Pronunciation
Czech pronunciation is mostly predictable once you know the spelling cues: vowel length, háček letters, softening, ch, ř, and first-syllable stress.
Sound map
Start with the spelling cue, then listen to a real word. Czech pronunciation is usually regular once the cue is familiar.
letters and marksAlphabetSee the spelling cues that change Czech sounds.1.Openvowel lengthLong vs short vowelsHear how á/é/í/ó/ú/ů/ý stay longer than short vowels.2.Opensame soundi/y and í/ýTreat i/y and í/ý as spelling differences, not new vowels.3.Openě cuee/ěUse ě to spot softening or a ye-like effect.4.Opensoft i, hard ydi/ti/ni vs dy/ty/nyHear how d/t/n change before i but stay hard before y.5.Opene vs ěde/te/ne vs dě/tě/něCompare hard de/te/ne with softened dě/tě/ně.6.Openr and řr and řPractice rolled r and an approachable first version of ř.7.Openback soundsch, h, g, and kSeparate ch from h, and listen for voiced g vs unvoiced k.8.Openadded eVocalized prepositionsUse ke/ve/se/ze when a preposition cluster is hard to say.9.Openstress and lengthStress and rhythmKeep first-syllable stress separate from written vowel length.10.Open