Prosím vás, máte v lékárně lék na rýmu?

In this sentence, Prosím vás is a polite attention-getter, something like Excuse me, please, or may I ask.

It does not literally mean the same thing as English please in every situation. Czech prosím is very flexible and can mean:

• please
• you’re welcome
• go ahead
• pardon?

Here, Prosím vás makes the question sound polite when speaking to a pharmacist or shop assistant.

Máte already includes the subject you. In Czech, subject pronouns are often omitted because the verb ending shows who is doing the action.

• mám = I have
• máš = you have (singular informal)
• máte = you have (plural or polite singular)

So máte by itself already means do you have.

You could say máte vy, but that adds emphasis and is usually unnecessary here.

Máte is the polite form of you have when speaking to one person formally, and also the normal plural form when speaking to more than one person.

In a pharmacy, using máte is the natural polite choice.
Using máš with a stranger would usually sound too informal.

So:

• máš = informal singular you have
• máte = formal singular or plural you have

Czech often puts polite expressions like Prosím vás at the beginning when addressing strangers. It helps soften the request and sounds natural in service situations.

The core question is:

Máte v lékárně lék na rýmu?
= Do you have medicine for a cold in the pharmacy?

Adding Prosím vás makes it more polite: Excuse me, do you have medicine for a cold?

V lékárně is in the locative case because it follows the preposition v meaning in.

The noun is:

• lékárna = pharmacy

After v in the meaning in / inside, Czech usually uses the locative:

• v lékárně = in the pharmacy

This is a very common pattern:

• v domě = in the house
• ve škole = at school / in the school
• v obchodě = in the shop

In Czech, na is very often used with medicines to mean for a particular problem or illness.

So:

• lék na rýmu = medicine for a runny nose / for a cold
• lék na bolest = medicine for pain
• něco na kašel = something for a cough

This is different from English, where for is used. In Czech, the idiomatic choice is often na.

The basic form is rýma. After na in this meaning, Czech uses the accusative case, so rýma changes to rýmu.

• nominative: rýma
• accusative: rýmu

So:

• lék na rýmu = medicine for a cold

This is a common feminine noun pattern:

• bolest stays bolest
• chřipka becomes chřipku
• rýma becomes rýmu

Strictly speaking, rýma refers more specifically to a runny nose or nasal cold rather than the whole illness in the broad English sense of a cold.

But in everyday situations, lék na rýmu is a natural phrase for asking for medicine related to cold symptoms, especially a blocked or runny nose.

If you wanted other symptoms, you might hear:

• na kašel = for a cough
• na bolest v krku = for a sore throat
• na horečku = for a fever

Not completely. Czech word order is more flexible than English word order, but some versions sound more natural than others depending on emphasis.

The sentence: Prosím vás, máte v lékárně lék na rýmu?

is very natural.

You might also hear:

• Máte lék na rýmu?
• Prosím vás, máte lék na rýmu?

Including v lékárně is a bit unusual if you are already standing in the pharmacy, because it may be understood from the situation. But it is still grammatical. In real life, many speakers would simply say:

Prosím vás, máte něco na rýmu?
= Excuse me, do you have something for a cold/runny nose?

Czech does not use a separate auxiliary verb like English do to form ordinary present-tense questions.

English:

• You have it.
• Do you have it?

Czech:

• Máte to.
• Máte to?

The question is shown mainly by:

1. intonation in speech
2. the question mark in writing
3. sometimes word order or context

So Máte...? already means Do you have...?

A rough English-friendly pronunciation is:

PRO-seem vaahs, MAA-teh v LYE-kar-nyeh lyek na RY-moo?

A few important points:

• Prosím has a long í: pro-sím
• lék has a long é
• rýmu has a long ý
• ř does not appear here, so you do not need to worry about the famous Czech ř sound in this sentence
• vás has a long á

Stress in Czech is usually on the first syllable of each word:

• PROsím
• VÁS
• MÁte
• LÉkárně
• LÉK
• RÝmu

It is grammatical and understandable, but in real life a native speaker might use a slightly more natural or shorter version.

Very natural alternatives include:

• Prosím vás, máte něco na rýmu? = Excuse me, do you have something for a cold/runny nose?
• Dobrý den, máte něco na rýmu? = Hello, do you have something for a cold/runny nose?
• Můžete mi doporučit něco na rýmu? = Can you recommend something for a cold/runny nose?

So the given sentence is good for learning, especially for polite structure and cases, but everyday speech is often a bit simpler.

Lék means medicine / drug / remedy, so lék na rýmu means medicine for a cold/runny nose.

But in shops and pharmacies, people often say něco (something) because it sounds more natural and less specific:

• Máte lék na rýmu? = Do you have medicine for a cold?
• Máte něco na rýmu? = Do you have something for a cold?

The second version is very common in everyday speech because the customer often does not know the exact product name.

Yes, you can, but Prosím vás is a more complete and common polite phrase when addressing someone directly.

Compare:

• Prosím, ... = possible, but can sound a little less natural in this context
• Prosím vás, ... = very natural as excuse me

In conversation with staff, many speakers would also begin with:

• Dobrý den, ... = Hello / good day
• Prosím vás, ... = Excuse me

So Prosím vás is a useful phrase to learn for politely getting someone’s attention.