Read Your First Czech Story Today

Explore a free beginner story with tap-to-translate vocabulary and full line translations.

Generate and read a free A0 or A1 story in Czech with tap-to-translate words and line-by-line English translations.

Arnošt v hostelu

Venku je zima a fouká studený vítr.

It is cold outside and a cold wind is blowing.

Arnošt jde do pražského hostelu.

Arnošt goes into a Prague hostel.

Přichází na recepci.

He comes to the reception desk.

Vidí mladou recepční.

He sees a young receptionist.

Arnošt zdraví recepční.

Arnošt greets the receptionist.

Dobrý den, říká Arnošt.

Good day, says Arnošt.

Recepční říká dobrý den.

The receptionist says good day.

Mám rezervaci, říká Arnošt.

I have a reservation, says Arnošt.

Moje jméno je Arnošt.

My name is Arnošt.

Recepční chce jeho pas.

The receptionist wants his passport.

Arnošt hledá pas v tašce.

Arnošt looks for the passport in his bag.

Arnošt ukazuje nový pas.

Arnošt shows the new passport.

Recepční píše jméno.

The receptionist writes the name.

Arnošt platí kartou.

Arnošt pays by card.

Platba je v pořádku.

The payment is in order.

Recepční dává Arnoštovi malý klíč.

The receptionist gives Arnošt a small key.

Je to klíč od pokoje.

It is the room key.

Arnošt dostává klíč od pokoje.

Arnošt receives the key to the room.

Vypadáte, že je vám chladno.

You look cold.

Recepční nabízí teplý čaj.

The receptionist offers warm tea.

Máme teplý čaj, říká recepční.

We have warm tea, says the receptionist.

Jeden teplý čaj, prosím.

One warm tea, please.

Recepční dává čaj Arnoštovi.

The receptionist gives the tea to Arnošt.

Prosím, říká recepční.

Here you go, says the receptionist.

Arnošt si bere teplý čaj.

Arnošt takes the warm tea.

Čaj krásně voní.

The tea smells wonderful.

Arnošt pije teplý čaj.

Arnošt drinks the warm tea.

Arnošt má velkou radost.

Arnošt is very happy.

Děkuji, říká Arnošt.

Thank you, says Arnošt.

Nyní jde na pokoj.

Now he goes to the room.

Quick facts about Czech

Speakers

About 9.8 million native speakers (2021), plus about 2.7 million second-language speakers (2012), according to Wikipedia's Czech language article.1

Did you know?

The sound written ř, as in the surname Dvořák, is very rare among the world's languages and is often claimed to be unique to Czech.1

The main challenge

Courses teach Standard Czech (spisovná čeština), but everyday conversation in most of Bohemia uses Common Czech (obecná čeština), an informal variety based on Prague speech, so learners hear forms their textbook doesn't show.2

Sources

  1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Czech_language
  2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_Czech

About the Czech language

Language familyIndo-European → Slavic → West Slavic → Czech–Slovak1
SpeakersAbout 12 million in total: roughly 9.8 million native speakers (2021) and 2.7 million second-language speakers (2012).1
Primary scriptLatin script (the Czech alphabet, 42 graphemes). The háček forms letters such as č, ř, š and ž, the acute marks long vowels, and a ring marks long ů.1
Word order & typologySVO as the base order, but word order is flexible and signals topic and focus. Nouns and adjectives decline for seven cases, two numbers and three genders, with masculine split into animate and inanimate.1,2
Official statusOfficial in Czechia and an official language of the European Union since 2004. Recognised as a minority language in Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Ukraine.1,3
  1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Czech_language
  2. https://wals.info/valuesets/81A-cze
  3. https://european-union.europa.eu/principles-countries-history/languages_en

Czech reading proficiency benchmarks (CEFR & CCE)

Stichos levelApproximate framework equivalentReader profile
A0Pre-A1Early Beginner
A1CEFR A1 (CCE-A1)Beginner
A2CEFR A2 (CCE-A2)Elementary
B1CEFR B1 (CCE-B1)Intermediate
B2CEFR B2 (CCE-B2)Upper Intermediate

Stichos levels are modelled on the Council of Europe’s CEFR reading descriptors; A0 roughly corresponds to the CEFR’s Pre-A1 band. The CCE exam from Charles University is offered at A1 to C1 (there is no CCE at C2) and is shown in brackets for orientation only; Stichos does not test or certify.

Reference corpora

Czech frequency work draws on the Czech National Corpus (Český národní korpus), founded in 1994 at the Faculty of Arts of Charles University.1

  • SYN2020: A representative reference corpus of contemporary written Czech, published in 2020: 100 million words, a third each of fiction, non-fiction and periodicals, centred on 2015–2019.2
  • A Frequency Dictionary of Czech: František Čermák and Michal Křen, who work at the Czech National Corpus institute, compiled A Frequency Dictionary of Czech, a core-vocabulary list for learners.
  • Register: Stichos’s rules call for standard written Czech (spisovná čeština) at every level, not Common Czech (obecná čeština) forms: dobrý, not dobrej.
  1. https://www.korpus.cz/
  2. https://wiki.korpus.cz/doku.php/en:cnk:syn2020

Readability design principles

Classic English readability formulas have been refitted for Czech.1

  • Refitted classic metrics: Bendová and Cinková (TSD 2021) refitted classic English readability formulas to Czech, drawing on the InterCorp and CzEng 2.0 parallel corpora.1
  • Stichos: Stichos controls difficulty with level-by-level grammar rules and sentence-length limits rather than a single score. At A0 a sentence has at most five words and no conjunctions.
  1. https://ufal.mff.cuni.cz/biblio/attachments/2021-bendova-p179299898553114557.pdf

Script & grammar scaffolding

  • Tenses: A0 uses only the present. A1 adds the compound future with budu plus the infinitive, while the past (minulý čas) waits until A2. B1 opens the present conditional (přítomný kondicionál) and simple contrasts between perfective and imperfective verbs (dokonavý / nedokonavý); B2 brings the full aspect system and the passive.
  • Rare forms: The past conditional (minulý kondicionál) opens at C1. Transgressives (přechodníky), archaic verb forms now used mainly for literary effect, appear only at C2.
  • Clitics: Auxiliaries, the reflexives se and si and short pronouns take the second slot in the clause (Wackernagel’s law).
  • Address: Strangers and formal settings use vykání; friends and family use tykání. At A1 the only imperatives are five informal ones (podívej se, pojď, vezmi si, počkej, sedni si) and the formula Prosím.

Related academic & framework resources

Frequently asked questions

What writing system does Czech use?
Latin script (the Czech alphabet, 42 graphemes). The háček forms letters such as č, ř, š and ž, the acute marks long vowels, and a ring marks long ů.
Is Stichos suitable for complete beginners with zero prior knowledge (A0)?
Yes. A0 is a primary focus, designed for readers with no prior knowledge. A1 then adds basic everyday vocabulary and simple connected clauses as your foundation grows.
Are Stichos levels the same as CEFR levels?
Not exactly. Stichos levels use the familiar CEFR names, from A0 to B2, and are modelled on the CEFR (the Common European Framework of Reference), so a Stichos B1 is meant to feel close to a B1 in your course book. They aren't an official CEFR rating, and different books and exams draw the lines in slightly different places. A0 is Stichos's own addition, just below the framework's first level.
Are the stories written by AI, and how accurate are they?
Yes. Stories are generated by AI and then checked by further automated steps against the grammar and vocabulary rules for your level. That catches most problems, but it isn't a human editor, so an occasional unnatural phrase or slip can get through. Treat Stichos as practice material, and check anything you're unsure of with a teacher or a reference.
Can I read stories with explanations in my native language?
Yes. Stichos allows you to pair any target language with any native support language. You can read a Croatian story with French glosses, or a German story with Spanish explanations.
How does word lookup work while reading?
Tap or click any word for its meaning in that sentence, explained in your own language. In the full version, you can save any word to your Vocab Bank for later review.
Is the preview free, and what happens to my email?
Yes. The preview is free and needs no account. If you join the Reading List, we use your email to send your 3 free sample stories (PDF, after you confirm your address) and to let you know when we fully open. Our Privacy Policy explains how we handle it.
Do stories include audio or narration?
Story narration isn't part of the preview. At launch, the Premium Audio add-on reads every story aloud in a natural-sounding AI voice, in 39 of our 40 languages (Esperanto doesn't have audio support yet).

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