Saying NO is important in many situations:

No, I don’t eat mussels.
No, I can’t help you.
No, I won’t marry you.

It’s equally important in Czech, of course. Czech grammar is quite simple and straightforward, and negatives are no exception.

If Czech negation were a guy/girl, you’d get slightly bored of them in the middle of your first date, and later you would describe them to your friend as simple, predictable, linear, and straightforward.

It will take you 15 seconds to master this topic, so go ahead and make plans for tonight. I’m not going to keep you for long.

Let’s learn about negation in the Czech language!

Just…no.

Table of Contents

1. How to Make a Statement Negative in Czech
2. Giving a Negative Answer
3. Czech Negation Words and Phrases
4. Double and Triple Negatives in Czech
5. How CzechClass101.com Helps You Learn Czech in a Fun Way

1. How to Make a Statement Negative in Czech

I’ve already hinted at what Czech negation is like, and I promise it’s definitely one of the easiest bits of Czech grammar.

So how do you make a negative statement in Czech?

➢ Add the prefix NE- to a verb

Let’s look at some examples so that you know I’m not making this up:

Statement	Negative Statement
Zítra jdu do školy. – “I’m going to school tomorrow.”	Zítra nejdu do školy. – “I’m not going to school tomorrow.”
Máš ráda ovoce. – “I like fruit.”	Nemáš ráda ovoce. – “I do not like fruit.”
Jsem nemocná. – “I am sick.”	Nejsem nemocná. – “I am not sick.”
Chce si číst. – “He/She wants to read.”	Nehce si číst. – “He/She doesn’t want to read.”
Oni se učí česky. – “They are learning Czech.”	Oni se neučí česky. – “They are not learning Czech.”

If you want to master Czech negation, you need to learn how to spell and conjugate Czech verbs properly. This list of the 50 most commonly used Czech verbs is a great start. If you’re short on time, pave your way to Czech basics with this list of 25 Czech verbs.

The Verb být (“to be”) in Negative Form

Být (“to be”) is the only exception in Czech negation, but 

• only in the third person singular.

Let’s look at the conjugation:

Person	Singular	Negative Singular
1st	jsem – “am”	nejsem – “am not”
2nd	jsi – “are”	nejsi – “are not”
3rd	je – “is”	není – “is not”

Person	Plural	Negative Plural
1st	jsme – “are”	nejsme – “are not”
2nd	jste – “are”	nejste – “are not”
3rd	jsou – “are”	nejsou – “are not”

Apart from this little thing, it’s easy-peasy!

That was easy!

2. Giving a Negative Answer

As you can tell, negation in Czech is just as simple and straightforward as it gets—kind of like ordering your favorite meal at the restaurant where you’ve been a regular since 5th grade.

1. Create a negative form of the respective verb.
2. Put together a sentence according to the Czech word order rules.

And since one table is worth a million words…

Question	Negative Answer
Mluvíš česky? – “Do you speak Czech?”Nemluvíš česky? – “Do you not speak Czech?”	Ne, nemluvím Česky. – “No, I don’t speak Czech.”
Žije tvoje přítelkyně v Praze? – “Does your girlfriend live in Prague?” Nežije tvoje přítelkyně v Praze? – “Doesn’t your girlfriend live in Prague?”	Ne, moje přítelkyně nežije v Praze. – “No, my girlfriend doesn’t live in Prague.”
Chcete si už objednat? – “Would you like to order?” Nechcete si už objednat? – “Would you not like to order?”	Ne, nechceme si objednat. – “No, we are not ready to order.”
Máme dost vody? – “Do we have enough water?” Nemáme dost vody? – “Do we not have enough water?”	Ne, nemáme dost vody. – “No, we don’t have enough water.”
Je tu wi-fi zdarma? – “Is the wifi free here?” Není tu wi-fi zdarma? – “Isn’t the wifi free here?”	Ne, wi-fi tu není zdarma. – “No, the wifi isn’t free.”

There’s a slight difference between the negative and regular questions, though.

➢ When asking a negative question (very common in spoken Czech), you might be implying, assuming, making sure, or already know the answer.

For example: 

Nežije tvoje přítelkyně v Praze? – “Doesn’t your girlfriend live in Prague?”

This question could be followed by something like: “I thought I was seeing her in the park every weekend. I guess it’s not her.”

But if you genuinely have no idea where his girl lives, you would ask: 

Žije tvoje přítelkyně v Praze? – “Does your girlfriend live in Prague?” 

P.S.: If you’re lost, just shake your head.

Czech negation is very simple.

When you need to be polite…

Saying no is quite simple. However, in most situations (such as at work, while talking to a friend, etc.), you might want to choose your words carefully so that you don’t come across as a heartless and crude monster with no manners.

Also, these are the phrases you should use when you feel like you have to/should say yes, but you want to set boundaries or suggest a different solution.

Let’s say someone you barely know asks you to do their work:

• Je mi líto, ale nejde to. – “I am sorry, but it’s not possible/can’t be done.”

• Omlouvám se, ale ne. – “I am sorry, but no.” (This one sounds quite funny in English, but it’s actually one of the most common negative answers in Czech. I mean, besides: Už ti nenaliju, jsi na plech. – I won’t get you another drink, you’re hammered.”)

Maybe you would love to help, but you’re late on your projects:

• Promiň, mám moc práce, ale vím, kdo by ti mohl pomoct. – “I am sorry, I am busy, but I know who could help you.”

When someone invites you someplace, but you want to stay home with your cat and drink tea…

• Nezlob se, mám jiný program. – “I am sorry, I have other plans.”

When you don’t want to break their heart:

• Dneska nemůžu, můžeme jít jindy? – “I can’t today, can we go another time?”

When the person is really cute or the plans sound awesome and you genuinely want to do it:

• To bych moc rád(a), ale dneska se mi to nehodí. Mám čas příští týden. – “I would love to, but I can’t today. I am free next week.”

When you just don’t know…

• Já nevím, promiň. – “Sorry, I don’t know.”

When you want to be direct:

• Nemůžu. – “I can’t.”
• Nechci. – “I don’t want to.”
• Ne, díky. – “No, thanks.”
• Ani ne, díky. – “Not really, thanks.”

More on this topic here. Have fun!

Nechci! – I don’t want to.

3. Czech Negation Words and Phrases

Here are a few more words and phrases you can use to make a sentence negative in Czech. 

• ne – “no”

• nikdy – “never” 
  • Nikdy sem nechodí. – “He never comes here.”

• nikdo – “nobody” / “anyone” 
  • Nikdo je nemá rád. – “Nobody likes them.”

• nikde – “nowhere” / “anywhere” 
  • Nikde jinde to nenajdeme. – “We won’t find it anywhere else.”

• zádný/žádná/žádné (m/f/n) – “none” / “no” / “any” / “neither” 
  • Na stole nebyla žádná knížka. – “There wasn’t any book on the table.”

• ani jeden – “not even a one” or “none of these” / “neither” 
  • Ani jeden z jejích bratrů nemá černé vlasy. – “None of her brothers has black hair.”

• ani – “nor” / “not” 
  • Nikdo si nepamatuje moje narozeniny, dokonce ani moje máma. – “Nobody remembers my birthday, not even my mom.”

• skoro vůbec – “barely” / “hardly” 
  • Konečně jsme spolu a ty skoro vůbec nemluvíš! – “We’re finally together and you’re barely speaking!”

• už ne – “no longer” / “not anymore” 
  • Už nemá dost energie. – “He no longer has enough energy.” 
  • Q: Ty ji nechceš? A: Už ne. – Q: “Don’t you want her?” A: “Not anymore.”

• vůbec – “at all” / “whatsoever” 
  • Nemám vůbec hlad. – “I’m not hungry at all.”

In case you’re in the mood for more negativity, check out our list of the top 21 words for negative emotions.

4. Double and Triple Negatives in Czech

You’ve probably noticed that the Czech language is pretty playful in nature, which means there’s always an extra spark even in the simplest of matters.

In the context of Czech negation, it’s double (and even triple) negatives.

Here’s the most important info about the difference between negation in English and Czech:

➢ It’s almost a rule to have a double or triple negative in Czech, although sentences with only one negative are not uncommon.

If you remember elementary school math, and you’re tempted to apply the “negative + negative = positive” rule here, just don’t.

Let’s look at examples of two or more Czech negatives resulting in a negative:

Czech	English
Už nikdy tam nepůjdeš!	“You will never not go there again.” / “You won’t ever go there again.”
Nemám vůbec nic.	“I don’t have nothing at all.” / “I don’t have anything at all.”
Už nemá hlad.	“She isn’t hungry anymore.”
Dneska jsme nikam nešli.	“We didn’t go nowhere today.” / “We didn’t go anywhere today.”
Vůbec nic o tom neví.	“He doesn’t know nothing at all about it.” / “He doesn’t know anything about it.”
Ani jeden žák tu knihu nečetl.	“Not even one student didn’t read the book.” / “Not one student read the book.”
Nikdo tu není.	“There isn’t nobody in here.” / “There is nobody in here.”
Nemám rád cestování, nikdy jsem nikde nebyl.	“I don’t like traveling, I have never been nowhere.” / “I don’t like traveling, I have never been anywhere.”
V práci skoro vůbec nic nedělá.	“He doesn’t do barely anything at work.” / “He does barely anything at work.”
Nic nechci.	“I don’t want nothing.” / “I don’t want anything.”

Double and triple negatives result in a negative in the Czech language.

5. How CzechClass101.com Helps You Learn Czech in a Fun Way

That’s it, guys! I hope you enjoyed this article and learned something new. You should now be ready to knock Czech negation out of the park!

I’m glad you chose Czech, and I hope you know that, in this wonderful era of advanced technology, learning languages is easy, effective, and can be done anywhere (= way less boring).

CzechClass101.com will make learning Czech easy, exciting, and fun. With us, it’s not about endless memorizing or thick textbooks. Learn Czech with us and make progress faster than you could imagine!

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• English-to-Czech translation and pronunciation tips/tricks
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• Spaced repetition flashcards
• Detailed PDF lesson notes

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