podobá

Podobá is a present-tense verb form in Czech that expresses resemblance or likeness. It is derived from the verb podobat se, meaning to resemble or to be like. In modern standard Czech, similar expressions typically use the reflexive form podobat se, so the most common construction is se plus the pronoun: On se podobá svému otci (He resembles his father). The form podoba itself is not the base infinitive; rather, podobá is the third-person singular present tense form of podobat se, and it appears most often as part of a clause describing likeness.

Etymology and related forms: Podobat is built from the adjective podobný (similar, alike) and conveys the sense of having a likeness to something else. Related nouns include podoba (appearance, likeness) and podoba může označovat obecnou podobnost či podobnost osob či věcí. The word family is widely present in Czech and has cognates in other Slavic languages, often with parallel meanings related to appearance and likeness.

Usage notes: Podobá is used to compare attributes, appearances, or characteristics between two entities. In practice, Czech speakers typically pair it with a subject and a reflexive pronoun: Ta dívka se podobá své matce (That girl resembles her mother). Other common constructions include X je podobný Y (X is similar to Y). The reflexive se is an important part of the standard expression; without se, the form is either archaic, dialectal, or incomplete in contemporary Czech.

See also: podobný, podoba, podobnost, podobat se.