Pasta na zuby je vedle zrcadla, proto si teď můžu čistit zuby.

Yes, pasta na zuby is a normal and very understandable way to say toothpaste.

Literally, it means paste for teeth or paste used on teeth:

• pasta = paste
• na zuby = for teeth / for use on teeth

You may also see zubní pasta, which is a bit more compact and means dental toothpaste or simply toothpaste. Both are correct.

So:

• pasta na zuby = very transparent and easy to understand
• zubní pasta = also common, slightly more adjectival in style

In Czech, na + accusative is often used to show purpose or what something is meant for.

So:

• pasta na zuby = toothpaste, paste for teeth
• krém na ruce = hand cream
• lék na bolest = medicine for pain
• brýle na čtení = glasses for reading

Here, zuby is the accusative plural of zub.

Using pro zuby would sound unnatural here. Pro usually means for in the sense of intended for someone/something, not the usual idiomatic way to name products like this.

Because vedle normally takes the genitive case.

The base noun is:

• zrcadlo = mirror

After vedle:

• vedle zrcadla = next to the mirror

So zrcadla is the genitive singular form of zrcadlo.

This is a very common pattern:

• vedle domu = next to the house
• vedle školy = next to the school
• vedle auta = next to the car

So the learner should remember vedle + genitive.

Usually yes. In this sentence, vedle zrcadla is a very natural translation of next to the mirror.

Depending on context, vedle can also feel like:

• beside
• by
• alongside

But in ordinary location sentences, next to is the best translation.

Proto means therefore, so, or that’s why.

In this sentence:

• Pasta na zuby je vedle zrcadla, proto si teď můžu čistit zuby.
• The toothpaste is next to the mirror, so/therefore I can brush my teeth now.

It connects the two ideas:

1. the toothpaste is there
2. as a result, I can brush my teeth now

So proto introduces the consequence.

Because proto here links two clauses, and Czech normally separates them with a comma.

The structure is:

• clause 1: Pasta na zuby je vedle zrcadla
• clause 2: proto si teď můžu čistit zuby

So the comma helps show:

• first, the situation
• then, the result

This is very normal Czech punctuation.

Si is the short form of the reflexive pronoun in the dative case. Here it shows that the action is being done to one’s own body / for oneself.

So:

• čistit si zuby = to brush/clean one’s own teeth

Without si, the sentence would be grammatically possible in some contexts, but it would lose that natural everyday meaning. Czech usually uses si when talking about actions done to parts of your own body:

• čistím si zuby = I brush my teeth
• myju si ruce = I wash my hands
• češu si vlasy = I comb my hair

English does not usually say I brush to myself the teeth, but Czech often uses this reflexive pattern.

Czech short words like si, se, mi, ti, ho, to often go in the second position of the clause. This is a major word-order pattern in Czech.

In the clause:

• proto si teď můžu čistit zuby

Si comes very early because it is a clitic, a short unstressed word that likes that position.

A learner does not need to master all the details immediately, but it helps to notice that si often appears near the beginning of the clause, not necessarily right next to the verb in the way English learners might expect.

Yes. The verb čistit basically means to clean, so čistit zuby literally means to clean teeth.

But in everyday use, it is the normal way to express brushing your teeth.

So:

• čistit si zuby = to brush your teeth

Czech focuses on the cleaning action, while English often uses the tool word brush. That difference is completely normal.

Czech normally uses the plural here, just like English:

• čistit si zuby = brush one’s teeth

The noun is:

• zub = tooth
• zuby = teeth

Since people usually brush all their teeth, the plural is the natural choice.

Because the two phrases mean different things and do different jobs:

1. pasta na zuby
   Here zuby is part of the expression meaning toothpaste.

2. čistit zuby
   Here zuby is the direct object of the verb čistit: to clean/brush teeth.

So even though the same noun appears twice, it is not redundant in Czech. Each use belongs to a different phrase.

Yes. Můžu and mohu both mean I can.

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

So:

• teď můžu čistit zuby = now I can brush my teeth
• teď mohu čistit zuby = same meaning, slightly more formal

A learner will hear můžu very often in normal conversation.

In both places, zuby is accusative plural.

1. pasta na zuby
   After na, Czech often uses the accusative in set expressions of purpose like this.

2. čistit zuby
   Here zuby is the direct object of čistit, so accusative also makes sense.

The nominative plural of zub is also zuby, so the form looks the same. But grammatically, in this sentence, both are functioning as accusative plural.

Yes, if the reason is already clear from context.

By itself, it means:

• So now I can brush my teeth.
• That’s why I can brush my teeth now.

But in the full sentence, the reason is stated explicitly:

• The toothpaste is next to the mirror, so now I can brush my teeth.

So the full version is clearer, while the shorter one works when the listener already knows what proto refers to.