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/
co
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
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
ch
/x/
trochę
a little
cz
/ʈ͡ʂ/
czy
or
dz
/d͡z/
dzwon
bell
dź
/d͡ʑ/
dźwięk
sound
dż
/d͡ʐ/
dżem
jam
rz
/ʐ/
dobrze
well
sz
/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 | 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
no
/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