Po pracy mam ochotę zostać w domu i odpocząć.

Po pracy means after work.

The preposition po can mean after, and in this meaning it requires the locative case. That is why praca changes to pracy.

• praca = work
• po pracy = after work

So this is not the basic dictionary form anymore; it is the form required by po.

A few similar examples:

• po szkole = after school
• po obiedzie = after lunch
• po filmie = after the movie

Mam ochotę means something like:

• I feel like
• I’m in the mood to
• I have a desire to

It is softer and more natural here than chcę, which usually means a more direct I want.

So:

• Chcę zostać w domu. = I want to stay at home.
• Mam ochotę zostać w domu. = I feel like staying at home.

In this sentence, mam ochotę sounds very natural because the speaker is describing a feeling after work, not a strong demand or decision.

Because in the expression mieć ochotę, the noun ochota is in the accusative case.

• dictionary form: ochota
• after mam / mieć in this structure: ochotę

This is because mieć normally takes a direct object in the accusative:

• mam książkę = I have a book
• mam ochotę = I feel like / I have a desire

So ochotę is just the correct grammatical form after mam.

It is a very common Polish pattern:

mieć ochotę + infinitive

So:

• mam ochotę = I feel like
• zostać = to stay
• odpocząć = to rest

Together:

• mam ochotę zostać w domu = I feel like staying at home
• mam ochotę odpocząć = I feel like resting

This works much like English feel like + -ing, except Polish uses an infinitive rather than a gerund.

Yes, zostać can mean to become, but it also has another common meaning: to stay / remain.

In this sentence:

• zostać w domu = to stay at home

Examples:

• Zostałem w domu. = I stayed at home.
• Został lekarzem. = He became a doctor.

So the meaning depends on context. Here, because of w domu, it clearly means stay.

Because w meaning in or at a location usually requires the locative case.

• dom = house / home
• w domu = at home / in the house

So:

• jestem w domu = I am at home
• zostać w domu = to stay at home

This is a very common phrase, and it is worth memorizing as a chunk: w domu.

They are both infinitives, because after mam ochotę Polish normally uses an infinitive.

• zostać = to stay
• odpocząć = to rest

So the structure is:

mam ochotę + infinitive + infinitive

In English, we often say:

• I feel like staying home and resting

But in Polish, you do not use a form like staying/resting here. You use the infinitive:

• mam ochotę zostać w domu i odpocząć

Great question. Polish aspect matters here.

In this sentence, zostać and odpocząć are perfective:

• zostać = to stay, in the sense of choosing to remain
• odpocząć = to get some rest, to rest successfully/completely

This sounds natural because the speaker means a complete, single plan for that time after work: stay home and have a rest.

Why not zostawać?

Zostawać is imperfective and usually means something more ongoing, repeated, or process-like. It is much less natural here.

What about odpoczywać?

You might hear mam ochotę odpoczywać in some contexts, but odpocząć is much more natural if you mean have a rest after work.

So:

• mam ochotę odpocząć = I feel like having a rest
• mam ochotę odpoczywać = I feel like being in the process of resting / resting for some time

In everyday speech, the perfective version fits this sentence best.

Because Polish infinitives do not need a separate word like English to.

In English:

• to stay
• to rest

In Polish, the infinitive is a single word:

• zostać
• odpocząć

So Polish simply says:

• mam ochotę zostać w domu i odpocząć

There is no extra word equivalent to English to here.

Yes, Polish word order is more flexible than English, although some versions sound more natural than others.

The original sentence:

• Po pracy mam ochotę zostać w domu i odpocząć.

This is very natural and neutral.

You could also say:

• Mam ochotę po pracy zostać w domu i odpocząć.
• Mam po pracy ochotę zostać w domu i odpocząć.

These are possible, but the original version sounds especially natural because it sets the time first: After work...

So while the grammar allows flexibility, the original sentence is a very good everyday phrasing.

It can mean both, depending on context.

Most often in everyday conversation:

• po pracy = after work, meaning after your job / after the workday

But in a broader context, it can also mean after some work has been done.

Usually, though, if someone says:

• Po pracy mam ochotę zostać w domu i odpocząć.

people will naturally understand:

• After work / after my workday, I feel like staying home and resting.

It is completely natural and idiomatic.

Po pracy mam ochotę zostać w domu i odpocząć. sounds like something a native speaker could easily say in everyday conversation.

It has a very normal structure:

• time expression first: Po pracy
• feeling/desire: mam ochotę
• actions wanted: zostać w domu i odpocząć

A very close everyday English equivalent would be:

• After work, I feel like staying home and resting.
• After work, I just want to stay home and relax.

So this is a very useful sentence pattern to learn.