Můžete popsat zloděje?

Můžete is the form of moci, meaning can / are able to.
In this sentence, it is used the way English uses Can you... ? or Could you... ? in a polite question.

So Můžete popsat zloděje? is literally something like Can you describe the thief?

The ending -te shows 2nd person plural. In Czech, that form is used for:

• you all
• or one person addressed formally/politely

So můžete can mean either:

• can you all
• or can you when speaking politely to one person

Yes, it is polite/formal if you are speaking to one person.

Czech often uses the plural form to be respectful, similar to formal you in some other languages.
The informal singular version would be:

Můžeš popsat zloděje?

That would be used with a friend, child, or someone you address informally.

Czech usually drops subject pronouns when they are clear from the verb ending.

Here, můžete already tells you the subject is you plural or formal you, so the pronoun vy does not need to be said.

You could say:

Vy můžete popsat zloděje?

but that is usually unnecessary unless you want emphasis or contrast.

Because zloděje is the accusative singular form, and the verb popsat takes a direct object.

The dictionary form is:

• zloděj = thief

But in this sentence, the thief is the thing being described, so Czech puts the noun into the accusative:

• nominative: zloděj
• accusative: zloděje

It is accusative singular.

The verb popsat means to describe, and the person or thing you describe is the direct object. In Czech, direct objects are often in the accusative.

Because zloděj is a masculine animate noun, its accusative singular looks like its genitive singular:

• nominative: zloděj
• genitive: zloděje
• accusative: zloděje

That is a very common pattern for masculine animate nouns.

This is about aspect.

• popsat = perfective
• popisovat = imperfective

In this question, popsat is natural because the speaker is asking for one complete description of the thief.

So Můžete popsat zloděje? means something like:

• Can you describe the thief?
• Could you give a description of the thief?

If you used popisovat, it would sound more like an ongoing or repeated action, which is less natural here.

It can do both, just like English Can you... ?

Depending on context, it can mean:

• Are you able to describe the thief?
• Could you describe the thief, please?

In a real-life situation such as police questioning, it often functions as a polite request for information, not just a question about physical ability.

Yes. Czech word order is fairly flexible.

The neutral order here is:

Můžete popsat zloděje?

But you might also hear:

Můžete zloděje popsat?

That version puts a little more focus on zloděje or on the action of describing that specific person. Both are grammatical.

A rough English-style guide is:

MOO-zheh-teh POP-saht ZLO-dye-yeh

A few useful sound notes:

• ů sounds like a long oo
• ž sounds like the s in measure
• ě softens the previous consonant; in dě, it sounds roughly like dye
• Czech stress is usually on the first syllable of each word

So the stress is:

• MŮžete
• POPsat
• ZLOděje

Czech has no articles like English the and a/an.

So zloděje could be understood from context as:

• the thief
• a thief

In this kind of sentence, context usually makes it clear which one is meant. In a police context, English will often translate it as the thief.

Yes. In natural English, both are possible.

• Can you describe the thief?
• Could you describe the thief?

English often uses could to sound a little more polite, but Czech můžete itself does not automatically mean past tense or conditional here. It is simply the normal present-tense polite form.

Yes. It is short, correct, and completely natural.

It sounds like something a police officer, witness interviewer, or another official might ask. Czech often uses short, direct questions like this, especially when the context is already clear.