The Sound of Real Czech

Standard form - long ý at the end

The diphthong ej replaces the long vowel ý

Standard adjective form

Regular: the -ý of the masculine singular nominative becomes -ej in obecná (for where else -ej appears, see the last item in this table)

Standard form

The pattern holds after l as well: celý → celej, just like malý → malej

Standard negative pronoun

Applies to pronouns and determiners, not just adjectives

Standard form

Even common words like 'big' follow the rule without exception

Standard form of the universal pronoun

"Každej den" instead of "každý den" - you'll hear this constantly

Standard form

Where -ej appears: regularly in the masculine singular nominative (and inanimate accusative) and in word roots (sýr → sejr, být → bejt, mlýn → mlejn); irregularly inside -ých, -ým, -ými (dobrejch, dobrejma). Feminine -á stays as it is; neuter -é becomes -ý (krásné → krásný), never -ej.

Standard form with long é

The é→í shift in a root vowel - one of the most commonly cited examples

Standard form

Very common in everyday speech - you'll see both on menus, but hear mostly polívka

Standard form with a long ý in the root

Not an í-shift: a long ý in the root becomes ej, just like the adjective ending - sýr → sejr, být → bejt, mlýn → mlejn. The í-shift itself only touches é.

Standard neuter/feminine ending -é

In adjective endings: -é → -ý. The genders stay apart, because the masculine has moved on to -ej: pěknej kluk (masc.), but pěkný dítě (neut.).

Standard 3rd person plural

Not an é→í change but a clipped verb ending: the 3rd person plural loses its final -í. Also: dělají→dělaj, říkají→říkaj

Standard genitive ending -ého

The é→ý shift in case endings is universal in obecná: -ého→-ýho, -ému→-ýmu

Standard pronoun

Prothetic v- before o- - most consistent with personal pronouns

Standard pronoun

Same pattern: ona→vona, oni→voni, ono→vono - the whole pronoun set shifts

Standard form

Beyond pronouns, some common nouns starting with o- also get v-: okno→vokno, oběd→voběd

Standard form with prefix od-

The prefix od- becomes vod- in obecná: odkud→vodkud, odejít→vodejít, odnést→vodnést

Standard form of 'to be', 3rd person plural. Pronounced without the j-: [sou̯]

Spelling only: the j- is silent in both varieties, so spisovná and obecná both say [sou̯]. Written obecná (chat, dialogue in novels) spells it sou, sem. The real obecná form in this verb is seš for jsi (you are).