Learning Polish for a New Start: Free Lessons for Refugees
28 November 2024Sophisticated changes that always surprise you.
Some Polish words don’t resemble themselves when we inflect them. Each form sounds like a completely different word that means something else. And here’s the surprise! It sounds different, but it means the same thing.
You could think that this is a very sophisticated (ąę 😊) way of expressing yourself. Think of it as Polish extravagance mixed with a passion for making life a little more complicated. It’s just the knight fantasy world at play here! 🏰 It’s a very tempting point of view.
And here’s another surprise!
The truth is banal.
The truth is just plain old boring.
These wacky effects come from phonetic changes in Old Polish, which make our language ąę – not just metaphorically (in Polish language being ąę means being fancy, elegant, and special like a unicorn and also intimidating, affected, and self-important), but literally too! We often swap ą and ę around like they’re dance partners, so in one word, you’ll have ą, and in another, you’ll have ę.
Want some examples?
Hold on to your hats! 🎩
In singular, we’ve got ą, but when it’s plural, suddenly it’s ę. Like magic! ✨
ząb – zęby (tooth – teeth)
dąb – dęby (oak – oaks)
wąż – węże (snake – snakes)
krąg – kręgi (circle – circles)
błąd – błędy (mistake – mistakes)
rząd – rzędy (row – rows)
In the nominative form, it’s ą, but in others, it may be ę.
Mąż – nie mam męża, rozmawiam z mężem (husband – I don’t have a husband, I’m talking to my husband)
Miesiące – 5 miesięcy (months – 5 months)
Pieniądze – nie mam pieniędzy (money – I don’t have any money
In the basic form, it’s ą, and in the diminutive or another derivative word, it’s ę.
😊 Or it can be totally reversed, just to keep you on your toes! 🕺
kęs – kąsek
pięść – piąstka
część – cząstka
sąd – sędzia
mądry – mędrzec
wąchać – węch
ręka – rąk
kęs – kąsek (piece – bite)
pięść – piąstka (fist – little fist)
część – cząstka (part – particle)
sąd – sędzia (court – judge)
mądry – mędrzec (wise – sage)
wąchać – węch (to smell – smell)
ręka – rąk (hand – hands)
In the infinitive and masculine past tense, it’s ą, and in the feminine past tense, it’s ę.
Wziąć – wziąłem – wzięłam
Zamknąć – zamknąłem – zamknęłam
Zacząć – zacząłem – zaczęłam
Wynająć – wynająłem – wynajęłam
Kopnąć – kopnąłem – kopnęłam
Ziewnąć – ziewnąłem – ziewnęłam
Wziąć – wziąłem – wzięłam (to take – I took (m) – I took (f))
Zamknąć – zamknąłem – zamknęłam (to close – I closed (m) – I closed (f))
Zacząć – zacząłem – zaczęłam (to start – I started (m) – I started (f))
Wynająć – wynająłem – wynajęłam (to rent – I rented (m) – I rented (f))
Kopnąć – kopnąłem – kopnęłam (to kick – I kicked (m) – I kicked (f))
Ziewnąć – ziewnąłem – ziewnęłam (to yawn – I yawned (m) – I yawned (f))
Now, that you’ve survived this wild ride through Polish phonetics and its quirks, you totally deserve a reward! How about dinner at a fancy restaurant? Just make sure it’s ąę -approved! Bon appétit! 🍽️