Za drogi, tak samo miękki, dwa razy większy: words around the adjective
Too here is za right before the adjective: za drogi, za mały, za zimno. It is not the same as bardzo: bardzo drogi is simply very expensive; za drogi is more than you are ready to pay. Praise and refusal differ by one letter. For example: “Mieszkanie jest za duże dla nas” — The flat is too big for us. A rule from the Polish course: worked out on examples, not memorized as a wording.
How it works
Too here is za right before the adjective: za drogi, za mały, za zimno. It is not the same as bardzo: bardzo drogi is simply very expensive; za drogi is more than you are ready to pay. Praise and refusal differ by one letter.
Equality is built with tak samo ... jak or taki sam jak: ta kanapa jest tak samo miękka jak stara — this sofa is as soft as the old one. English as...as splits into two parts here, and both are obligatory.
A difference is counted with o plus a number: o sto euro tańszy — a hundred euros cheaper; o dziesięć procent wyższy — ten per cent higher. English by lies here: the word is literally o, about.
Multiples go through dwa razy or the bookish dwukrotnie: dwa razy większy — twice as big; dwa razy tańszy — half the price. Both are alive; the second is commoner in the news.
Table
| What we express | How | Example |
|---|---|---|
| very | bardzo + adjective | bardzo drogi |
| too | za + adjective | za mały |
| equally | tak samo ... jak | tak samo miękki jak |
| the same as | taki sam jak | taki sam jak mój |
| more than | comparative + niż | lepszy niż stary |
| by how much | o + number + comparative | o sto euro tańszy |
| how many times | dwa razy / dwukrotnie | dwa razy większy |
| too much | za dużo | za dużo pracy |
By example
- Mieszkanie jest za duże dla nasThe flat is too big for us
- Ta kanapa jest tak samo miękka jak staraThis sofa is as soft as the old one
- Ten telefon jest o sto euro tańszyThis phone is a hundred euros cheaper
How the rule settles in your head
A rule is not memorized from an explanation. It is memorized from an attempt to use it and a mistake — that is why the app delivers it mixed in with words, not as a separate lesson: it resurfaces exactly where you forgot it.
Frequently asked
Za drogi, tak samo miękki, dwa razy większy: how does it work in Polish?
Too here is za right before the adjective: za drogi, za mały, za zimno. It is not the same as bardzo: bardzo drogi is simply very expensive; za drogi is more than you are ready to pay. Praise and refusal differ by one letter.
What does it look like in a Polish example sentence?
“Mieszkanie jest za duże dla nas” — The flat is too big for us. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.