How to Write a Formal Email in Czech (Greetings, Sign-offs and a Landlord Template)

Speaking Czech is one thing. Writing a formal email in Czech is something else entirely.

I remember before AI and LLMs coming along I would spend an hour crafting an email to the bank. I would first try to write it myself. Then put it in Google Translate and see how many mistakes I made. The accents are the hardest thing for me. Plus getting used to a Czech keyboard layout!

If you live in Czechia, you'll hit this moment sooner or later. The boiler breaks, the school sends a form, the foreign police want a document. Writing Czech to a stranger feels very different from speaking it. Every ending is on display and there's nobody to smile at while you fumble.

So in this article I want to cover the bits that actually matter: Czech formal email greetings, how to start an email in Czech, how to end it, the vocative trap, and two short templates you can copy and adapt.

Ty Or Vy? Formal Emails Always Use Vy

Czech has two words for "you". ty is for friends, family, kids and pets. vy is for everyone else, and in a formal email that means everyone.

There's one extra detail English speakers never expect. In a letter or email, the polite forms are written with a capital letter: Vy, Vám, Váš (you, to you, your). That's the official rule from the Internetová jazyková příručka, the online language guide from the Czech Academy of Sciences' language institute, and it applies whether you're writing to one person or a whole office.

If in doubt, use vy. Nobody has ever been offended by being too polite in an email.

How To Start An Email In Czech

You have two main options, and which one you pick depends on how formal the situation is.

Dobrý den, (literally "good day") is the everyday choice. It works when you don't know the person's name, and it's what most emails to offices and companies start with. You can also add the name: Dobrý den, pane Nováku, (Hello, Mr Novák).

Vážený pane… / Vážená paní… (Dear Sir… / Dear Madam…, literally "respected") is the more formal option. The language guide says the more official the communication, the more this form is preferred. Use it for official requests, complaints, or anyone you'd stand up for when they walk into the room.

If you don't know who will read it, the guide suggests Vážená paní, vážený pane, (Dear Madam, dear Sir). It also notes that plenty of people consider a plain Dobrý den polite enough when you don't know the recipient.

I mostly go for Dobrý den, you can't honestly go wrong with that.

What About Titles?

Titles matter in Czech. Like really matter. If the person has one, you address them by the title rather than the surname: Vážený pane inženýre (Dear Mr Engineer), Vážená paní doktorko (Dear Doctor, to a woman). The guide is clear that you don't use the title and the surname together, so no Vážený pane inženýre Nováku.

Yes, it feels strange to write "Dear Mr Engineer". Do it anyway.

The Vocative Trap

Here's where most learners go wrong. In a Czech greeting, the name goes into the vocative case, the form you use when you're talking to someone. Czech has seven cases and the vocative is the one you only ever use for calling out to people.

For men's surnames, the ending usually changes:

The language guide is blunt about this. Leaving the name in its normal form, Vážený pane Novák, isn't standard Czech and comes across as very informal or as not knowing the rule.

Surnames that look like adjectives, like Černý, don't change: Vážený pane Černý.

The good news is women's surnames. The typical -ová surnames stay exactly the same: Vážená paní Nováková. And the guide recommends paní for every woman, married or not, rather than slečna (Miss).

If you're not sure of the vocative, Dobrý den on its own is always safe. It's polite and nobody will judge you for it.

The First Line Starts With A Small Letter

This one catches everyone. In Czech, the greeting ends with a comma and the next line starts with a lowercase letter:

Dobrý den, pane Nováku,

píšu Vám ohledně…

It looks wrong to English eyes, because we start a new sentence with a capital. In Czech the greeting and the first line are treated as one sentence, so the lowercase is correct.

Useful Phrases For The Body Of The Email

You don't need much. A handful of phrases will cover most emails to a landlord, a school or an office:

• Píšu Vám ohledně… (I'm writing to you about…).
• Obracím se na Vás s prosbou o… (I'm contacting you with a request for…)
• Chtěl(a) bych se zeptat, zda… (I'd like to ask whether…). Use chtěl if you're a man, chtěla if you're a woman.
• Mohl(a) byste mi prosím poslat…? (Could you please send me…?). This time the ending matches the person you're writing to.
• V příloze Vám posílám… (Please find attached…, literally "In the attachment I'm sending you…")
• Předem děkuji za odpověď. (Thank you in advance for your reply.)

That's it. Short, polite, to the point. You don't need to write an essay.

How To End An Email In Czech

Sign-offs go from very formal to very casual:

• S úctou (With respect). The most formal. Official letters, complaints, the director of something.
• S pozdravem (With regards). The safe default for almost every formal email. This is my personal go to.
• S přáním hezkého dne (Wishing you a nice day). Friendly but still polite.
• Děkuji a přeji hezký den. (Thank you and have a nice day.) A full sentence, so it gets a full stop.
• Zdraví (literally "[name] greets you") and Díky (Thanks). Informal. Colleagues you know, friends, the neighbour you've had a beer with.

Two small rules from the language guide. There's no comma after S pozdravem or S úctou. You just put your name on the next line. And sentence-style endings like Děkuji a přeji hezký den. get a full stop.

Also, don't abbreviate S pozdravem to "SP". It's the Czech equivalent of signing a letter to your bank "Rgds".

Template 1: An Email To Your Landlord

Here's a short email about something broken in the flat:

Předmět: Nefunkční pračka – byt [adresa]

Dobrý den, pane Nováku,

píšu Vám ohledně bytu na adrese [adresa]. Od včerejška nefunguje pračka. Mohl byste prosím poslat opraváře? Doma jsem každý den po 17. hodině.

V příloze Vám posílám fotku.

Předem děkuji za odpověď.

S pozdravem

[Vaše jméno]

In English: Subject: Broken washing machine – flat [address]. Hello Mr Novák, I'm writing to you about the flat at [address]. Since yesterday the washing machine hasn't worked. Could you please send a repairman? I'm at home every day after 5pm. I'm attaching a photo. Thank you in advance for your reply. Regards, [Your name].

If you're dealing with a landlord, you'll want the vocabulary to go with it. I put together a guide to renting a flat in Czech and a Czech for renting a flat vocab pack.

Template 2: An Email To A School Or Office

When you don't know who'll read it:

Předmět: Dotaz k zápisu do 1. třídy

Vážená paní, vážený pane,

obracím se na Vás s dotazem k zápisu mé dcery do první třídy. Chtěl(a) bych se zeptat, jaké dokumenty mám přinést.

Děkuji a přeji hezký den.

[Vaše jméno]

In English: Subject: Question about enrolment in Year 1. Dear Madam, dear Sir, I'm contacting you with a question about enrolling my daughter in the first class. I'd like to ask which documents I should bring. Thank you and have a nice day. [Your name].

The same shape works for the úřad (government office). If you're dealing with visas and residence, my guide to the foreign police office and the immigration office vocab pack will help.

Mistakes Learners Make

These are the ones I see most:

• Leaving the surname in the normal form (Vážený pane Novák).
• Starting the first line with a capital letter.
• Switching to ty halfway through because the other person sounded friendly.
• Writing vy and vám with small letters.
• Adding a comma after S pozdravem.

Honestly, none of these will stop your email being understood. But getting them right does make you look like someone who's taken the time.

Practise It Before You Send It

The scary part of a formal email isn't the grammar. It's pressing send and wondering what the other person thinks of your Czech.

That's exactly why I built writing correction into Czech Learner. You write your email in the app, it gets corrected, and then you send the fixed version. If you'd rather practise out loud, the AI voice conversations let you rehearse talking to someone in an office before you actually go. I built it because it's what I needed for years.

If you want a few more ready-made phrases, have a look at my list of common Czech phrases.

Conclusion

Writing a formal email in Czech is less scary than it looks. Start with Dobrý den, use vy with a capital V, start the next line with a small letter, and finish with S pozdravem and your name. That covers most of the emails you'll ever write.

Once you're comfortable, try Vážený pane with a proper vocative for the really official stuff.

A short, polite email with a few small mistakes beats a perfect one you never sent.

What's the email you've been putting off writing in Czech? Let me know.