01
Parts of speech
rzeczownik noun
Names a person, object, place, substance, or idea. Polish nouns change for case and number and have grammatical gender.
czasownik verb
Expresses an action, process, or state. Verb forms can encode person, number, tense, gender, mood, and aspect.
przymiotnik adjective
Describes a noun and normally agrees with it in case, number, and gender.
przyimek preposition
Introduces a phrase and governs a particular case. Some prepositions take different cases with different meanings.
02
The seven cases
Case marks the role of a noun phrase. The examples below use forms of chłopiec.
| Label | Polish and English | Typical use | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| M. | mianownik · nominative | Subject; dictionary form | chłopiec |
| D. | dopełniacz · genitive | Possession, absence, quantity, and many prepositions | chłopca |
| C. | celownik · dative | Recipient or beneficiary | chłopcu |
| B. | biernik · accusative | Direct object; destination with some prepositions | chłopca |
| N. | narzędnik · instrumental | Means, accompaniment, or a role after forms of być | chłopcem |
| Ms. | miejscownik · locative | Used only after certain prepositions | chłopcu |
| W. | wołacz · vocative | Direct address | chłopcze! |
03
Number and person
- lp
- liczba pojedyncza · singular. One person, object, or idea.
- lm
- liczba mnoga · plural. More than one.
- 1. os.
- pierwsza osoba · first person. The speaker: ja or my.
- 2. os.
- druga osoba · second person. The addressee: ty or wy.
- 3. os.
- trzecia osoba · third person. Someone or something else: on, ona, ono, oni, one.
04
Gender and adjective classes
Gender labels identify the agreement pattern required by the form. Wiktionary uses more detailed masculine classes in adjective tables.
r. m. masculine
rodzaj męski
r. ż. feminine
rodzaj żeński
r. n. neuter
rodzaj nijaki
n neuter
rodzaj nijaki; the label used in adjective inflection tables.
mos masculine personal
Plural forms referring to groups containing at least one male person.
nmos non-masculine-personal
Plural forms for other groups, objects, animals, and concepts.
mzw masculine animate
męskozwierzęcy; masculine animate nouns and their agreeing forms.
mrz masculine inanimate
męskorzeczowy; masculine inanimate nouns and their agreeing forms.
mos/mzw masculine personal or animate
rodzaj męskoosobowy lub męskozwierzęcy; a table column shared when both classes use the same form.
05
Adjective degree
- stopień równy
- Positive degree. The basic, non-comparative adjective: nowy — new.
- stopień wyższy
- Comparative degree. A greater degree of a quality: starszy — older.
- stopień najwyższy
- Superlative degree. The greatest degree in a group: najstarszy — oldest.
06
Verb labels
- czas przeszły
- Past tense. The verb describes an earlier event. Singular past forms and some plural forms also mark gender.
- przechodni
- Transitive. The verb can take a direct object, although a particular sentence may omit it.
- nieprzechodni
- Intransitive. The verb does not take a direct object.
07
Aspect and aspect partners
dokonany perfective
Presents an event as bounded or completed. A present-looking perfective form normally has future meaning.
przyszła — she came / arrived
niedokonany imperfective
Presents an event as ongoing, repeated, habitual, or without focusing on its endpoint.
przychodziła — she was coming / used to come
dk. marks a perfective partner and ndk. an imperfective partner. A pair shares a core lexical meaning, but its members present the event differently. The English translation inherited from a paired entry is labelled in the popup.
08
A separate distinction for motion verbs
Determinate versus indeterminate motion is not the same distinction as perfective versus imperfective. Both members below are imperfective:
iść determinate
One concrete movement in one direction, often currently in progress.
chodzić indeterminate
Repeated, habitual, multidirectional, or general movement, including the ability to walk.
Similar pairs include jechać / jeździć and lecieć / latać. Context is still necessary to choose the best English wording.