Slyšíš bubny a hlas zpěváka?

Slyšíš means you hear.

It comes from the verb slyšet = to hear.
The ending -íš shows 2nd person singular present tense, so it matches you when speaking to one person informally.

So:

• slyšet = to hear
• slyšíš = you hear

This sentence is therefore talking to one person: Do you hear ... ?

Czech often leaves out subject pronouns when they are clear from the verb ending.

In slyšíš, the ending already tells us the subject is you singular, so ty is not necessary.

• Slyšíš bubny a hlas zpěváka? = Do you hear the drums and the singer’s voice?
• Ty slyšíš bubny a hlas zpěváka? is possible, but it usually adds emphasis, like You hear the drums and the singer’s voice?

This is very normal in Czech.

It is informal singular.

Czech distinguishes between:

• slyšíš = you hear (one person, informal)
• slyšíte = you hear (plural, or one person formally/politely)

So if you were speaking politely to one person, you would say:

• Slyšíte bubny a hlas zpěváka?

Bubny is the accusative plural of buben = drum.

It is in the accusative because it is the direct object of slyšíš: it is the thing being heard.

For this noun, the accusative plural looks the same as the nominative plural:

• nominative plural: bubny
• accusative plural: bubny

That happens because buben is a masculine inanimate noun.

Hlas is the direct object too, so it is in the accusative singular.

But hlas is a masculine inanimate noun, and for many masculine inanimate nouns, the accusative singular is the same as the nominative singular.

So:

• nominative: hlas = voice
• accusative: hlas = voice

That is why the form does not change.

Here zpěváka means of the singer.

The phrase hlas zpěváka literally means the voice of the singer, which in natural English is usually the singer’s voice.

So zpěváka is in the genitive singular, because it depends on the noun hlas.

Breakdown:

• hlas = voice
• zpěváka = of the singer

This is a very common Czech pattern:

• hlas ženy = the woman’s voice
• jméno města = the city’s name
• barva auta = the car’s color

Yes, the form zpěváka can also be accusative singular for a masculine animate noun. That can be confusing.

For zpěvák:

• nominative singular: zpěvák
• genitive singular: zpěváka
• accusative singular: zpěváka

But in this sentence, it is genitive, not accusative, because it belongs to hlas:

• hlas zpěváka = the singer’s voice

It is not a second direct object.

Czech has no articles.

So Czech does not have direct equivalents of English the and a/an in normal usage.
That means bubny could mean:

• drums
• the drums
• sometimes even some drums

and hlas zpěváka could mean:

• the singer’s voice
• a singer’s voice

The exact meaning depends on context. In a sentence like this, English would usually translate it as the drums and the singer’s voice, but Czech does not need separate article words.

In Czech, yes/no questions are often formed just by intonation in speech and by a question mark in writing.

So:

• Slyšíš bubny a hlas zpěváka. = You hear the drums and the singer’s voice.
• Slyšíš bubny a hlas zpěváka? = Do you hear the drums and the singer’s voice?

Unlike English, Czech does not need an extra helping verb like do.

This is a very normal, neutral word order.

• Slyšíš = verb
• bubny a hlas zpěváka = what is being heard

Czech word order is more flexible than English, but changing it usually changes the emphasis.

For example:

• Slyšíš bubny a hlas zpěváka? = neutral
• Bubny a hlas zpěváka slyšíš? = stronger focus on the drums and the singer’s voice

So the original sentence is a natural basic way to ask the question.

A rough pronunciation is:

• Slyšíš ≈ slih-sheesh
• bubny ≈ boob-nih
• hlas ≈ hlahs
• zpěváka ≈ zpyeh-vaa-kah

About ě:

In many words, ě suggests a ye/ě-type sound after the previous consonant. In zpěváka, learners often hear something like zpye-.

You do not need to pronounce it exactly like English ye, but it definitely is not a plain e.

Also remember that Czech stress is usually on the first syllable of the word:

• SLY-šíš
• BUB-ny
• HLAS
• ZPĚ-vá-ka

This is an important distinction:

• slyšet = to hear
  
  • receiving sound
• poslouchat = to listen (to)
  
  • actively paying attention

So:

• Slyšíš bubny? = Do you hear the drums?
• Posloucháš bubny? = Are you listening to the drums?

In your sentence, the meaning is about whether the person can hear the sound, so slyšíš is the correct choice.