Learn Polish Language Easily! [Pocket Guide]

Polish Grammar: Adjectives & Opposites

Hello everyone, and welcome to this chapter on types of Polish adjectives with their opposites and how to change their endings.

In Polish, adjectives are used to describe nouns and come in three genders: masculine, feminine, and neuter.
Today, we'll cover some common types of adjectives and their opposite forms, as well as how to change their endings to fit different nouns.

Tani / Drogi
Let's start with "tani," which means "cheap," and its opposite, "drogi," which means "expensive."
For example, "Ten sklep ma tanie buty" (This shop has cheap shoes) and "Te buty są drogie" (These shoes are expensive).

Duży / Mały
Next up, we have "duży," meaning "big," and "mały," meaning "small."
An example sentence could be "To jest duży samochód" (This is a big car) and "To jest mały pies" (This is a small dog).

Mocne / Słabe
Moving on to "mocne," which means "strong," and "słabe," which means "weak."
You might use these to describe coffee, for instance: "Lubię mocną kawę" (I like strong coffee) and "Ta kawa jest słaba" (This coffee is weak).

??? Długi / Krótki (Long, Short)
"Długi" is an adjective that means "long," while "krótki" means "short."

Głośny / Cichy (Loud, Quiet)
When something makes a lot of noise, you can describe it as "głośny." On the other hand, if something is quiet, you can use the word "cichy."
For example: "To jest głośny koncert" (This is a loud concert) and ????

Nowoczesne / Staromodne
Another pair of opposites you might come across are "nowoczesne," meaning "modern," and "staromodne," meaning "old-fashioned."
You could use these to talk about technology, for example: "Ten smartfon jest bardzo nowoczesny" (This smartphone is very modern) and "Ten komputer jest już trochę staromodny" (This computer is a bit old-fashioned).

Jasne / Ciemne
"Jasne" means "light," while "ciemne" means "dark."
You could use these to describe hair color, for instance: "Mam jasne włosy" (I have light hair) and "On ma ciemne włosy" (He has dark hair).

Wolno / Szybko
"Wolno" means "slow," while "szybko" means "fast."
For example, "Ten autobus jedzie bardzo wolno" (This bus is driving very slowly) and "Ten samochód jedzie bardzo szybko" (This car is driving very fast).
However, please note that "wolny" has many meanings, including "free," "available," "unoccupied," and "slow."

Wysoki / Niski
Moving on to "wysoki," meaning "tall," and "niski," meaning "short." You could use these to describe people: "Ona jest bardzo wysoka" (She is very tall) and "On jest dość niski" (He is quite short).

Pusty / Pełny
Finally, we have "pusty," meaning "empty," and "pełny," meaning "full." An example sentence could be "Ten kubek jest pusty" (This cup is empty) and "Ta szklanka jest pełna" (This glass is full).

Now that we have covered the adjectives let's try changing their endings to the words we learned in the previous video.

For example, "duży sklep" means "big shop." But if you want to say "small shop," you would say "mały sklep." Here, "duży" is the masculine adjective, and "mały" is its opposite, which also happens to be masculine. Similarly, for feminine and neuter nouns, you would use the corresponding adjective forms.

So, there you have it, a quick guide to adjectives and their opposites in Polish. Remember that gender plays an important role in Polish, so make sure to use the correct form of the adjective with the right gender.