A Simple Guide to Learning the Polish Alphabet

Wondering how the Polish alphabet differs from the English alphabet? Is the Polish alphabet Cyrillic? Find out the answers to these questions and more in this guide to the Polish alphabet.

If you’re new to learning Polish, you’re likely starting at the beginning - by getting familiar with the Polish alphabet and pronunciation. And if you aren’t really sure where to start, you might be feeling a bit confused. 

What are all those tails and accents and lines across the letters even doing there?

Learning a new alphabet can feel like navigating uncharted waters, especially with Polish’s unique twists. But fear not! I’m here to guide you through it all. 

In this article, I’ll walk you through the intricacies of the alphabet in Polish language with specific examples. 

The Introduction to the Alphabet in the Polish Language

While not as complicated for English speakers as the Cyrillic alphabet, the Polish alphabet can scare you with its weird letters like ę or ć and consonant clusters to look like your cat just on the keyboard. 

But as scary as it may seem at first glance, the good news is that the Polish alphabet is based on the Latin alphabet, so you don’t need to learn an entirely new script. 

In a nutshell, it’s almost the same as the Latin alphabet with a few exceptions and weird letters with a few diacritics (this is the name for whatever glyph is added to a letter), such as: 

• Akcent ostry (the acute accent) on 4 consonants (ć, ś, ń, ź) and 1 vowel (ó)

• Kropka (the overdot) on 1 consonant (ż)

• Ogonek (the tail thingy) on 2 vowels (ą, ę) 

• Kreska (the stroke) on 1 consontant (ł) 

Not that bad, right? Just 9 new letters. 

So, instead of 26 letters like in the English alphabet, the alphabet in the Polish language has 32. If you were just about to correct my math, hold on - here’s why the math is mathing: yes, 26 + 9 = 35, but we don’t use x, v, or q in Polish, so it’s 26 + 9 - 3 = 32. 

Polish Vowels

Polish vowels include: a, ą, e, ę, i, o, ó, u, y - so we’ve got 9 vowels in total. Yeah, I know - we’ve got more vowels than English does yet somehow we use 5 consonants in a row. 

Vowels ą and ę are nasalized, pronounced with a nasal sound. Vowel ó is pronounced like the English "oo" in "boot." The remaining vowels are similar in sound to their English counterparts, though i is pronounced like the "ee" in "see" and y as "i" in "pit."

Polish Palatalization

In Polish, palatalization means that certain consonants change slightly in sound when followed by the vowels i or y. This change happens because the tongue moves closer to the roof of the mouth (the hard palate). 

This modifies the consonant's sound slightly, giving it a softer or paler quality. For example, c remains c when not palatalized but becomes ć when palatalized, like in cena [tse-na] (price) vs. ciężki [chęʐ-ki] (heavy). 

And let’s leave it at that because you don’t really need to know the specifics of this to learn how to speak Polish well. 

Polish Digraphs & Trigraphs

In Polish, sometimes two or three letters come together to make one sound. We call these digraphs and trigraphs.

Put simply, digraphs are two letters representing one sound (like cz, sz, and dz), and trigraphs are three letters representing one sound (like trz or wsz). We use them in Polish to convey specific phonetic nuances. 

Polish Consonant Clusters

Ever tried tongue twisters on steroids? That's basically what Polish consonant clusters are like for many foreigners. Imagine squeezing a bunch of consonants together without any vowels to catch your breath.

It's as if whoever invented Polish decided to challenge your tongue to a game of "How many consonants can you say in one go?" I’m sure you’ve failed to pronounce words like “wszystko” and “chrząszcz” one too many times (don’t worry, you’ll get there!). 

Polish Homophones

Homophones are two different letters that sound identical in spoken language. In Polish, we have three pairs of these letters: 

• h = ch 

• ó = u 

• rz = ż 

They are spelled differently but sound exactly the same. For example, the h in “hotel” sounds exactly the same as “ch” in “chata,” and rz in “rzeka” sounds exactly the same as ż in “żaba.” 

How do you know which one to use when spelling a word? Well. There are orthographic rules that determine this, and you may want to learn at some point (if you’re serious about learning Polish perfectly). 

A Crash Course on the Polish Alphabet and Pronunciation  

So now that you know the ABCs of the alphabet in Polish (see what I did there?), you’re probably wondering how to pronounce all of these letters and consonant clusters. 

Here’s a crash course on the Polish alphabet and pronunciation. At the end of this section, you’ll find an audio file of me pronouncing all these letters. 

Those weird letters with the tail 

1. ą - Example: mąż [mɔ̃̈ʃ] (husband). Pronounced like "on" in English

2. ę - Example: ręka [rɛŋka] (hand). Pronounced like "en" in English

Those weird letters with the accent 

1. ó - Example: kółko [ˈkuwko] (circle). Pronounced like "oo" in "boot"

2. ć - Example: ćwierć [ɕfʲɛrt͡ɕ] (quarter). Pronounced like "ch" in "chat" but with a more emphasized "sh" sound

3. ś - Example: świeca [ɕˈfʲɛt͡sa] (candle). Pronounced like "sh" in "she"

4. ń - Example: koń [kɔɲ] (hand). Pronounced like "ni" in "onion"

5. ź - Example: źrebak [ʑrɛbak] (foal). Pronounced like "zh" in "measure"

6. ł - Example: łóżko [ˈwuʂkɔ] (bed). Pronounced like a mix between "w" and "l" in English

Those weird consonant clusters 

1. sz - Example: szkoła [ʂkɔwa] (school). Pronounced like "sh" in "shoe"

2. cz - Example: czekolada [t͡ʂɛkɔˈlada] (chocolate). Pronounced like "ch" in "check"

3. dz - Example: dzban [dzban] (jug). Pronounced like "ds" in "pods"

4. dż - Example: dżem [dʐɛm] (jam). Pronounced like "j" in "jam" but with a more pronounced "zh" sound

5. dź - Example: dźwig [dʑvʲik] (crane). Pronounced like "j" in "jam" but with a slightly softer "d" sound

6. rz - Example: rzeźba [ˈʐɛʑba] (sculpture). Pronounced like a soft "zh" sound, similar to the "s" in "measure"

7. brz - Example: brzoza [ˈbʐɔza] (birch tree). Pronounced like "b" followed by "zh"

8. trz - Example: trzy [tʂɨ] (three). Pronounced like "t" followed by "zh"

9. wsz - Example: wszystko [vʂɨʂtkɔ] (everything). Pronounced like "vsh"

10. szcz - Example: szczęście [ʂt͡ʂɛɲt͡ɕɛ] (happiness). Pronounced like "shch"

Polish letters that are pronounced differently from English 

1. a - Example: auto [ˈawtɔ] (car). Pronounced like "ow" in "how"

2. c - Example: ciasto [ˈt͡ɕastɔ] (cake). Pronounced like "ts" in "cats"

3. g - Example: głowa [ˈɡwɔva] (head). Pronounced like "gw" in "gwen"

4. i - Example: igła [ˈiɡwa] (needle). Pronounced like "ee" in "see"

5. j - Example: jabłko [ˈjabw̃kɔ] (apple). Pronounced like "y" in "yes"

6. u - Example: ucho [ˈuxɔ] (ear). Pronounced like "oo" in "moon"

7. w - Example: woda [ˈvɔda] (water). Pronounced like "v" in "vine"

8. y - Example: myśl [mɨɕl] (thought). Pronounced like "i" in "pit"

9. z - Example: zamek [ˈzamɛk] (castle). Pronounced like "z" in "zoo"

Can You Say Your ABCs in Polish? 

Yes, the Polish alphabet may seem as scary as the first time you rode a bike without training wheels. But as you continue to practice those tricky diagraphs and consonant clusters, it’ll become second nature to you. After all, it’s still a Latin alphabet with just a few added modifications that make the Polish language unique. And isn’t that what makes it fun?

If you'd like to learn more about the Polish language and culture, be sure to check out the other article on this blog and follow me on Instagram, where I create (almost) daily videos with quick Polish tips. 

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