Nevím, kterým směrem jede metro do centra, můžeš mi to vysvětlit?

In Czech, vědět means to know a fact / to know information, while znát means to know someone or something by acquaintance / familiarity.

Here the speaker means I don’t know which way..., so Czech uses nevím from vědět.

• Nevím, kde je stanice. = I don’t know where the station is.
• Neznám tu stanici. = I’m not familiar with that station.

So nevím is the correct choice because this is about missing information.

Kterým směrem means which direction / in which direction, and both words are in the instrumental singular.

• který → kterým
• směr → směrem

The instrumental is used here in a common expression for direction:

• jít nějakým směrem = to go in some direction
• jet nějakým směrem = to travel in some direction

So:

• kterým směrem jede metro = which direction the metro is going

This is something English speakers often just memorize as a fixed Czech pattern.

Yes, you often can. Both can refer to direction, but they feel a little different.

• kterým směrem = more neutral, standard, and very natural here
• na kterou stranu = literally to which side, often a bit more physical or conversational

So these are both possible in many situations:

• Nevím, kterým směrem jede metro do centra.
• Nevím, na kterou stranu jede metro do centra.

In this sentence, kterým směrem sounds especially natural.

Because metro is the subject here, not the means of transport.

• jede metro = the metro is going
• jede metrem = he/she is going by metro

Compare:

• Metro jede do centra. = The metro is going to the center.
• Jedu metrem do centra. = I’m going to the center by metro.

So metro is in the nominative because it is the thing doing the action in the sentence.

Do takes the genitive when it means to / into a place.

So:

• centrum → centra in the genitive
• do centra = to the center / downtown

This is a very common pattern:

• do školy = to school
• do města = to the city
• do práce = to work

So jede metro do centra uses do + genitive exactly as expected.

In English we often say I don’t know which way the metro goes..., and Czech works similarly here. The clause beginning with kterým směrem directly functions as the object of nevím.

So:

• Nevím, kterým směrem jede metro do centra.

literally follows a pattern like:

• I don’t know which direction the metro goes to the center.

Czech does not need an extra word equivalent to that here.

Czech punctuation normally separates subordinate clauses and also separates two main clauses placed next to each other.

Here you have:

1. Nevím = main clause
2. kterým směrem jede metro do centra = subordinate clause
3. můžeš mi to vysvětlit? = another main clause

So the commas mark those boundaries:

• Nevím, kterým směrem jede metro do centra, můžeš mi to vysvětlit?

In very careful style, some people might prefer splitting this into two sentences for clarity:

• Nevím, kterým směrem jede metro do centra. Můžeš mi to vysvětlit?

That is also very natural.

Yes. Můžeš is 2nd person singular, so it is informal: can you when speaking to one person you address with ty.

If you want the formal or plural version, use:

• můžete mi to vysvětlit?

So:

• můžeš = informal singular
• můžete = formal singular or plural

This is one of the first things learners should notice in Czech conversation.

In Czech, short unstressed pronouns usually follow a typical order, and mi often comes before to.

So:

• můžeš mi to vysvětlit? = the normal order

This is part of Czech clitic placement. Short words like mi, ti, se, si, ho, mu tend to cluster near the beginning of the clause, usually in second position.

Compare:

• Můžeš mi to říct?
• Nechci ti to dát.
• On mi to poslal.

You may sometimes hear different word orders for emphasis, but mi to is the default natural order here.

Vysvětlit is perfective, and vysvětlovat is imperfective.

Here the speaker is asking for a complete explanation of a specific thing, so perfective vysvětlit is the most natural choice:

• Můžeš mi to vysvětlit? = Can you explain it to me?

If you used vysvětlovat, it would sound more like focusing on the process or repeated explaining:

• Můžeš mi to vysvětlovat? = Can you be explaining it to me? / Can you explain it over time?

That is less natural in this situation.

To means it, and it refers to the whole unclear issue: which direction the metro goes to the center.

Czech often uses to to refer back to an idea, statement, or problem, not just a concrete object.

So here to means something like:

• that
• the situation
• the route/direction issue

This is very common:

• Nerozumím tomu. = I don’t understand that.
• Můžeš to zopakovat? = Can you repeat that?
• Vysvětli mi to. = Explain it to me.

Czech word order is fairly flexible, but the original sentence is natural and neutral.

The given version:

• Nevím, kterým směrem jede metro do centra, můžeš mi to vysvětlit?

A very common alternative would be to split it into two sentences:

• Nevím, kterým směrem jede metro do centra. Můžeš mi to vysvětlit?

You could also move some parts for emphasis, but not every change sounds equally natural. For example:

• Nevím, do kterého směru metro jede do centra is not the normal way to say it.
• Nevím, kterým směrem do centra metro jede is possible, but less neutral.

For a learner, the original wording is a good model to copy.