Zloděj ukradl můj pas.

A natural approximate pronunciation is:

ZLO-dyay OO-kradl moo-ee pahs

A bit more carefully:

• Zloděj ≈ ZLO-dyey
• ukradl ≈ OO-kradl
• můj ≈ moo-ee or a compressed mūy
• pas = pahs

A few useful sound notes:

• z is like English z
• dě in zloděj sounds roughly like dye
• ů in můj is a long oo
• j is pronounced like English y

The stress in Czech is normally on the first syllable of each word:

• ZLOděj
• Ukradl
• Můj
• Pas

Czech does not use articles like English a, an, and the.

So Zloděj ukradl můj pas can mean:

• The thief stole my passport
• A thief stole my passport

Which one is meant depends on the context.

Pas is in the accusative case, because it is the direct object of the verb ukradl.

The thief did the action, and my passport is the thing affected by the action.

So:

• zloděj = subject
• ukradl = verb
• můj pas = direct object

However, pas looks the same in nominative and accusative because it is a masculine inanimate noun.

So:

• nominative: pas
• accusative: pas

The form does not change, but the function does.

Because můj has to agree with pas.

The noun pas is:

• masculine
• singular
• here in the accusative

For a masculine singular noun like pas, the correct form is můj.

So:

• můj pas = my passport

Compare:

• moje kniha = my book
• moje auto = my car
• můj pas = my passport

Because pas is masculine inanimate, and for that pattern, the accusative singular often looks the same as the nominative singular.

So:

• nominative: můj pas
• accusative: můj pas

If the noun were masculine animate, you would usually see a clearer accusative change.

For example:

• nominative: můj kamarád
• accusative: mého kamaráda

So the lack of change here is normal.

Ukrást is the dictionary form of the verb, meaning to steal.

Ukradl is the past tense form:

• ukrást = to steal
• ukradl = stole

So in this sentence:

• Zloděj ukradl můj pas = The thief stole my passport

This is a very common thing in Czech: the dictionary form and the past tense form can look quite different.

This is about aspect, which is very important in Czech verbs.

• ukrást / ukradl is perfective
• krást / kradl is imperfective

Here, ukradl is used because the sentence describes a completed action: the passport was stolen.

So:

• ukradl = stole, successfully took it
• kradl = was stealing / used to steal / stole in an ongoing or repeated sense

In this sentence, a completed event is meant, so ukradl is the natural choice.

In Czech past tense, the main past form is built with an -l participle.

Here:

• ukradl is the masculine singular past form

It agrees with the subject zloděj, which is:

• singular
• masculine

So:

• on ukradl = he stole
• ona ukradla = she stole
• oni ukradli = they stole

Because zloděj is masculine singular, ukradl is the correct form.

• zloděj is masculine animate
• pas is masculine inanimate

This matters because Czech grammar uses gender and animacy for:

• adjective forms
• pronouns
• case endings
• past tense agreement in some contexts

For example:

• zloděj is animate because it refers to a person
• pas is inanimate because it is an object

That is why:

• the verb agrees with zloděj
• the object pas behaves like a masculine inanimate noun in the accusative

Yes. Czech word order is more flexible than English word order.

The neutral order here is:

• Zloděj ukradl můj pas.

But you could also say:

• Můj pas ukradl zloděj.
• Ukradl můj pas zloděj.
  This is more marked and depends strongly on context.

Different word orders change the focus or emphasis, not the basic meaning.

For example:

• Zloděj ukradl můj pas. = neutral
• Můj pas ukradl zloděj. = emphasis on my passport

So yes, the order can change, but the most natural beginner version is the original sentence.

Yes, and that is a very common Czech sentence.

• Zloděj mi ukradl pas.

Here, mi means to me / from me in context, and the meaning is still essentially:

• The thief stole my passport

This version is very natural in Czech because possession is often expressed indirectly.

Compare:

• Zloděj ukradl můj pas.
• Zloděj mi ukradl pas.

Both are correct. The second one often sounds especially natural in everyday speech.

No, not in this sentence if you mean my passport.

Svůj is a reflexive possessive, and it refers back to the subject of the sentence.

The subject here is zloděj.

So:

• Zloděj ukradl svůj pas would mean The thief stole his own passport

But:

• Zloděj ukradl můj pas means The thief stole my passport

So můj is correct because the passport belongs to the speaker, not to the thief.

Grammatically, zloděj is a masculine noun.

It is usually used for a male thief, or sometimes more generally in grammar examples. If you want to specify a female thief, Czech often uses:

• zlodějka = female thief

So:

• Zloděj ukradl můj pas. = a male thief / thief in masculine form stole my passport
• Zlodějka ukradla můj pas. = a female thief stole my passport

Notice that the verb changes too:

• ukradl for masculine
• ukradla for feminine

In Czech, the past tense is formed differently from English.

English often uses:

• stole
• has stolen
• did steal

Czech does not need a separate helping verb here. The form ukradl already carries the past meaning.

So:

• ukradl by itself means stole

In some full personal forms, Czech past tense also uses short forms of to be, for example:

• ukradl jsem = I stole
• ukradl jsi = you stole

But with a third-person subject like zloděj, there is no extra word:

• zloděj ukradl = the thief stole

It is just a coincidence in appearance from an English learner’s point of view.

In Czech:

• pas can mean passport
• in other contexts, it can also have other meanings, such as waist or belt/zone-related uses, depending on the word combination

But in this sentence, because of the context with ukradl and můj, it clearly means:

• passport

So you should learn pas here as passport.

Yes, you can, but the meaning becomes less specific.

• Zloděj ukradl pas = The thief stole a passport / the passport
• Zloděj ukradl můj pas = The thief stole my passport

If you want to make it clear that it was your passport, keep můj.

In real conversation, Czech may also express this another way:

• Zloděj mi ukradl pas
  which also clearly implies it was your passport.