This is the 407th most frequent Czech word.
měl
The Czech word "měl" means "had" (past tense of "to have").
Here, 'měl' indicates a suggestion or advice in the conditional form for polite or less directive guidance.
Měl bys přijít včas, abychom mohli začít.
You should come on time so we can start.
In this sentence, 'měl' is used in the past tense to indicate possession or experience of having work during that time period.
Minulý týden jsem měl hodně práce.
Last week, I had a lot of work.
The word 'měl' in this conditional form suggests a hypothetical situation, expressing something that could have been true.