Polish 101: The Polish Alphabet

Front 1

Do you know when and how the Polish alphabet came to exist?

Back 1

When the first writings in Polish appeared in a Gniezno papal bull in 1136, the 26 letters of the Latin alphabet were not enough-- they couldn't accommodate the 45 sounds that somehow needed to be represented. So, the Polish alphabet was invented.

Front 2

How many letters does the Polish alphabet have?

Back 2

32 letters

Front 3

Which letters in the Latin (or English) alphabet are not Polish?

Back 3

Q V & X are not Polish letters.

They appear in foreign words only.

Front 4

1) Can you give its Polish name and pronounce it?

2) Give a Polish word using this letter as an example.

Back 4

Polish name = a
Pronounced like= (a) [like'a' in apple]
Examples= A jak Anna, alphabet, alternatywa

Front 5

1) Can you give its Polish name and pronounce it?

2) Give a Polish word using this letter as an example.

Back 5

Polish name= ą
Sounds like= (ohN/om/on) [ like 'om' in tomato]
Examples= ą like in kąt, kąpać, ząb, mądry, wziąć

*note: a nasal sound. When you pronounce ą, imagine you have a cold and your nose is a bit blocked.

Front 6

1) Can you give its Polish name and pronounce it?

2) Give a Polish word using this letter as an example.

Back 6

Polish name= be
Pronunciation= (beh) [like 'b' in bed]
Examples: B jak Barbara, budyń, badać

Front 7

1) Can you give its Polish name and pronounce it?

2) Give a Polish word using this letter as an example.

Back 7

Polish name= ce
Pronunciation= (ts) [like 'ts' in pits]
Examples: C jak Celina, cebula, cecha, celny

Front 8

1) Can you give its Polish name and pronounce it?

2) Give a Polish word using this letter as an example.

Back 8

Polish name= ci
Pronunciation= (ch'ye) [like a softer 'chee' in cheese]
Examples: Ć like in mowić, pić, ćma, ćwierkać, ćwiczenie

*note: it has the same sound as 'ci' as in 'ciepło'
*note: ć appears at the end of words like ' mowić' or before another consonant as in 'ćma'

Front 9

1) Can you give its Polish name and pronounce it?

2) Give a Polish word using this letter as an example.

Back 9

Polish name= de
Pronunciation= (d) [like 'd' in dog]
Examples: D jak Daniel, dama, danie, darmowy

Front 10

1) Can you give its Polish name and pronounce it?

2) Give a Polish word using this letter as an example.

Back 10

Polish name= e
Pronunciation= (e) [like 'e' in bed]
Examples: E jak Elzbieta, edukacja, efektywny, egzamin

Front 11

1) Can you give its Polish name and pronounce it?

2) Give a Polish word using this letter as an example.

Back 11

Polish name= ę
Pronunciation= (ehN/em/en)
Examples: ę like in tę, zęby, tępy, ręce, dziesięć

*note: a nasal sound. When you pronounce ę, imagine you have a cold and your nose is a bit blocked.

Front 12

When does ę make a sound like 'e' in 'yes'?

Back 12

It makes the sound 'e' as in 'yes' when it is at the end of the word. Examples include:

imię
idę

Front 13

1) Can you give its Polish name and pronounce it?

2) Give a Polish word using this letter as an example.

Back 13

Polish name= ef
Pronunciation= (ef) [like the 'ph' in elephant]
Examples: F jak Franek, facet, fachowiec, fanatyczny, fanfara

Front 14

1) Can you give its Polish name and pronounce it?

2) Give a Polish word using this letter as an example.

Back 14

Polish name= gie
Pronunciation= (ge) [like the 'g' in gate]
Examples: G like in gdzie, gabinet, gadatliwy, gafa

Front 15

1) Can you give its Polish name and pronounce it?

2) Give a Polish word using this letter as an example.

Back 15

Polish name= ha
Pronunciation= (h) [like the 'h' in hat]
Examples: H jak Halina, halucynacja, hamburger, handlarz

*note: it has the same sound as 'ch' as in 'chleb'

Front 16

1) Can you give its Polish name and pronounce it?

2) Give a Polish word using this letter as an example.

Back 16

Polish name= i
Pronunciation= (ee) [like the 'ee' in meet]
Examples: I jak Ilona, idol, ich, idealny, iluzja

Front 17

1) Can you give its Polish name and pronounce it?

2) Give a Polish word using this letter as an example.

Back 17

Polish name= jot
Pronunciation= (y) [like the 'y' in yes]
Examples: J jak Jolka, jogurt, jacht, jadalny, jakikolwiek

Front 18

1) Can you give its Polish name and pronounce it?

2) Give a Polish word using this letter as an example.

Back 18

Polish name= ka
Pronunciation= (k) [like the 'c' in cat]
Examples: K jak Katarzyna, kafejka, kot, kakaowy, kac

Front 19

1) Can you give its Polish name and pronounce it?

2) Give a Polish word using this letter as an example.

Back 19

Polish name= el
Pronunciation= (l) [like the 'l' in lemon]
Examples: L jak Lolita, lakier, laboratorium, lamentować, lanie

Front 20

1) Can you give its Polish name and pronounce it?

2) Give a Polish word using this letter as an example.

Back 20

Polish name= eł
Pronunciation= (ł) [like the 'w' in what]
Examples: ł jak łódź, łóżko,łudzić, łupież, łysy

Front 21

1) Can you give its Polish name and pronounce it?

2) Give a Polish word using this letter as an example.

Back 21

Polish name= em
Pronunciation= (m) [like the 'm' in men]
Examples: M jak Marek, magia,magnesować, maczuga, macierzyński

Front 22

1) Can you give its Polish name and pronounce it?

2) Give a Polish word using this letter as an example.

Back 22

Polish name= en
Pronunciation= (n) [like the 'n' in not]
Examples: N jak Natalia, nabazgrać,naciągacz, nacjonalista, nachalny

Front 23

1) Can you give its Polish name and pronounce it?

2) Give a Polish word using this letter as an example.

Back 23

Polish name= eń
Pronunciation= (eny) [like the 'ny' in canyon]
Examples: Ń like in Poznań, spotkań, tańczyć

*Note: Sounds like 'ni' for example in 'nie'

Front 24

1) Can you give its Polish name and pronounce it?

2) Give a Polish word using this letter as an example.

Back 24

Polish name= o
Pronunciation= (o) [like the 'o' in long]
Examples: O jak Oliver, obcas,obawa, obecnie, obciazony

Front 25

1) Can you give its Polish name and pronounce it?

2) Give a Polish word using this letter as an example.

Back 25

Polish name= o/u z kreską
Pronunciation= (u) [like the 'oo' in boot]
Examples: Ó like in pół, współczesny, cecha szczególna

Front 26

1) Can you give its Polish name and pronounce it?

2) Give a Polish word using this letter as an example.

Back 26

Polish name= pe
Pronunciation= (p) [like the 'p' in spot]
Examples:P jak Patrycja, pacjent, pacifikować, pacyfista

Front 27

1) Can you give its Polish name and pronounce it?

2) Give a Polish word using this letter as an example.

Back 27

Polish name= er
Pronunciation= (r) (trilled r, rolled r, no English equivalent
Examples: R jak rudy, rantka, rwetes, rycerski, ryba

Front 28

1) Can you give its Polish name and pronounce it?

2) Give a Polish word using this letter as an example.

Back 28

Polish name= es
Pronunciation= (s) (like the 's' in sea)
Examples: S jak Sylwester, sabotaż, sad, sadystycznie, samolot

Front 29

1) Can you give its Polish name and pronounce it?

2) Give a Polish word using this letter as an example.

Back 29

Polish name= eś
Pronunciation= (sh) (like the 'sh' in sheep)
Examples: Ś jak środa, śmialy, śmiało, ślimak, ślina

Front 30

1) Can you give its Polish name and pronounce it?

2) Give a Polish word using this letter as an example.

Back 30

Polish name= te
Pronunciation= (t) (like the 't' in start)
Examples: T jak Tomek, tabu, tajać, tak zwany, taktowny, talizman

Front 31

1) Can you give its Polish name and pronounce it?

2) Give a Polish word using this letter as an example.

Back 31

Polish name= u
Pronunciation= (oo) (like the 'oo' in boot)
Examples: U jak Urszula, ubogi, ubóstwiać, uciekinier, uczciwie

Front 32

1) Can you give its Polish name and pronounce it?

2) Give a Polish word using this letter as an example.

Back 32

Polish name= wu
Pronunciation= (v) (like the 'v' in vow)
Examples: W jak Waldek, wada, wabić, wahanie, walc

Front 33

1) Can you give its Polish name and pronounce it?

2) Give a Polish word using this letter as an example.

Back 33

Polish name= igrek
Pronunciation= (eh) (between the ì and u in `fit`and `put`)
Examples: Y like in yeti, wzruszony, triumfalny, imbryk

Front 34

1) Can you give its Polish name and pronounce it?

2) Give a Polish word using this letter as an example.

Back 34

Polish name= zet
Pronunciation= (z) (like the `z`in zoo)
Examples: Z jak Zbyszek, zabawny, zabłocony, zabarwic, zacisze

Front 35

1) Can you give its Polish name and pronounce it?

2) Give a Polish word using this letter as an example.

Back 35

Polish name= ziet
Pronounciation: like the `si`in vision
Examples: Ź jak źle wychowany, poźno, źrodło, źołko

Front 36

1) Can you give its Polish name and pronounce it?

2) Give a Polish word using this letter as an example.

Back 36

Polish name= żet
Pronounciation: like the Ź pronounciation
Examples: Ż jak żal, żakiet, żaden z dwóch, żarliwy, żarłowczny, żart