otwierać
“otwierać” — to open in Polish. Verb, level A1, topic — home and things. The present is otwieram. The perfective otworzyć — the same pairing as "opening" and "open". In a live sentence: “Otwieram okno, jest gorąco” — I am opening the window, it is hot. One of 197 words in the set “home and things” in the Polish course.
In short
| Written in Polish | otwierać |
| Translation | to open |
| Part of speech | verb |
| Level | A1 |
Why it looks that way
The present is otwieram. The perfective otworzyć — the same pairing as "opening" and "open".
A word with a story stays in memory longer than one learned as a “spelling — translation” pair: memory holds on to meaning, not to a string.
In a live sentence
A single word almost never appears alone in conversation. A sentence shows where it fits and what stands next to it.
- Otwieram okno, jest gorącoI am opening the window, it is hot
Nearby words: home and things
Room, key, water, electricity. You will need them on your first day in a rented flat.
- domhouse, homeMatches sound and meaning at once. Both the building and the hearth: w domu — at home, do domu — home.
- mieszkanieflat, apartmentFrom mieszkać, "to live". In rental ads it meets you in the first line, usually with do wynajęcia — "for rent".
- miejsce zamieszkaniaplace of residenceLiterally "the place of residing" — this is how forms and questionnaires name your dwelling. You know mieszkanie, the flat; here the same root, only in official clothes.
- pokójroomA double word: pokój is both "room" and "peace", one shape for two senses. A two-room flat is mieszkanie dwupokojowe — counted by the rooms, not the bedrooms.
- kuchniakitchenFrom the Latin coquina, the same road the word took into several languages. The cook is kucharz — the same nest.
- łazienkabathroomA diminutive of the old word for a bathhouse. The toilet lives separately: toaleta, or short WC — that is what the door will say.
- balkonbalconyStress on the second syllable, same as the English word — an Italian arrival by way of German. Rental ads say mieszkanie z balkonem — "with a balcony".
- piętrofloor, storeyThe count runs differently from what the ground floor suggests: the level at street level is parter, and pierwsze piętro is already one flight up. Inside the root sits pięć, "five" — five storeys was once the limit.
- windalift, elevatorFrom the word for a hoist — the lift really was a winch with a drum first. The English word will be understood, but the button says winda. No kinship with "will" or with anything it resembles.
- schodystairsPlural only — there are many steps: po schodach — "up/down the stairs". The exit in a building is wyjście; the staircase between floors is schody.
Test yourself
Five questions from the same set — “home and things”. Recalling a spelling from meaning is harder than knowing a familiar word on sight, and therefore more useful.
- How do you say “to open” in Polish?
The present is otwieram. The perfective otworzyć — the same pairing as "opening" and "open".
- How do you say “balcony” in Polish?
Stress on the second syllable, same as the English word — an Italian arrival by way of German. Rental ads say mieszkanie z balkonem — "with a balcony".
- How do you say “place of residence” in Polish?
Literally "the place of residing" — this is how forms and questionnaires name your dwelling. You know mieszkanie, the flat; here the same root, only in official clothes.
- How do you say “stairs” in Polish?
Plural only — there are many steps: po schodach — "up/down the stairs". The exit in a building is wyjście; the staircase between floors is schody.
- How do you say “bathroom” in Polish?
A diminutive of the old word for a bathhouse. The toilet lives separately: toaleta, or short WC — that is what the door will say.
How not to forget this word
Reading a word and remembering it are different jobs. A day later, little survives of a single reading — and that is not bad memory, that is how memory works.
- This has been tested on foreign words too. The difference shows up most when you test yourself a few days later rather than straight away.checked many timesKim & Webb, 2022, Language Learning 72(2) · 48 experiments, 3,411 participants, 98 comparisons.
- Recalling beats re-reading. Covering the translation and trying to remember it does more than reading it ten more times.checked many timesAdesope, Trevisan & Sundararajan, 2017, Review of Educational Research 87(3) · 188 experiments, 272 comparisons. g = 0.61; against plain re-reading 0.51, against passive review 0.93.
- An answer you worked out yourself sticks better than one handed to you.checked many timesBertsch et al., 2007, Memory & Cognition 35(2) · 86 studies, 445 comparisons, d = 0.40.
Frequently asked
How do you say “to open” in Polish?
«otwierać». In a live sentence: “Otwieram okno, jest gorąco” — I am opening the window, it is hot. Verb, level A1, from the set “home and things”.
Why does this word look the way it does?
The present is otwieram. The perfective otworzyć — the same pairing as "opening" and "open". A word with a story stays in memory longer than a “spelling — translation” pair: memory holds on to meaning, not to a string.