Zkoumat

Zkoumat is a Czech verb meaning to examine, investigate, or scrutinize something with care. It covers testing evidence, analyzing data, exploring a topic, or assessing a situation. In everyday language it can describe careful fact-checking or hypothesis testing. Example: Zkoumal důkazy a dospěl k podezření; vědec zkoumá data ve své studii.

Usage and nuance: Zkoumat implies deliberate, methodical inquiry rather than a quick glance. It is common in science, journalism, law, and academia, but it is also used in ordinary speech when someone seeks to understand a matter in depth. In some contexts it can carry a neutral or inquisitive connotation depending on tone.

Grammar and word formation: Zkoumat is an imperfective verb. The perfective counterpart is prozkoumat (to examine thoroughly or to investigate completely). Present tense forms include já zkoumám, ty zkoumáš, on zkoumá; past tense forms include zkoumal, zkoumala, zkoumali; future is typically formed periphrastically. The noun form is zkoumání (an examination or inquiry).

See also: related terms such as vyšetřovat (to investigate formally) and prozkoumat (to examine thoroughly). The word is commonly used across academic, investigative, and everyday contexts to denote careful, systematic inquiry.