popisem

Popisem is the instrumental singular form of the Czech noun popis, which means description or depiction, and in some contexts also an enumeration or cataloging. In Czech grammar, the instrumental form popisem is used to express the means or manner by which something is described and appears in sentences that describe content or method. It is part of the standard inflection pattern of the noun popis and is commonly encountered in formal writing, dictionaries, and descriptive text.

In addition to its primary meaning as description, the word popis can also refer to an act of describing something, a written account, or, in some contexts, a catalog or census-like listing. The instrumental form popisem is therefore not a separate concept, but the case form used to indicate description as the instrument or process by which something is captured or presented. The use of this form is governed by general Czech grammar rules for masculine inanimate nouns in the instrumental case.

Cross-linguistically, cognate forms exist in other Slavic languages, reflecting a common root for the idea of description. For example Slovak uses popisom as the instrumental form, while Polish uses opisem. These parallels highlight the shared function of this case form across related languages, even though exact usage and common collocations may vary by language.

Examples:

Popisem díla se rozumí jeho detailní zhodnocení. Popisem tohoto dokumentu se rozumí jeho obsah.

See also: popis (description).