Polish/Polish pronunciation

^ Polish ^ < Some useful expressions > Polish Alphabet.oga Polish alphabet a ą b c ć d e ę f g h i j k l ł m n ń o ó p r s ś t u w y z ź ż Polish pronunciation is rather regular. Once you learn the rules, you should be able to guess how a word is pronounced and get it more or less right even if you've never heard it before (unlike English which is rather unpredictable). Vowels are pronounced similarly to their counterparts in most other European languages (not English though) but note, there are no long vowels. Stress is almost always on the penultimate (next-to-last) syllable.As noted above, stress is almost always on the penultimate (next-to-last) syllable. The exceptions are: words with a conditional ending. Here you need to momentarily ignore the ending (which always starts with by), then find the penult: verbs: chciałabym, robilibyśmy other words: żebyście a very small number of foreign loanwords: matematyka, gramatyka. However, most loanwords have stress on the penult. verbs in the past tense using the endings -śmy or -ście (1st and 2nd person plural). Here ante-penultimate stress is more correct. However, some Poles have a tendency to put stress on the penult. (b d f h k l m n p t z are pronounced as you'd expect.) IPA Comments/Roughly... Example a aLike a in father. Pl-praca.ogg praca no (work, job) Pl-brać.ogg brać no (to take) Pl-bałałajka.ogg bałałajka no (balalaika) c ts Like ts in cats. Equivalent to German z in Zeit. Pl-a co więcej.ogg a co więcej no (what else? / anything else/more?) Pl-Brodnica.ogg Brodnica no (name of a town) Pl-Cypr.ogg Cypr no (Cyprus) Pl-Wąchock.ogg Wąchock no (name of a town) Pl-Słowacja.ogg Słowacja no (Slovakia) e ɛ Like in met. Pl-epidemia.ogg epidemia no (epidemic) Pl-następnie.ogg następnie no (next) Pl-jeszcze.ogg jeszcze no (still) g g Always hard like in game, never like gene. pl-gips.ogg gips no (plaster) Pl-Zgierz.ogg Zgierz no (name of a town) i i feet but shorter. "Softens" the consonants it follows, palatalizing them (k, g, p) usually, or changing n to the sound of Spanish ñ or French gn, or the sound in "onion" pl-ulica.ogg ulica no (street) Pl-całkiem.ogg całkiem no (completely) Pl-biały.ogg biały no (white) pl-świnia.ogg świnia no (pig) j j Like y in yes. pl-jeden.ogg jeden no (one) Pl-jej.ogg jej no (her) Pl-Chojnice.ogg Chojnice no (name of a town) l l Must be a clear L sound. Avoid dark L. Pl-ból.ogg ból no (pain, ache) Pl-żal.ogg żal no (sorrow, pity) Pl-daleko.ogg daleko no (far) Pl-dlaczego.ogg dlaczego no (why) o ɔ author or cord, but shorter. pl-dobry.ogg dobry no (good) Pl-co to jest.ogg co to jest no (what is this?) Pl-Wołomin.ogg Wołomin no (name of a town) Pl-blisko.ogg blisko no (near) r r Rolled r. ɾ is also acceptable. Pl-krok.ogg krok no (step) Pl-gorąco.ogg gorąco no (hot) Pl-Wrocław.ogg Wrocław no (name of a city) Pl-srebro.ogg srebro no (silver) s s Always voiceless as in silk. It is never pronounced voiced as z. pl-syn.ogg syn no (son) Pl-pisać.ogg pisać no (to write) Pl-jasno.ogg jasno no (clear, bright) Pl-czasami.ogg czasami no (sometimes) u u moose or soup, but shorter. pl-usta.ogg usta no (lips) Pl-cudownie.ogg cudownie no (wonderfully) Pl-ani be, ani me, ani kukuryku.ogg ani be, ani me, ani kukuryku no (phrase) w v Pronounced like v. Before voiceless consonants, it may be pronounced devoiced, as f. pl-wyspa.ogg wyspa no (island) - pronounced like v pl-pierwszy.ogg pierwszy no (first) - pronounced like f y ɘ Somewhat similar to sit or myth. Compare the verbs Pl-być.ogg być no (to be) and Pl-bić.ogg bić no (to beat, hit). The first sounds somewhat like the English word bitch, while the second is closer to beach. Make the vowel in "it" but move your tongue slightly backwards and downwards, a bit above the schwa sound. pl-syn.ogg syn no (son) pl-ty.ogg ty no (you) Pl-święty.ogg święty no (holy, blessed) Pl-cytryna.ogg cytryna no (lemon) Pl-jedyny.ogg jedyny no (only) Special letters are: IPA Comments/Roughly... Example ą ɔn ɔm ɔw̃ "Nasal o" Pronounced like on or om (when followed by b or p) or [ɔw̃]. See ą for details. When ą is followed by ł, Poles pronounce it as o. Pl-dokąd.ogg dokąd no (To where?) Pl-dotąd.ogg dotąd no (up to now/here) Pl-ciągle.ogg ciągle no (still) pl-wąż.ogg wąż no (snake) Pl-Zagłębie Dąbrowskie.ogg Zagłębie Dąbrowskie no (name of a region) Pl-brązowawy.ogg brązowawy no (bronze-ish, brownish) ć ci tɕ Soft tch. Similar to but clearly softer than cz. c followed by i is pronounced just like ć. Before vowels: ciastko, pociąg, stulecie ("cookie", "train", "hundred years") are pronounced as "ćastko", "poćąg", "stuleće" (not "ćiastko", "poćiąg", "stulećie"). Before consonants: cisza, płacić ("silence", "to pay") are pronounced as "ćisza", "płaćić" (not "ćsza", "płaćć"). Pl-ćma-2.ogg ćma no (moth) Pl-podnieść.ogg podnieść no (to lift up) Pl-płacić.ogg płacić no (to pay) Pl-pociąg.ogg pociąg no (train) Pl-całkowicie.ogg całkowicie no (completely) ę ɛn ɛm ɛw̃ ɛ "Nasal e" Pronounced like en or em (when followed by b or p) or [ɛw̃]. See ę for details. When ę is the last letter of a word, or when followed by l or ł, most Poles pronounce it like a regular Polish e, slightly lengthened. Pl-chętnie.ogg chętnie no ("gladly") Pl-głęboki.ogg głęboki no ("deep") pl-węże.ogg węże no (snakes) Pl-błękitnawy.ogg błękitnawy no (sky blue-ish) Pl-Poręba.ogg poręba no (clearing in forest) pl-mogę.ogg mogę no (I can, am able to) Ł ł w Pronounced like an English w as in water. (L with stroke was originally a special type of l. This is still acceptable and understood by most Poles.) Pl-łosoś.ogg łosoś no (salmon) pl-mgła.ogg mgła no (fog, mist) Pl-bawełna.ogg bawełna no (cotton) Pl-pomyłka.ogg pomyłka no (mistake) ń ni ɲ Pronounced like soft n in onion. Equivalent to Spanish ñ, Portuguese nh, French/Italian gn, Latvian ņ, and Czech/Slovak ň. pl-kwiecień.ogg kwiecień no (April) Pl-gubiński.ogg gubiński no (from Gubin) Pl-południe.ogg południe no (south, noon) Pl-gnieźnianin.ogg gnieźnianin no (man from Gniezno) ó u Exactly the same as u (like tool or soup, but shorter). Comes from a redundant medieval vowel roughly inbetween O and U, only distinguished and pronounced in the mountains and some parts of the countryside. Pl-dopóki.ogg dopóki no (until) pl-móc.ogg móc no (to be able to) Pl-góra.ogg góra no (mountain, hill) ś si ɕ Soft sh. Similar to but clearly softer than sz. s followed by i is pronounced just like ś. siatka, Kasia, gęsi ("net", "Katie", "geese") are pronounced as "śatka", "Kaśa", "gęśi" (not "śiatka", "Kaśia"). Pl-coś.ogg coś no (something) Pl-śmiech.ogg śmiech no (laughter) Pl-iść.ogg iść no(to go) Pl-Siedlce.ogg Siedlce no (name of a town) Pl-sierpień.ogg sierpień no (August) Pl-siostra.ogg siostra no (sister) ź zi ʑ Soft zh. Similar to but clearly softer than ż and rz. z followed by i is pronounced just like ź. ziarno, ziemia, gałęzie ("grain", "earth", "branches") are pronounced as "źarno", "źemia", "gałęźe" (not "źiarno", "źiemia", "gałęźie"). pl-źle.ogg źle no (wrongly, badly) pl-zima.ogg zima no (winter) Pl-ziemia.ogg ziemia no (earth, ground) Pl-jezioro.ogg jezioro no (lake) Pl-październik.ogg październik no (October) ż ʐ Hard zh. Sounds exactly the same as rz. Fairly similar to Zhivago, vision, measure, treasure, leisure, and French je suis. Pl-żona-2.ogg żona no (wife) Pl-że.ogg że no (that {conjunction}) pl-żółty.ogg żółty no (yellow) Pl-dużo.ogg dużo no (a lot, many, much) Pl-narożny.ogg narożny no (angular) Special letter combos are: IPA Comments/Roughly... Example ch x Sounds like "ch" in German 'lachen', Spanish 'j' in 'Javier', or (Scottish) 'Loch Ness'. Most Poles pronounce ch and h identically. Pl-chomik.ogg chomik no (hamster)Pl-brzuch.ogg brzuch no (stomach) Pl-Wąchock.ogg Wąchock no (name of a town) Pl-Lech.ogg Lech no (personal name) cz tʂ Hard tch. Fairly similar to chip. Pl-czas-2.ogg czas no (time)Pl-początek.ogg początek no (beginning) pl-cześć.ogg cześć no (hi, hello!) dz dz cads Pl-jedzenie.ogg jedzenie no (food) Pl-dzwon-2.ogg dzwon no (bell, ringing) Pl-bardzo.ogg bardzo no (very) Pl-pomiędzy.ogg pomiędzy no (between) dź dzi dʑ Somewhat similar to gene. Similar to but softer than dż. dz followed by i is pronounced just like dź. dziadek, dzień, powodzie ("grandfather", "day", "floods") are pronounced as "dźadek", "dźeń", "powodźe" (not "dźiadek", "dźień", "powodźie"). Pl-dźwięk-2.ogg dźwięk no (sound) pl-źdźbło.ogg źdźbło no (blade of grass) pl-dzisiaj.ogg dzisiaj no (today) pl-dziewczyna.ogg dziewczyna no (girl, girlfriend) Pl-beznadziejny.ogg beznadziejny no (hopeless) dż dʐ John. This is an uncommon sound and usually appears in loanwords. Pl-dojeżdżać.ogg dojeżdżać no (to arrive {by vehicle, not on foot}) pl-dżem.ogg dżem no (jam) rz ʐ Hard zh. Sounds exactly the same as ż. Fairly similar to Zhivago, vision, measure, treasure, leisure, and French je suis. Pl-rzeka.ogg rzeka no (river) Pl-Rzym.ogg Rzym no (Rome) pl-marzec.ogg marzec no (March) Pl-narzeczona.ogg narzeczona no (fiancee) sz ʂ Hard sh. Fairly similar to ship. Pl-dusza.ogg dusza no (soul) Pl-nasz.ogg nasz no (our) pl-obszar.ogg obszar no (area, territory) Pl-płaszcz.ogg płaszcz no (coat, cloak) In most cases, vowels are pronounced separately, for example, stoi, moi, twoi, nauczyć, zaufać, Pl-doić.ogg doić no (to milk), Pl-Ukraina.ogg Ukraina no (Ukraine), Pl-Zaolzie.ogg Zaolzie no (name of a region), Pl-ateista.ogg ateista no (atheist) Vowel combos right at the beginning of a word are typically pronounced as a diphthong (these are generally loanwords). For example, Pl-Augustyn.ogg Augustyn no (personal name), Pl-autograf.ogg autograf no (autograph), pl-Europa.ogg Europa no (Europe). If you don't know how to pronounce hard/soft pairs ( Pl-ciecz.ogg ciecz no (liquid) ) you can use the same form and will usually be understood. Note: While the rule seems effective in most cases, the word ciecz might not be the best example for it. If you end up pronouncing it so that is sounds similar to cieć (pronounced "ćeć", colloq. janitor), you may get funny looks, especially from older speakers (due to the humorous context it had in the old comedy series Alternatywy 4). Doubled consonants are pronounced individually or lengthened, for example, Pl-codziennie.ogg codziennie no (daily), Pl-chłonny.ogg chłonny no (receptive), lekki (light), oddech (breath), dziennik (daily newspaper), zza (from beyond, behind), greccy ("Greek", masculine, plural, nominative adjective), or ssak (mammal). You may also notice something called final devoicing. Devoicing is not something you need to focus on at the beginning, but you should definitely be aware of it. For example: chodź (come!) sounds like choć (although) : Pl-bądź.ogg bądź no (be {imperative}) - pronounced as if spelled 'bąć' final ż sounds more like sz : Pl-gdyż.ogg gdyż no (because, since), Pl-chociaż.ogg chociaż no (although) - pronounced as if spelled 'gdysz', 'chociasz' final b → p : Pl-sposób.ogg sposób no (method) - pronounced as if spelled 'sposóp' final g → k : Pl-pociąg.ogg pociąg no (train) - pronounced as if spelled 'pociąk' final d → t : Pl-błąd.ogg błąd no (error), Pl-stamtąd.ogg stamtąd no (from over there) - pronounced as if spelled 'stamtąt' final w → f : Pl-powiew.ogg powiew no (puff), pl-pierwszy.ogg pierwszy no (first) - pronounced as if spelled 'pierwfszy' final z → s : Pl-rozsądnie.ogg rozsądnie no (sensibly) - pronounced as if spelled 'rossądnie' Notes Further reading Sadowska Iwona Polish: A Comprehensive Grammar 2012 Routledge Oxford; New York 978-0-415-47541-9 External links See also Wikipedia:Polish phonology Wikipedia:Help:IPA for Polish ^ Polish ^ < Some useful expressions > de:Polnisch/ Kurs/ Phonetik pt:Polonês/Índice/Pronúncia