Genitive Case (Genitiv)

Question: Koho? Čeho? (Of whom? Of what?)

The Genitive is the "Of" case. It indicates possession, quantity, and follows many prepositions.

Core Concept: The Genitive = BELONGING / SOURCE

The genitive has two fundamental meanings:

1. Possession/Belonging: whose is it? auto mého otce (my father's car)
2. Source/Origin: from where? z Prahy (from Prague)

Extended meanings flow from these:

• Quantity (part OF a whole): hodně lidí (a lot of people)
• Absence (lack OF): bez peněz (without money)
• Object of verbs (afraid OF): bojím se psa (I'm afraid of the dog)

The key insight: Genitive answers "of what/whom?" or "from where?"

At a Glance (Singular)

Which Ending? Follow the Flowchart

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Memory Aids (Mnemonics)

Use these tricks to remember the patterns you just saw in the cheatsheets above.

The "-a/-u" Split for Masculine

The hardest part of genitive is knowing when masculine nouns take -a vs -u:

Ending	When to Use	Memory Aid
-a	Animate nouns (living things)	Animate = A ending
-a	Concrete, countable objects	Physical things you can touch
-u	Abstract nouns	Unreal = U ending
-u	Foreign words, -ismus words	Universal imports use U
-u	Mass nouns (uncountable)	Uncountable = U

Examples:

• pána (of the man) — animate
• domu (of the house) — abstract location concept
• socialismu** (of socialism) — -ismus word
• čaje (of tea) — wait, this is -e! (soft stem)

Soft Stems Always Take -e

If the noun ends in a soft consonant (ž, š, č, ř, c, j), it takes -e:

• muž → muže (of the man)
• stroj → stroje (of the machine)
• čaj → čaje (of the tea)

Memory: "Soft consonants get soft -e"

Feminine Pattern: Match the Nominative

Nom ending	Gen ending	Pattern
-a	-y	Hard vowel → hard vowel
-e	-e	Soft stays soft
consonant	-i / -ě	Add a vowel

Memory: "Feminine -a → -y, simple as ABC... Y"

The Zero Ending Trap (Plural)

The genitive plural of žena and město types has a zero ending — the ending disappears:

• žena → žen (of women) — NOT ženů
• město → měst (of cities) — NOT městů

Memory: "Women and cities are so valuable, they need no decoration"

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Numbers and Counting — When Genitive Is Required

This is one of the most practical uses of genitive in Czech.

The Number Rules

Number	Case Required	Example
1	Nominative Sg	jeden student
2, 3, 4	Nominative Pl	dva studenti, tři studenti
5+	Genitive Pl	pět studentů
0	Genitive Pl	nula studentů

With Quantity Words

All of these require genitive:

Word	Meaning	Example
hodně	a lot	hodně lidí (many people)
málo	few/little	málo času (little time)
kolik	how many	kolik let? (how many years?)
několik	several	několik knih (several books)
trochu	a little	trochu vody (a little water)
dost	enough	dost peněz (enough money)
mnoho	many (formal)	mnoho problémů (many problems)
moc	too much	moc práce (too much work)
příliš	too (excessive)	příliš soli (too much salt)

Watch Out: Láhev, Sklenice, Kilo...

Container and measure words also require genitive:

• láhev vína (a bottle of wine)
• sklenice vody (a glass of water)
• kilo jablek (a kilo of apples)
• kousek chleba (a piece of bread)

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Prepositions That Require Genitive

Movement FROM (Source)

Preposition	Meaning	Example
z/ze	from (out of)	z Prahy (from Prague)
od	from (a person/time)	od maminky (from mom)
s/se	from (off of)	spadl se stromu (fell from tree)

Z vs Od

• z = from inside or from a place: z domu (from home)
• od = from a person or starting point: od lékaře (from the doctor), od rána (since morning)

Location/Proximity

Preposition	Meaning	Example
u	at/by/near	u babičky (at grandma's)
vedle	next to	vedle školy (next to school)
blízko	near	blízko centra (near center)
kolem/okolo	around	kolem stolu (around the table)
uprostřed	in the middle of	uprostřed města (in the city center)
podél	along	podél řeky (along the river)
poblíž	nearby	poblíž nádraží (near the station)

Other Essential Prepositions

Preposition	Meaning	Example
do	into/to/until	do Prahy (to Prague), do pěti (until five)
bez	without	bez cukru (without sugar)
během	during	během dne (during the day)
kromě	except	kromě tebe (except you)
místo	instead of	místo mě (instead of me)
kvůli	because of	kvůli dešti (because of rain)
podle	according to	podle mě (according to me)

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Usage

1. Possession (Of)

• Auto mého otce. (My father's car.)
• Barva auta. (The color of the car.)
• Střecha domu. (The roof of the house.)

2. Quantity (Partitive)

Used after numbers (5+) and quantity words.

• Pět piv. (Five beers - Gen. Plural)
• Hodně lidí. (A lot of people.)
• Trochu vody. (A little bit of water.)
• Láhev vína. (A bottle of wine.)

3. After Negated Verbs (Optional, Archaic)

In older or formal Czech, direct objects of negated verbs could be genitive:

• Nemám peněz. (I have no money.) — archaic
• Nemám peníze. (I have no money.) — modern

4. Dates

• Prvního května. (On the first of May.)

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Detailed Reference Tables

Singular Endings

Gender	Model	Ending	Example (Nom → Gen)
Masc Animate	pán	-a	pán → pána
	muž	-e	muž → muže
	předseda	-y	předseda → předsedy
	soudce	-e	soudce → soudce
Masc Inanimate	hrad	-u / -a	hrad → hradu, les → lesa
	stroj	-e	stroj → stroje
Feminine	žena	-y	žena → ženy
	růže	-e	růže → růže
	píseň	-ě/-e	píseň → písně
	kost	-i	kost → kosti
Neuter	město	-a	město → města
	moře	-e	moře → moře
	kuře	-ete	kuře → kuřete
	stavení	-í	stavení → stavení

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Plural Endings

The Genitive Plural is essential for counting (5+) and quantity expressions. Watch out for zero endings!

At a Glance (Plural)

Endings by Gender

Gender	Model	Ending	Example (Nom Sg → Gen Pl)
Masculine	pán	-ů	pán → pánů
	muž	-ů	muž → mužů
	hrad	-ů	hrad → hradů
Feminine	žena	∅ (zero)	žena → žen
	růže	-í	růže → růží
	kost	-í	kost → kostí
Neuter	město	∅ (zero)	město → měst
	moře	-í	moře → moří
	kuře	-at	kuře → kuřat

Zero Endings — The Hardest Part!

The žena and město types lose their ending entirely:

• pět žen (five women) — not ženů
• hodně měst (many cities) — not městů
• několik oken (several windows)

This often requires inserting a vowel to make pronunciation possible:

• sestra → sester (of sisters) — insert -e-
• okno → oken (of windows) — insert -e-

Fleeting Vowels in Genitive Plural

When consonant clusters would be too hard to pronounce, a vowel appears:

Nominative Sg	Genitive Pl	Vowel Inserted
matka	matek	-e-
sestra	sester	-e-
okno	oken	-e-
jablko	jablek	-e-
hra	her	-e-
koruna	korun	(no cluster)

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Verbs That Require Genitive

Some verbs inherently require the genitive case for their object.

Verbs of Fearing/Avoiding

Verb	Meaning	Example
bát se	to be afraid of	Bojím se psa. (I'm afraid of the dog.)
obávat se	to fear/worry	Obávám se nejhoršího. (I fear the worst.)
varovat se	to beware of	Varuj se toho člověka. (Beware of that person.)
zbavit se	to get rid of	Zbavil se problému. (He got rid of the problem.)

Verbs of Noticing/Touching

Verb	Meaning	Example
všímat si	to notice	Všimla si chyby. (She noticed the mistake.)
dotýkat se	to touch	Nedotýkej se toho! (Don't touch it!)
týkat se	to concern	Týká se to tebe. (It concerns you.)
zúčastnit se	to participate in	Zúčastnil se schůze. (He attended the meeting.)

Verbs of Asking/Seeking

Verb	Meaning	Example
ptát se	to ask	Ptám se učitele. (I'm asking the teacher.)
zeptat se	to ask (pf)	Zeptej se maminky. (Ask mom.)
hledat	can take Gen	Hledal štěstí. (He sought happiness.) — literary
dosáhnout	to achieve/reach	Dosáhl úspěchu. (He achieved success.)

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Common Errors and How to Avoid Them

1. Wrong Ending: -a vs -u

❌ do doma → ✅ do domu (abstract/location concept) ❌ od pánu → ✅ od pána (animate = -a)

Rule: Animate and concrete = -a, abstract/foreign/mass = -u

2. Forgetting Zero Ending in Plural

❌ pět ženů → ✅ pět žen (zero ending for žena type) ❌ hodně městů → ✅ hodně měst (zero ending for město type)

3. Wrong Preposition Case

❌ do Prahu → ✅ do Prahy (do + genitive, not accusative) ❌ od maminkou → ✅ od maminky (od + genitive)

4. Using Genitive After Numbers 2-4

❌ dva studentů → ✅ dva studenti (2-4 = nominative plural) ❌ tři piva → ✅ tři piva (correct! neuter nom pl)

5. Forgetting Fleeting Vowels

❌ pět sestr → ✅ pět sester (insert -e- for pronunciation) ❌ několik okn → ✅ několik oken (insert -e-)