jäst

jíst is a common verb in Czech meaning to eat. It is used to describe the act of consuming food, from a bite to a meal, and appears in everyday speech, literature, and media. The verb is imperfective, indicating an ongoing, repeated, or habitual action, and it forms broader verbal expressions related to meals and eating habits.

Etymology and cognates: jíst belongs to the Slavic family of languages and is linked to related verbs across the family. Its cognates include Polish jeść and Slovak jesť, and they share a common Proto-Slavic root related to eating. In many Slavic languages, a similar root appears in the present tense forms for “eat,” illustrating a long-standing semantic core.

Grammatical notes: In Czech, jíst is conjugated for person and number in the present tense as jím, jíš, jí, jíme, jíte, jedí. The infinitive is jíst. The verb has a perfective counterpart for completed eating, such as sníst or sníst, which express finishing a portion. Common past tense forms include jedl (masculine), jedla (feminine), or jedli (plural). The imperative forms include jez (informal singular), jezme (let’s eat), and jezte (formal or plural).

Usage and expressions: jíst is used with direct objects referring to food, for example, Co jíš? (What are you eating?) or Jím chleba. It also appears in idiomatic phrases about eating and appetite, and is often paired with adverbs or adjectives describing taste, quantity, or meal context.

See also: related verbs such as sníst (to eat something completely) and pojíst (to eat a bit, to snack). For linguistic comparisons, Czech jíst aligns with counterparts in other Slavic languages, reflecting a shared semantic field around eating.