snímají

Snímají is a Czech verb form: it is the present tense, third person plural of the verb snímat. The core meaning is to take or lift something from a surface, but the word is most commonly used to express capturing or recording something, such as images, video, or data. In everyday language it is frequently used in the sense of photographing or filming, for example: Snímají fotky na mobilu (They are taking photos on a mobile phone) or Snímají záznam kamerou (They are recording a video with a camera).

Beyond photography and filming, snímat is used in technical or scientific contexts to indicate collecting or extracting material or data, for instance: Snímají vzorky půdy pro chemickou analýzu (They are taking soil samples for chemical analysis).

Grammatical notes: snímat is a transitive verb and typically requires a direct object in the accusative (e.g., snímek, záznam, vzorek). Its related forms include infinitive snímat, participle snímající, and past tense snímali/snímala/snímalo depending on the subject. The noun snímek denotes a still image or frame, and snímání refers to the act of recording or capturing.

Etymology: snímat is built on the root nímat with the prefix s-, indicating removal, collection, or capture. It is closely related to other Czech verbs forming with similar prefixes and to the noun snímek, which represents a captured image or frame.