Nemám drobné, můžu platit kartou?

Drobné means small change or loose change.

It is short for drobné peníze — literally small money. In everyday Czech, people often just say drobné by itself.

In context, it usually means:

• coins
• small denominations
• the kind of money you use when you want exact change

So Nemám drobné is not just I have no money. It specifically means I don’t have change / small cash.

Because Czech usually leaves out subject pronouns when they are obvious from the verb form.

• nemám = I don’t have
• můžu = I can

The endings already show that the speaker is I, so já is not necessary.

You could say Já nemám drobné, but that adds emphasis, something like:

• I don’t have change

In normal conversation, dropping já is more natural.

Nemám is the negative form of mám.

It comes from the verb mít = to have.

• mám = I have
• nemám = I do not have

Czech often forms negation by adding ne- to the verb.

So:

• mám drobné = I have change
• nemám drobné = I don’t have change

Both můžu and mohu mean I can.

The difference is mostly style:

• můžu = very common in everyday speech
• mohu = more formal or written

In a shop, Můžu platit kartou? sounds completely normal and natural.

If you say Mohu platit kartou?, it is also correct, just a bit more formal.

Because Czech uses the instrumental case after platit when you say what method you are paying with.

So:

• karta = card
• kartou = by card / with a card

This is a very common pattern:

• platit kartou = to pay by card
• psát perem = to write with a pen
• jet vlakem = to go by train

So kartou is not random — it shows the means or instrument.

Yes, both are possible, but there is a small difference.

• platit kartou = to pay by card, focusing on the method
• zaplatit kartou = to pay by card, often with the sense of completing one payment

In a shop, both can sound natural:

• Můžu platit kartou?
• Můžu zaplatit kartou?

The version with platit is very common when you are asking whether card payment is accepted in general.

The version with zaplatit can sound a bit more like:

• Can I pay this by card right now?

Yes, it is natural and polite enough for everyday use.

If you want to sound a little softer or more polite, you could say:

• Nemám drobné, můžu platit kartou, prosím?
• Mohl bych platit kartou? if the speaker is male
• Mohla bych platit kartou? if the speaker is female

Those last two literally use a conditional form and sound more like:

• Could I pay by card?

But your original sentence is absolutely normal and usable.

The sentence has two parts:

• Nemám drobné = a statement
• můžu platit kartou? = a question

They are joined into one sentence, so Czech uses a comma to separate the clauses.

The whole sentence ends with a question mark because the second part is the main communicative point: the speaker is asking something.

So punctuation reflects:

• first, an explanation
• then, the actual question

Usually drobné mainly suggests coins or small change, but in real life it can also mean small denominations more generally.

So it often overlaps with the English idea of change.

For example:

• If you say Nemám drobné, people will usually understand that you do not have suitable small cash for paying exactly.
• It does not necessarily mean you have zero money on you; you may only have a large note or no usable cash at all.

So the exact meaning depends a little on context, but small change is the safest core idea.

Yes, Czech word order is flexible, but not every version sounds equally natural.

The original:

• Nemám drobné, můžu platit kartou?

This is very natural because it gives the reason first and then asks the question.

You could also hear:

• Můžu platit kartou? Nemám drobné.

That also works, but now the question comes first and the explanation second.

Czech word order often changes emphasis rather than basic meaning. For a learner, the original version is a very good one to use.