Hrajou

Hrajou is the colloquial 3rd person plural present tense form of the Czech verb hrát, meaning to play. In standard written Czech, the same verb form is typically written as hrají, while hrajou is common in everyday speech, informal writing, subtitles, and regional varieties. The form arises from the same root as the standard form but reflects a pronunciation and spelling variant that remains widely understood among Czech speakers.

Morphology and usage:

Hrajou is used with plural subjects (oni, oni a další). It corresponds to sentences like “Oni hrajou.” in standard spelling, but in casual contexts speakers often use “hrajou” without changing the meaning. The base verb hrát is irregular in its present tense endings, and the choice between hrají and hrajou is largely a matter of register and dialect rather than a distinct lexical item.

Examples:

- Dnes hrajou fotbal na stadionu. (Today they play soccer at the stadium.)

- Děti hrajou na zahradě. (The children are playing in the yard.)

- Oni hrajou v místním orchestru a koncertují každý měsíc. (They play in a local orchestra and perform every month.)

Relationship to Slovak:

In Slovak, the equivalent form is hrajú, with diacritical marks. While closely related, Slovak uses different standard spelling, and hrajou is specifically a Czech colloquial variant.

See also:

hrát, Czech verb conjugation, Czech orthography, colloquial Czech.

Notes:

Hrajou conveys the same basic meaning as hrají but reflects informal pronunciation and spelling. When writing in formal or standard contexts, hrají is preferred.