· 8 min read
Learning Czech for a Move to Czechia: What You Need First and the Exams Ahead
By Language Lab editorial team
Moving to Prague or Brno? The Czech you need first, how hard Czech really is, and the official A2 exam for permanent residence and B1 exams for citizenship.
You can work in Prague or Brno in English, but Czech runs offices, healthcare, rentals and daily life outside international bubbles — and it's required for settling: permanent residence has an official Czech exam at A2, and citizenship requires a Czech language exam and a Czech life and institutions exam at B1. Czech is a Category III language (about 44 weeks of full-time training in the US Foreign Service Institute's scale) with seven cases, but its spelling is highly regular, so reading and pronunciation come quickly.
Do you need Czech to live in Czechia?
International companies, universities and startups in Prague and Brno often work in English, and younger Czechs frequently speak it. But the foreign police and other offices, health insurers, many doctors, landlords outside the expat market and almost all of life outside the big cities operate in Czech. Official letters and contracts arrive in Czech too.
The official exams
| Goal | Exam | Level |
|---|---|---|
| Permanent residence | Czech language exam for permanent residence | A2 |
| Citizenship | Czech language exam | B1 |
| Citizenship | Czech life and institutions exam | B1 language level |
Both exam systems have official websites with sample tests, dates, venues and registration. For citizenship exams, you register online at least 14 days before the exam date and are placed on the nearest available date through a waiting list. See our guide to the Czech citizenship exam for details.
How hard is Czech?
The US Foreign Service Institute puts Czech in Category III, about 44 weeks (1,012 class hours) of full-time training for professional working proficiency — the same group as Polish, Slovak, Russian and Greek. The difficulties: seven grammatical cases, verb aspect, and a few new sounds, including the famous ř (as in Dvořák), a rolled r pronounced at the same time as a "zh" sound. The advantages: Czech spelling is almost perfectly phonetic, stress is always on the first syllable, and háčeks and čárkas (the accent marks) tell you exactly how to pronounce each letter.
What to learn first
| Czech | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Dobrý den | Hello (polite) |
| Děkuji | Thank you |
| Prosím | Please / you're welcome / here you are |
| Promiňte | Excuse me / sorry |
| Nerozumím | I don't understand |
| Mluvíte anglicky? | Do you speak English? |
| Kolik to stojí? | How much is it? |
- The alphabet with háčeks and čárkas — č, š, ž, ř, ě, and long vowels á, é, í, ó, ú/ů, ý.
- Numbers, dates and times for appointments and prices.
- Office and housing vocabulary: nájemní smlouva (lease), pojištění (insurance), razítko (stamp).
- The three most useful cases in context: accusative for asking, genitive for "no" and quantities, locative for places.
A realistic plan
Learn pronunciation and survival phrases before you move. In your first months, aim for A2 — the permanent residence level — by practising the situations you face weekly: shops, the doctor, offices, your landlord. Then build towards B1 if citizenship is your goal. Language Lab's Czech course uses a voice tutor for real-life scenarios, so you practise the conversations the exams are built around.
Your first-month Czech in context
| Situation | Czech | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| In a shop | Můžu platit kartou? | Can I pay by card? |
| On public transport | Kde koupím jízdenku? | Where can I buy a ticket? |
| At the pharmacy | Potřebuji něco na bolest hlavy. | I need something for a headache. |
| With the landlord | Nefunguje topení. | The heating doesn't work. |
Common mistakes
- Stressing the wrong syllable: Czech stress is always on the first syllable, even in long words.
- Ignoring vowel length: á, é, í, ó, ú/ů, ý are long, and length can change meaning — byt (flat) versus být (to be).
- Skipping the formal "you": use vy forms with officials and strangers.
- Learning cases from tables only: learn them in place phrases — v Praze, do Prahy, z Prahy.
Frequently asked
What level of Czech do I need for permanent residence?
A2. There is an official Czech language exam for permanent residence applicants at that level.
What level of Czech do I need for citizenship?
B1, for both the Czech language exam and the Czech life and institutions exam.
How long does it take to learn Czech?
The US Foreign Service Institute estimates about 44 weeks (1,012 class hours) of full-time training for professional working proficiency. A2 and B1 come much sooner with steady practice.
How do you pronounce ř?
It's a rolled r made at the same time as a "zh" sound, as in the composer Dvořák. It's hard at first even for many Czech children — practise it slowly.
Sources: official websites of the Czech permanent residence language exam and the Czech citizenship exam (cestina-pro-cizince.cz); US Department of State, Foreign Service Institute. Checked 26 September 2026. Photo: Freedom Square (náměstí Svobody), Brno — Harold / CC BY 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons.
