This is the 717th most frequent Czech word.
říkal
"Říkal" means "he said" or "he was saying" in English.
Here, 'říkal' is used as the past tense to indicate what Petr stated or reported.
Petr říkal, že zítra přijde na návštěvu.
Petr said that he will come to visit tomorrow.
In this sentence, 'říkal' is used to refer to something that was mentioned or promised in the past by the second person.
Říkal jsi, že tam půjdeš, tak co se stalo?
You said you would go there, so what happened?
Here, 'říkal' conveys the act of telling or informing from a third-person subject to the speaker.