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Pronunciation

Overview

Polish is a West Slavic language with over 40 million native speakers worldwide. It ranks as the sixth most-spoken language in the European Union.

Alphabet

Polish alphabet derives from the Latin alphabet, but includes some additional letters with diacritics.

A a

Ą ą

B b

C c

Ć ć

D d

E e

Ę ę

F f

G g

H h

I i

J j

K k

L l

Ł ł

M m

N n

Ń ń

O o

Ó ó

P p

Q q

R r

S s

Ś ś

T t

U u

V v

W w

X x

Y y

Z z

Ź ź

Ż ż

Vowels

Vowel / IPA

Example

A a

/a/

pan

Mr.

E e

/ɛ/

telefon

phone

I i

/i/

pani

Ms.

O o

/ɔ/

polski

Polish

Ó ó

/u/

mówić

to speak

U u

/u/

lubić

to love

Y y

/ɪ/

dobry

good

Consonants

Consonant / IPA

Example

B b

/b/

bardzo

very

C c

/t͡s/

what

Ć ć

/t͡ɕ/

dać

to give

D d

/d/

daleko

far away

F f

/f/

szafa

closet

G g

/g/

bigos

bigos, hunter's stew

H h

/x/

hotel

J j

/j/

jestem

I am

K k

/k/

kot

cat

L l

/l/

lata

years

Ł ł

/w/

miło

nicely

M m

/m/

mama

mom

N n

/n/

wino

wine

Ń ń

/ɲ/

dzień

day

P p

/p/

papuga

parrot

R r

/r/

ryba

fish

S s

/s/

sok

juice

Ś ś

/ɕ/

świat

world

T t

/t/

tata

dad

W w

/v/

woda

water

Z z

/z/

muzyka

music

Ź ź

/ʑ/

źle

badly

Ż ż

/ʐ/

żona

wife

Note: The letters Q q, V v, and X x are only used in loanwords (e.g. quiz, vlog) or abbreviations (e.g., a word starting with ks- being abbreviated as x.).

Digraphs

Digraph / IPA

Example

/x/

trochę

a little

/ʈ͡ʂ/

czy

/d͡z/

dzwon

bell

dź

/d͡ʑ/

dźwięk

sound

dż

/d͡ʐ/

dżem

jam

/ʐ/

dobrze

well

/ʂ/

proszę

please

Nasal vowels

Letter	Rule	IPA	Example
Ą ą	single or at the end of word	/ɔ̃/	jedną one (feminine accusative)
	before ch, f, h, rz, s, sz, ś, w, z, ź or ż	/ɔ̃/	mąż husband
	before b or p	/ɔm/	ząb tooth
	before c, cz, d, dz, dż or t	/ɔn/	gorąco hot
	before ć or dź	/ɔɲ/	wziąć to take
	before g or k	/ɔŋ/	pociąg train
Ę ę	single or before ch, f, h, rz, s, sz, ś, w, z, ź or ż	/ɛ̃/	język language
	end of word	/ɛ/	mogę I can
	before b or p	/ɛm/	zęby teeth
	before c, cz, d, dz, dż or t	/ɛn/	będą (they) will be
	before ć or dź	/ɛɲ/	pięć five
	before g or k	/ɛŋ/	piękna beautiful

Palatalization

In Polish, consonants followed by -i are usually palatalized.

Palatalization pattern

Example

/t͡s/ → /t͡ɕ/

ciepło

warm

/n/ → /ɲ/

nie

/s/ → /ɕ/

siedem

seven

/z/ → /ʑ/

zimno

cold

/d͡z/ → /d͡ʑ/

dziękuję

thank you

Devoicing

"Devoicing" (a normally voiced consonant becoming voiceless) takes place if the consonant is followed by a voiceless consonant or if the consonant occurs at the end of the word.

Devoicing pattern

Example

/b/ → /p/

chleb

bread

/d/ → /t/

słodki

sweet

/g/ → /k/

pociąg

train

/v/ → /f/

wczoraj

yesterday

/z/ → /s/

gaz

gas

/ʐ/ → /ʂ/

gorzki

bitter

Word stress

In Polish, stress usually falls on the second-to-last syllable.

Example

uczyć

to teach (imperfective)

nauczyć

to teach (perfective)

nauczyciel

male teacher

nauczycielka

female teacher