There are multiple ways to classify nouns in the Polish language. In this article, I'll present to you the most useful one, which will help you with nouns declension and verbs conjugation.
The chart below presents all the genders we will talk about.
Singular Nouns
Singular nouns are divided into three genders:
męski - nouns that end with a consonant
żeński - nouns that end with an -a
nijaki - nouns that end with an -o or -e
As you can see you can deduce the gender of the noun based on its ending. Remember that when you want to deduce the gender the noun has to be in Nominative Case form.
Some nouns don't follow the above's rule and have a different gender. You must learn the by heart You can find some of them at the end of this article.
masculine gender - rodzaj męski
Masculine nouns may be further divided into three subgroups:
personal - nouns describing a masculine representant of a group
The division will be also helpful for the declension of adjectives in Accusative Case. The form of the adjective is different if the adjective is inanimate.
Example
Widzę starego człowieka. - I see an old man.
Widzę stary dom. - I see an old house.
starego - personal masculine gender, Accusative Case
stary - inanimate masculine gender, Accusative Case
Plural Nouns
When it comes to plural nouns you can either stay with the three genders - it will help you with the declension, because in plural number each of these genders have its own endings .
When conjugating the verbs it is easier to look on plural nouns from the perspective of these two groups:
not masculine personal - nouns describing feminine, neuter and masculine not personal nouns
masculine personal - nouns describing masculine representants
The forms of the verb in past and future tense depend on these two groups.
Example
masculine personal
masculine not personal
Nauczyciele pilnowali dzieci. - The teachers looked after the children.
Nauczycielki pilnowały dzieci. - The teachersf looked after the children.
Nouns with irregular gender
Masculine Nouns
Below are nouns that have masculine gender, although they don't end with a consonant.
Examples
tata
dad
mężczyzna
man
pianista
a pianist
gitarzysta
a guitarist
kierowca
a driver
morderca
a murderer
łowca
hunter
pracodawca
an employer
krwiodawca
a blood donor
sprzedawca
a seller
doradca
an adviser
kolega
a colleague
Feminine Nouns
Below are nouns that have feminine gender, although they don't end with an -a
Examples
kość
a bone
myśl
a thought
jesień
autumn
noc
a night
pościel
a bedding
Help me improve this website
I'm working on this website and I would love your help. If you see any mistakes or have any suggestions, please drop me a message .
If you would like to support my website and my Youtube Channel , you can buy my grammar book on Amazon. In that book I have clearly explained, how to create different forms of noun depending on the case, number, and gender.
After reading this book you will be able to decline any noun in the Polish language. This book also contains exercises with answers, which will help you practice what you learn.
