this is about the future?

Czech often uses the present tense of verbs like chtít (to want), muset (must), mít (should) + infinitive to talk about future intentions:

• Chci se víc učit češtinu. – I want to study Czech more (from now on / in the future).
• Musím se víc učit. – I have to study more.

The future meaning comes from the verb “want” plus the infinitive učit se, not from a separate future tense.

So using chci (present) is exactly right, just like English “I want to study more,” which also uses a present form for a future intention.