chybět + Dative

Dative with Chybět

Level 3

The Czech verb chybět means "to miss" or "to lack." Unlike English, the person who misses something is in the dative case, and the thing that is missing is the subject in the nominative case.

How It Works

Chybět is a highly frequent verb used for emotional longing ("I miss you"), practical deficits ("I lack time"), and absence ("to be absent"). A common synonym for practical deficits is scházet.

Grammar Structure:

  • The Experiencer: The person who feels the lack takes the dative case (e.g., mi, ti, mu, nám). Short dative pronouns are clitics and must occupy the second position (e.g., Chybíš mi).
  • The Missing Entity: The thing or person being missed takes the nominative case and acts as the subject. The verb chybět conjugates to agree with this subject. Because it is an imperfective verb, the future tense is formed with the auxiliary verb být (e.g., Budeš mi chybět). Word Order Note: When expressing practical deficits with a full noun, the noun typically follows the verb for natural information flow (e.g., Chybí mi čas is more natural than Čas mi chybí).
  • Quantities: With quantities of 5 or more, the numeral itself acts as a neuter singular subject (nominative), while the counted noun takes the genitive. Therefore, the verb takes the 3rd-person singular neuter form (e.g., Chybělo mi 20 korun).

Chybět vs. Stýskat se:
Learners often confuse chybět with stýskat se. While both mean "to miss," stýskat se is strictly for emotional longing. Unlike chybět, stýskat se is a true impersonal verb that requires the preposition po + locative case for the missed entity. Note the strict clitic order: the reflexive se must precede the dative pronoun (e.g., Stýská se mi po tobě).

Alternative Meanings & Idioms:

  • Absence: When meaning "to be absent" (e.g., from school or work), chybět does not take a dative experiencer. Instead, it is often followed by v or na + locative case (e.g., Chyběl ve škole).
  • Time/Distance Remaining: To express time or distance remaining until a goal, use chybět do + genitive (e.g., Do Vánoc chybí týden).
  • Medical/Conversational Idiom: The phrase Co ti chybí? is frequently used to ask "What's wrong with you?" or "What ails you?"

Examples (6)

  1. Chybíš mi.

    I miss you.

    Word by Word: You are missing to me.

    The person being missed ('you') is the subject, so the verb is in the second person singular ('chybíš'). The person missing them ('I') is in the dative ('mi').

  2. Chybí mi čas.

    I lack time.

    Word by Word: Is missing to me time.

    For practical deficits, the missing entity ('čas') typically follows the verb for a more natural information flow.

  3. Budeš nám chybět.

    We will miss you.

    Word by Word: You will be missing to us.

    In the future tense, the auxiliary verb 'být' conjugates to match the subject ('ty' -> 'budeš').

  4. Chybělo mi dvacet korun.

    I was short twenty crowns.

    Word by Word: Was missing to me twenty crowns.

    With quantities of five or more, the numeral acts as a neuter singular subject, so the past tense verb is neuter ('chybělo'). The counted noun ('korun') is in the genitive plural.

  5. Do Vánoc chybí týden.

    There is a week left until Christmas.

    Word by Word: Until Christmas is missing a week.

    Using 'chybět do' with the genitive case expresses the time or distance remaining until a goal or event.

  6. Co ti chybí?

    What's wrong with you?

    Word by Word: What to you is missing?

    A highly frequent conversational and medical idiom asking what ails someone or what their problem is.

Common Mistakes

  • Using English word order and cases (Nominative for the experiencer, Accusative for the missing thing).

    Já chybím tě.
    Chybíš mi.

    In Czech, the person who misses someone is in the dative case (mi), and the person being missed is the subject in the nominative case (ty). The verb conjugates to match the subject (chybíš).

  • Forgetting to conjugate the verb to match the missing thing, especially in the past tense.

    Chyběl mi peníze.
    Chyběly mi peníze.

    Because the missing entity is the grammatical subject, the verb must agree with it. 'Peníze' is plural, so the past tense verb must be plural (chyběly).

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

chybět + DativeLevel 3Dative with Chybět

Learn This First

To learn the 'chybět + dativ' pattern, you need to understand how the dative case marks the person experiencing the lack or absence. You also need to be comfortable with nominative subjects, as the item missing (e.g., 'podpis' or 'ty') controls the verb agreement, and you should know the dative forms of personal pronouns, which are very common in expressions like 'Chybíš mi'.

Words in This Pattern

chybět