All of these come from the root -hlíd- / -hléd- (“to look”). The prefix decides the meaning — and just one letter separates a tour from a parade.

1. prohlídka — a tour / a viewing

With pro- (“through, around”), you get prohlídka — looking around something.

prohlídka památek
sightseeing (a tour of the sights / monuments)

The matching verbs are prohlédnout si (perfective) / prohlížet si (imperfective) — “to look around, to view”:

Prohlédli jsme si celý hrad.
We looked around the whole castle.

The same word also means a check-up: lékařská prohlídka = a medical examination.

2. přehlídka — a parade / a show

Swap to pře- (“over, across”) and přehlídka becomes a parade or show — something passing in front of you.

  • vojenská přehlídka — a military parade
  • módní přehlídka — a fashion show

3. přehlédnout — to overlook / miss

The same pře- prefix on the verb gives přehlédnout (perfective) / přehlížet (imperfective) — to look over → overlook / fail to notice. In its imperfective form přehlížet can also mean “to ignore / look down on.”

Přehlédl jsem tvou zprávu.
I missed (overlooked) your message.
One letter, big difference: prohlídka = a tour (you look around), přehlídka = a parade (it passes over/by). And přehlédnout = to overlook. Watch that pro-/pře-!

Remember the prefixes and the whole set falls into place: pro- takes you around the sights, pře- makes things pass by — or slip past your attention.

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