Ta káva mi nevoní, protože je příliš kyselá.

Ta is the feminine singular form of ten, which usually means that.

So ta káva is literally that coffee.

In real Czech, ten/ta/to is also often used where English would simply say the, especially in spoken language, when the speaker means a specific thing already known in the context. So depending on the situation, ta káva can feel like:

• that coffee
• or more loosely the coffee

Here, the important thing is that káva is feminine, so the demonstrative has to match it:

• masculine: ten
• feminine: ta
• neuter: to

In Czech, nouns have grammatical gender, and káva is a feminine noun.

Because adjectives must agree with the noun they describe, kyselá also has to be feminine singular nominative.

So:

• káva = feminine noun
• kyselá = feminine adjective form matching káva

Compare:

• ten čaj je příliš kyselý = that tea is too sour
• ta káva je příliš kyselá = that coffee is too sour
• to mléko je příliš kyselé = that milk is too sour

Because vonět works differently from English to smell good / to smell pleasant.

In Czech, the thing that gives off the smell is the grammatical subject:

• Ta káva voní. = The coffee smells nice.

The person who experiences that smell goes in the dative:

• Ta káva mi voní. = That coffee smells good to me / I like the smell of that coffee.

So:

• ta káva = subject
• mi = to me, for me
• nevoní = does not smell nice

This is a very common Czech pattern with verbs of perception or liking:

• Ta hudba se mi líbí. = I like that music.
• Polévka mi chutná. = I like the soup / The soup tastes good to me.
• Ta káva mi nevoní. = I don’t like the smell of that coffee.

Mi means to me and is the unstressed short form of mně.

So:

• mi = short dative form
• mně = full/strong dative form

In this sentence, mi is the normal choice because it is a short clitic form and there is no special emphasis:

• Ta káva mi nevoní.

If you wanted emphasis, contrast, or a stronger tone, you could use mně:

• Ta káva mně nevoní, ale tobě možná ano.
  = That coffee doesn’t smell good to me, but maybe it does to you.

Czech short words like mi, ti, se, si, ho, mu are clitics, and they usually go in the second position in the sentence or clause.

So in:

• Ta káva mi nevoní

the first unit is Ta káva, and the clitic mi comes right after it.

That placement is natural and standard.

Ta káva nevoní mi is possible only in very marked speech, usually with special contrast or emphasis, and it does not sound neutral.

So for normal Czech, learn:

• Ta káva mi nevoní. ✅

Vonět means to smell nice, to have a pleasant smell, or sometimes more loosely to smell appealing.

Examples:

• Květiny voní. = The flowers smell nice.
• Ta polévka krásně voní. = That soup smells wonderful.
• Ta káva mi nevoní. = That coffee doesn’t smell good to me.

This is different from the neutral English verb to smell, because Czech often distinguishes:

• vonět = smell pleasant
• smrdět = smell bad / stink

So nevoní is literally doesn’t smell pleasantly, not just neutral doesn’t smell.

Because smrdět is much stronger and more negative.

Compare:

• Ta káva mi nevoní.
  = I don’t like the smell of that coffee / That coffee doesn’t smell good to me.

• Ta káva smrdí.
  = That coffee stinks.

So nevoní is milder and more natural if you simply find the smell unpleasant or unappealing.
Smrdí would sound harsher, like the coffee smells really bad.

Nevoní is:

• present tense
• 3rd person singular
• from the verb vonět

The subject is ta káva, which is singular, so the verb is singular too.

Breakdown:

• voní = smells nice / smells good
• nevoní = does not smell nice

Czech makes negatives by adding ne- to the verb:

• voní → nevoní
• je → není
• má → nemá

Here je means is, and it is required in normal standard Czech.

So:

• protože je příliš kyselá = because it is too sour

Czech often drops subject pronouns, but it does not normally drop the verb to be in this kind of sentence.

The subject pronoun ona is omitted because it is understood from context:

• protože je příliš kyselá
  literally: because [it/she] is too sour

Since káva is the topic, we naturally understand that je refers back to káva.

Kyselá usually means sour or acidic.

For food and drink, English often uses:

• sour
• sometimes too acidic

So in the context of coffee, příliš kyselá often means the coffee tastes or seems overly acidic/sour.

Grammatically, kyselá agrees with káva:

• feminine singular nominative: kyselá

Other forms:

• kyselý čaj = sour tea
• kyselá káva = sour coffee
• kyselé mléko = sour milk

Grammatically, yes, the sentence is fine.

In terms of meaning, Czech can connect smell and overall sensory impression a bit more flexibly than English sometimes does. The idea is that the coffee’s aroma is unpleasant, and the reason is that it is excessively acidic/sour.

A native English speaker might expect something like:

• I don’t like that coffee because it’s too sour.
• or That coffee doesn’t smell good to me; it seems too acidic.

But the Czech sentence itself is natural enough as a way of linking the smell with the coffee’s sour character.

Protože means because and introduces a subordinate clause.

So the sentence is:

• Ta káva mi nevoní = main clause
• protože je příliš kyselá = subordinate clause

Czech word order is fairly flexible, but after protože, the verb often comes early in the clause:

• protože je příliš kyselá

This is a very normal structure.

You could sometimes rearrange parts for emphasis, but the given order is the most neutral.

Příliš means too, overly, or excessively.

So:

• příliš kyselá = too sour

In everyday Czech, moc is also very common:

• Ta káva je moc kyselá.

Both can mean too sour, but the feel is a little different:

• moc = very common, conversational
• příliš = slightly more formal or bookish, but still completely normal

So both are correct, but příliš sounds a bit more polished.

Yes, but the meaning changes.

• Ta káva mi nevoní. = I don’t like the smell of that coffee.
• Ta káva mi nechutná. = I don’t like the taste of that coffee.

This is an important difference:

• vonět = smell pleasant
• chutnat = taste good, suit someone’s taste

If the problem is really the flavor, nechutná may be more natural in some contexts.
But if you are reacting to the aroma, nevoní is the right choice.

Because Czech often leaves out subject pronouns when they are already clear from context.

In English, you must say:

• because it is too sour

In Czech, you usually just say:

• protože je příliš kyselá

The verb form plus the adjective ending make the reference clear enough:

• je
• kyselá → feminine singular

That tells us the speaker is referring back to káva.

If you said protože ona je příliš kyselá, that would sound more emphatic, not neutral.

Roughly, yes:

• Ta = that
• káva = coffee
• mi = to me
• nevoní = does not smell nice
• protože = because
• je = is
• příliš = too / overly
• kyselá = sour / acidic

So a very literal version would be:

• That coffee to me does-not-smell-nice, because is too sour.

Of course, natural English would be something like:

• That coffee doesn’t smell good to me because it’s too sour.
• or I don’t like the smell of that coffee because it’s too acidic.

The literal breakdown is useful for understanding the Czech grammar, even if it is not natural English.