z / ze + Genitive (Source)

From with Origin

Level 1

The preposition z (or ze) means 'from' or 'out of'. It is always followed by the genitive case.

How It Works

The preposition z (vocalized as ze) is one of the most essential and frequent prepositions in Czech. It strictly requires the genitive case.

1. Origin and Source
It is the exact spatial opposite of do (into), and often acts as the opposite of the preposition na (onto/to) for institutions, events, or countries. If you go do školy (into school), you come ze školy (out of school). If you go na poštu (to the post office) or na Slovensko (to Slovakia), you come z pošty or ze Slovenska. It is also the standard way to say where you are from (e.g., Jsem z Prahy).

2. Material Composition
You can use it to describe what something is made of, such as ze dřeva (made of wood) or ze skla (made of glass).

3. Selection from a Group
It is used to single out someone or something from a larger group, such as jeden z nás (one of us).

4. Cause or Motive
You can use it to explain why someone did something based on an emotion or state, like z lásky (out of love) or ze strachu (out of fear).

5. When to use 'ze'
The form ze is used purely for easier pronunciation. You must use it before words starting with sibilants (s, z, š, ž), before difficult consonant clusters (like ze tmy or ze dna), and before the pronoun mě / mne (me) and forms of všechen (all, e.g., ze všech). For example, ze stolu (off the table) or ze školy (out of school). The meaning remains exactly the same.

Note: In modern Czech, z/ze is also the standard and preferred way to express movement 'down off a surface' (e.g., taking something off a table).

Examples (5)

  1. Jsem z Prahy, ale teď žiju na Moravě.

    I am from Prague, but I live in Moravia now.

    Word by Word: Am from Prague, but now live on Moravia.

    Shows origin. 'Praha' becomes 'Prahy' in the genitive case.

  2. Vracím se ze školy.

    I am coming back from school.

    Word by Word: Return myself from school.

    Shows movement out of an enclosed space. 'z' becomes 'ze' because 'škola' starts with 'š'.

  3. Ta sklenice je ze skla, ne z plastu.

    That glass is made of glass, not plastic.

    Word by Word: That glass is from glass, not from plastic.

    Shows material composition. Notice the use of both 'ze' (before 's') and 'z' (before 'p').

  4. Vezmi tu knihu ze stolu.

    Take that book off the table.

    Word by Word: Take that book from table.

    Shows movement off a surface. 'z' becomes 'ze' because 'stůl' starts with 's'.

  5. Jeden z nás musí jít.

    One of us has to go.

    Word by Word: One from us must go.

    Shows a partitive relationship (a part of a whole group).

Common Mistakes

  • Confusing 'z' (from) with 's' (with) in writing.

    Jsem s Prahy.
    Jsem z Prahy.

    Because of Czech pronunciation rules, z and s often sound identical in speech. However, z means 'from' and takes the genitive case, while s means 'with' and takes the instrumental case.

  • Using 'z' instead of 'od' for people.

    Jdu z doktora.
    Jdu od doktora.

    Use z for moving out of places or containers. When coming away from a person, you must use od instead.

  • Using 'z' to show possession (like English 'of').

    To je kniha z Jany.
    To je kniha Jany.

    English uses 'of' for both origin ('made of wood') and possession ('the book of Jane'). In Czech, possession is expressed simply by using the possessive genitive without any preposition.

How It Connects

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z / ze + Genitive (Source)Level 1From with Origin

Learn This First

To use 'z/ze' correctly, you need to understand the concept of grammatical gender (masculine, feminine, neuter) because the genitive case endings change based on the gender of the noun. Familiarity with other genitive-based directional prepositions like 'do' provides a helpful foundation for how the case functions.

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zze