Potkám

Potkám is a Czech verb form meaning “I will meet” or “I meet,” depending on context. It is the first-person singular present form of the perfective verb potkat, which means to meet or encounter someone or something, whether by chance or by arrangement.

Usage is transitive, typically with a direct object: potkám člověka, potkám známého. The reflexive form potkám se s někým expresses meeting with someone or running into someone: potkám se s kamarádem. Because potkat is perfective, potkám is usually understood as a future action (“I will meet”), though, with contextual cues, it can also convey a near-future meaning equivalent to the present in English. The imperfective counterpart is potkávat (present form potkávám, potkáváš, potkává), used for habitual or repeated meetings.

Conjugation snapshot (present/future in common usage): potkám, potkáš, potká, potkáme, potkáte, potkají. Past tense forms are formed with auxiliary jsem a past participle, e.g., potkal jsem (I met, masculine) or potkala jsem (I met, feminine). Examples: “Zítra potkám ředitele na chodbě.” “Potkám se s tebou ve čtyři.” “Potkal jsem starého známého.”

Etymology and related forms: potkat is a common Czech verb with cognates in other Slavic languages; the exact origin is not fully settled, but it is generally treated as a standard perfective verb. Related forms include the imperfective potkávat and the reflexive potkat se.

See also: setkat, potkávat, potkat se.