Pódium je velké.

Pódium is neuter. A useful clue is its ending: many Czech nouns ending in -um are neuter, especially words borrowed from Latin or other languages.

That neuter gender is important because the adjective has to match it:

• velký = masculine
• velká = feminine
• velké = neuter

So with pódium, you get velké.

Because Czech adjectives must agree with the noun they describe in gender, number, and case.

Here:

• pódium = neuter, singular, nominative
• so the adjective must also be neuter singular nominative
• that gives velké

The dictionary form of the adjective is usually velký (big), but it changes depending on the noun:

• velký stůl = a big table
• velká škola = a big school
• velké pódium = a big stage/platform

Je means is. It is the 3rd person singular present tense form of the verb být, which means to be.

So:

• já jsem = I am
• ty jsi = you are
• on/ona/ono je = he/she/it is

In Pódium je velké, je connects the subject with its description, just like is in English.

Normally, no. In a standard present-tense sentence like this, Czech usually keeps the form of být.

So:

• Pódium je velké. = correct
• Pódium velké. = not standard as a normal sentence

A learner should use je here.

Czech does not have articles like English a/an/the.

So pódium can mean:

• a stage/platform
• the stage/platform

The exact meaning depends on context, not on a separate article word.

The most neutral word order is:

Pódium je velké.

But Czech word order is more flexible than English, because endings carry a lot of grammatical information.

For example, you might also hear:

• Velké je pódium.
• Je velké pódium. (usually as part of a question or a marked structure)

Still, for a beginner, Pódium je velké is the safest and most natural basic order.

A rough English-friendly pronunciation is:

POH-dee-um yeh VEL-kay

A few useful points:

• Czech stress is usually on the first syllable of each word.
• ó is a long vowel.
• é is also a long vowel.
• j in Czech sounds like English y in yes.

So:

• pódium ≈ POH-dee-um
• je ≈ yeh
• velké ≈ VEL-kay

The basic dictionary form is velký.

This is how Czech adjectives are usually listed. But in real sentences, the ending changes to match the noun.

For velký (big), the nominative singular forms are:

• velký = masculine
• velká = feminine
• velké = neuter

So velké is not a different word — it is just the correct form of velký for pódium.

It is a normal Czech word, but it is a loanword rather than an old native Slavic word. Czech uses many such words, and pódium is fully integrated into the language.

Because it is integrated, it behaves like a regular Czech noun in grammar — including having a gender and agreeing with adjectives.

Yes. If you make the subject plural, both the verb and the adjective change.

Singular:

• Pódium je velké. = The stage/platform is big.

Plural:

• Pódia jsou velká. = The stages/platforms are big.

Changes:

• pódium → pódia
• je → jsou
• velké → velká

That shows again how Czech words change form to match each other.