GRAMATYKA

POLSKA
WYMOWA ~ PRONUNCIATION

Polish Alphabet
International American
Letter Phonetic English American English Example Polish Example
Alphabet Approximation

Aa a ah as in father fala (wave)

(nasal vowel) as in the French

Ąą  on
word bon
są (they are)

Bb b b as in boy banan (banana)

Cc ʦ ts as in bats or as in notes noc (night)

soft/palatalized (tongue
against roof of mouth), as in
Ćć ʨ ch
cheer (same pronunciation as
robić (to do)
"ci")

Dd d d as in dog dobry (good)

Ee  eh as in met tekst (text)

(nasal vowel) as in the French

word fin; when "ę" is the final
Ęę  en
letter of a word it tends to be
język (language)
pronounced like "e"

Ff f f as in fun fajka (pipe)

Gg g g as in good góra (mountain)

as in the Scottish word loch

Hh x kh
(same pronunciation as "ch")
handel (commerce)

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Ii i ee as in see lis (fox)

Jj j y as in yes jutro (tomorrow)

Kk k k as in kite królik (rabbit)

Ll l l as in last lampa (lamp)

pronounced approximately
Łł w w
like the English letter "w"
mały (small)

Mm m m as in may mapa (map)

Nn n n as in no noc (night)

as in onion (same
Ńń  ni
pronunciation as "ni")
koń (horse)

Oo  o as in no noga (leg)

as in cool (same
Óó u oo
pronunciation as "u")
ósmy (eighth)

Pp p p as in pan praca (work)

Quo vadis? (a novel

only in foreign words, as in
Qq k q
status quo
by Henryk
Sienkiewicz)

Rr r r as in room rano (morning)

Ss s s as in sit sobota (Saturday)

soft/palatalized (tongue
against roof of mouth), as in
Śś ɕ sh
sheet (same pronunciation as
środa (Wednesday)
"si")

Tt t t as in tap tam (there)

as in cool (same
Uu u oo
pronunciation as "ó")
ulica (street)

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 only in foreign words, as in
Vv v v
via
via, vice versa

Ww v v as in van wino (wine)

only in foreign words, as in

Xx ks x
Pax Romana
Pax Romana

Yy  ih as in whim syn (son)

Zz z z as in zoo zupa (soup)

soft/palatalized (tongue
against roof of mouth), as in
Źź ʑ zh
Indonesia (same
późno (late)
pronunciation as "zi")
hard/unpalatalized, as in
Żż  zh
measure
życie (life)

Other Letter Combinations

International American
Letters Phonetic English American English Example Polish Example
Alphabet Approximation
as in the Scottish word loch
ch x kh
(same pronunciation as "h")
chleb (bread)

soft/palatalized (tongue
against roof of mouth), as in
ci ʨ ch
cheer (same pronunciation as
ciało (body)
"ć")

cz t ch hard/unpalatalized, as in chair czas (time)

dz dz dz as in pads dzwon (bell)

soft/palatalized, as in jeans
dzi ʥ j
(same pronunciation as "dź")
dziecko (child)

soft/palatalized, as in jeans
dź ʥ j
(same pronunciation as "dzi")
dźwięk (sound)

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 hard/unpalatalized, as in jam
dż d j (mainly found in words of dżem (jam)
foreign origin)
as in onion (same
ni  ni
pronunciation as "ń")
niebo (sky)

hard/unpalatalized, as in
measure (same pronunciation
as "ż"); note: on rare occasion
rz  zh
the "r" and "z" are pronounced
morze (sea)
separately (marznąć - to
freeze)
soft/palatalized (tongue
against roof of mouth), as in
si ɕ sh
sheet (same pronunciation as
siedem (seven)
"ś")

sz  sh hard/unpalatalized, as in show szynka (ham)

soft/palatalized (tongue
against roof of mouth), as in
zi ʑ zh
Indonesia (same pronunciation
zielony (green)
as "ź")

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