Time, days and hours in Polish

136 words on the topic

• godzina

  hour

  Both the unit of time and the time of day: Która godzina? — "what time is it?". The watch on your wrist is zegarek, never godzina.
• dzień

  day

  Said with a soft "djen". Partings wish you Dobrego dnia! — "of a good day".
• dzisiaj

  today

  Both dzisiaj and the shorter dziś — the same thing, both built from dzień: literally "of this day".
• jutro

  tomorrow

  The famous impostor of the language family: in more than one neighbor language jutro means "morning", here it means "tomorrow". The Polish morning is rano.
• wczoraj

  yesterday

  w is "v", cz is "ch": "fchorai"
• rano

  morning

  The trap-pair of jutro: the morning is rano, and jutro is tomorrow. Everyone who came from a neighboring course stumbles here first.
• wieczór

  evening

  ó is oo: "VEH-choor"
• noc

  night

  Matches sound and spelling letter for letter; feminine: długa noc. At night is w nocy.
• śniadanie

  breakfast

  The word the day starts with: jeść śniadanie — "to have breakfast", literally "to eat breakfast". In a hotel śniadanie w cenie — "breakfast included" — is the first line of any booking.
• obiad

  dinner, main meal

  The main meal of the day — and not in the evening, but at midday, about one o'clock. The word is the same as in several neighbors, but the hour it sits at is not.
• kolacja

  supper

  Supper, and a late one: Poles sit down at eight or nine in the evening. The old ceremonial word survives in the Bible; at the table it is kolacja.
• dwa razy dziennie

  twice a day

  The word raz is itself "a time": jeden raz, dwa razy, trzy razy. Dziennie is "per day" in one adverb, and the package will carry exactly this formula.
• o której?

  at what time?

  Literally "at which [hour]?": Która godzina? you know, and the answer takes the same o: o piątej — at five. Hours are counted in the feminine: piąta, szósta, siódma.
• już jest późno

  it is already late

  Już is "already", and the copula jest stands right behind it. Późno is "late", the same root as spóźniam się: to be late is to become late.
• najpierw

  first, at first

  The superlative prefix sits inside: at first is literally "before-most". The pair is fixed: first wash your hands, then eat — the grammar of every recipe.
• potem

  then, later

  Short and ubiquitous: "after that" compressed into one word. Paired with "first", it organizes any recipe, plan and packing.
• po tym

  after that

  The after-preposition with the at-form: after that. The full phrase is needed when the event is named by a noun, not a verb — and it opens half of all stories.
• wreszcie

  finally (at last)

  Impatience inside: finally! said with an exclamation. The calmer word is the in-the-end one from the top of this unit: one is about waiting, the other about the outcome.
• podczas gdy

  while, whereas

  On its own the during-word wants the of-form: during the rain. Add the when-word and it links two actions: while I wash up, he cooks.
• jednocześnie

  at the same time, simultaneously

  A transparent word: "one time" — and the familiar time-word sits inside. "Do not speak at the same time!" — a phrase from every classroom.
• zanim

  before (doing something)

  After it the future is not used — one present serves both events: before you go out, close the window. The same economy as in several neighboring languages.
• po tym jak

  after (something happened)

  The expanded form of the after-that phrase plus the how-word: a conjunction of three words, and the comma before it is obligatory. After it the perfective: after I returned, I called.
• gdy tylko

  as soon as

  Literally "when only" — instant succession: as soon as I return, I will call. Its twin, the how-only version, sounds just as natural.
• od tamtej pory

  since then

  Literally "from that season": the season-word is old but alive. After the from-preposition comes the of-form, and the count starts at that point and runs up to now.
• zawsze

  always

  It stands before the verb. The negation is honest: "not always". A short word — and in promises the most important one in the phrase.
• często

  often

  A nasal at the end — a light extra sound after the vowel. The pair with "rarely" is learned faster than it is read.
• rzadko

  rarely, seldom

  Written with the zh-pair, heard as a zh at the front — do not be alarmed. Its opposite you already have. "I rarely eat meat" — the first-line vegetarian phrase.
• czasem

  sometimes

  The instrumental of the time-word: sometimes is said "by time". The pair "sometimes yes, sometimes no" keeps the same word inside — and that is the mnemonic.
• nigdy

  never

  Memorize: with this word another negation is needed at the verb — the double negation is obligatory, unlike English. It is the norm, not a mistake.
• zwykle

  usually

  From the ordinary-adjective. Beside it stands the customs-book of the holidays — one family of words, and this is the commonest adverbial of habit.
• długo

  for a long time

  From the long-adjective: a long time is "long in time" — the same image as elsewhere. The question "how long?" waits for its answer in every queue.
• za każdym razem

  every time, each time

  Literally "after each time": the time-word in the instrumental after za. The phrase complains more often than it praises: every time the same thing!
• od czasu do czasu

  from time to time

  Literally "from time to time", word for word — and both prepositions put the time-word into the of-form. On the frequency scale it sits between "sometimes" and "rarely".
• dotąd

  until now, so far

  Literally "until here": the here-word is old but the phrase is alive. Often with a negation: "so far he has not replied". The long variant does the same job.
• nagle

  suddenly

  It stands anywhere in the phrase and always dramatizes: suddenly the light went out. The sudden-adjective from the feelings unit stands beside it.
• z wyprzedzeniem

  in advance, ahead of time

  The same overtaking verb that passed you on the road: in advance is "with an overtake", literally. Thanking in advance is the polite formula of every email.
• na czas

  on time

  A one-preposition trap: "on time" versus "during" — during lunch. Being late is the running-late verb, and it has been haunting learners since the calendar.
• pilnie

  urgently

  From the urgent-adjective: "urgently wanted" — the line from every notice. At the hospital an urgent case is triaged first — and the waiting room knows it.
• od razu

  right away, at once

  Literally "from once": the once-word inside. It is written as two words — and that is the commonest spelling mistake. "Not everything at once" — the phrase of every teacher.
• stopniowo

  gradually

  From the step-word: gradually is "step by step" — the staircase image, as elsewhere. The teacher says "we will learn gradually" — and that is a promise, not a threat.
• w ostatniej chwili

  at the last moment

  The moment-word is a "little while"; its small form gives the interrupting "just a moment!". Literally "in the last while" — w with the at-form — and the whole phrase is Polish procrastination in three words.
• prędzej czy później

  sooner or later

  Literally "sooner or later" — and here the question-particle works as "or": the same interrogative joins the options. A verdict-phrase: it will happen either way.
• kiedyś

  once, someday

  It looks both ways: "I once lived there" and "someday I will go". The verb and the context show which time is meant.
• w dzieciństwie

  in childhood

  A place-form of the childhood-word. Built the same way are "in youth" and "in old age" — and there is also "as a child".
• w tamtych czasach

  in those times

  The far pronoun points into the distance, the near one up close: in THOSE times. They also say it shorter — back then.
• to było dawno

  it was long ago

  The long-ago word is about the distant past, the for-a-long-time word about duration: "it lasted a long time". Both speak of time, but measure it differently.
• pierwszy raz

  the first time

  One sense serves both turns: "for the first time" and plainly "the first time". The second time and the last time follow the pattern.
• przyszłość

  future

  From the coming verb: the future is what will come. The future tense of a verb is named with it — and the future-past pair is built symmetrically.
• przeszłość

  past

  From the passing verb: the past is what has passed. About a person they say "he has a past" — and it sounds with a hint.
• plany na najbliższą przyszłość

  plans for the near future

  The nearest plans Polish unfolds into "plans for the nearest future". The plan-word means both a plan and a blueprint — it is already familiar.
• za rok

  in a year (from now)

  The preposition za is about future time: in a year, in an hour. A year ago goes differently — with the ago-adverb, and no preposition.
• ciągle

  constantly, all the time

  From the pulling verb: constantly is "pulling on without end". Its neighbors are the steadily and the always — but this one leans to what mildly irritates.
• tymczasowo

  temporarily

  From the time-word: temporarily is "for a time". A temporary address is an official term in Polish documents.
• dogodny termin

  a convenient time

  The comfortable-adjective does not work about time: it is about armchairs and shoes. They ask "when suits you?" — and the convenient time is named with this word.
• wyznaczyć termin

  to set a date, to appoint a time

  A Pole appoints not the time but the term or the hour. The same verb in the rules: to set boundaries.
• po południu

  in the afternoon

  Literally "after midday": one expression where English spends several words. In the morning and in the evening are their own adverbs — indeclinable.
• pod wieczór

  towards evening

  The under-preposition here means "towards the end": towards evening. Built the same way: towards the end of the week.
• o każdej porze

  at any time

  The season-word here means a time of day. Polish places a moment in time with o plus the at-form — "at any time", just like "at five".
• nie wcześniej niż o piątej

  not earlier than five

  The hour is o plus the ordinal in the at-form: at five, literally "at the fifth". The hour-word itself is usually dropped — it is obvious anyway.
• będę na czas

  I will be on time

  A Pole promises to be "on the time", not the adverb: on time. Being late is the running-late verb — and the apology for it you have already said.
• dopóki nie

  until (something happens)

  The negation is obligatory, as in English: Wait until I come back. And the bare until-word means "while" — while it lasts.
• stulecie

  century

  A stretch of a hundred years — and "the nineteenth century" at once. The age-word you have means age — for centuries a Pole takes this one.
• epoka

  epoch, era

  The Latinism is spotted at once. The stone epoch — and figuratively a whole era in a life: a new era in my life.
• dziesięciolecie

  decade

  Assembled like the English word: ten plus years. In the last decade.
• okres

  period (of time)

  A stretch with a beginning and an end: the probation period at work, the rainy period.
• chwila

  moment, instant

  A stretch shorter than a minute: wait a moment. In a moment — right now; and in speech this word is heard most often exactly there.
• długotrwały

  long-lasting, protracted

  Long plus lasting: long-lasting, long in time. A long-lasting illness, a long-lasting process. The ł here is w-shaped.
• na dniach

  in the next few days, the other day

  The colloquial "in the coming days, any day now": I am leaving in the next few days. About the recent past the safer word is recently.
• współcześnie

  nowadays, at present

  One adverb: nowadays, in our time. A relative of the contemporary-adjective — a card in the next lesson; in papers the presently-word means the same.
• od zawsze

  from time immemorial, forever

  Literally "from always": it has always been so, from of old. The bookish strengthener — from times beyond memory.
• w kilka minut

  in a few minutes

  Polish says "in a few minutes", with no "counted" at all. Faster only in the blink of an eye — but that is already an image.
• współczesny

  contemporary, modern-day

  Together plus time: of the same epoch as us. Contemporary art, the contemporary world. The Latin modern-word is heard too — but likelier in advertising.
• starożytny

  ancient

  The old-prefix from the old-adjective plus the living-root: ancient, from the old times of life. Ancient Rome. The plain old-word is old — with no shade of millennia.
• dawne czasy

  old times, the old days

  Literally "the bygone times": reminiscing about the old days. Polish keeps no separate word for "times past" — the past is yours already.
• sporadycznie

  sporadically, on rare occasions

  A Latinism from the sporadic-adjective: very rarely, now and then. Beside lives the from-time-to-time phrase — it is gentler.
• codziennie

  daily, every day

  From the day-word: every day. In timetables and notices this word stands; in speech the same is said with the every-day phrase.
• regularnie

  regularly

  The Latinism is spotted at once: by schedule, with no misses. The regular-adjective also means even: a regular income.
• po raz pierwszy

  for the first time

  Literally "for the first time": the counting of times goes through the occasion-word. Then by the same template: for the second time, for the last time.
• od nowa

  anew, from scratch

  Literally "from new": writing anew, from a clean sheet. Beside stands once more — but this one stresses: starting from the beginning.
• coraz częściej

  more and more often

  The ever-word plus the comparative — the Polish way of saying "ever more": more and more often, harder and harder, better and better.
• w dni robocze

  on weekdays

  The working day: on weekdays. The weekend itself is borrowed into Polish — or they say the free-days phrase.
• co drugi raz

  every other time

  Literally "every second time". Built the same way: every other day — and every third.
• raz w roku

  once a year

  Frequency through the occasion-word: once a year, twice a month, three times a week. The preposition is the same as in the English "once a year".
• co chwilę

  every few minutes, every now and then

  From the familiar moment at the head of this unit: literally "every instant". The phone rings every few minutes. Beside stands the constantly-word — with a different shade.
• tymczasem

  meanwhile

  One word instead of "at this time": it switches the attention to the second thread. Meanwhile in the city — so the news begins; the note about this family is its kin.
• równolegle

  in parallel, alongside

  About lines and about affairs alike: studying in parallel with work. The parallel-adjective is built from it.
• do tamtej pory

  until then

  Literally "until that season": pointing back at the moment already named. If a whole clause follows, Polish takes the until-not phrase you already know.
• w późniejszym czasie

  subsequently, at a later time

  Literally "in the later time": officialese, but frequent in letters and reports. In conversation the familiar later-word suffices.
• w przeddzień

  on the eve of

  Literally "in the fore-day": the day-word is visible inside at once. After it comes the of-form: on the eve of the holiday.
• w przyszłości

  in the future, henceforth

  From the familiar future: in the future, henceforth. In the future be more careful. For the future — about what one takes away for later.
• tym razem

  this time

  The occasion-word, and the this-form in the instrumental: this time. The same counting as for-the-first-time — only with a pointing finger.
• we właściwym czasie

  in due time, in a timely manner

  Literally "in the proper time": the clerical due-time of orders and contracts. Living speech is content with on time.
• z datą wsteczną

  backdated

  Literally "with a backward date": the backwards-adverb — back, in reverse. So papers are drawn up when the date in the document is earlier than the day of signing.
• bez zwłoki

  without delay

  The dallying verb: without delay — the formula of business letters. In living speech they say right away.
• luty

  February

  It follows styczeń, which you know. The name leads back to an old word for "fierce, bitter" — the meanest month of the Polish winter. All months are written with a small letter.
• marzec

  March

  The month of the war god — the same Latin family as the word several languages use, and here the word does not lie. In the oblique cases the e drops: w marcu.
• kwiecień

  April

  Native and Slavic: from kwiat, "flower" — the month of blooming. The soft ń at the end is heard as "ny", and the ending shifts in the oblique cases: w kwietniu.
• maj

  May

  An exact cousin of the English word — no accident: the word is Latin all over. The shortest month on paper.
• czerwiec

  June

  Native and Slavic: from czerw, the larva that red dye was once made from — the month of reddening berries. The Polish months each tell a piece of the year's nature.
• sierpień

  August

  It follows lipiec in the same lesson. From sierp, the sickle: the month of harvest.
• wrzesień

  September

  From wrzos, the heather: the month it blooms. Before this month the preposition stretches: we wrześniu, not w.
• październik

  October

  From the word for flax waste — a story you do not need; memorize the word whole. It is long, but Polish stress almost always sits on the second-to-last syllable and carries you through.
• listopad

  November

  A transparent name: liść is "leaf", padać is "to fall" — the month the leaves come down. It is the one month that sounds almost identical across half the region.
• grudzień

  December

  From gruda, a clod of frozen earth: December grabs the soil in clumps. The last month of the year and the last native name in the row.
• rok

  year

  A false friend for those who met it as "term": rok is a year of the calendar. Za rok — "in a year", mam rok — "I am one year old".
• doba

  day and night (24 hours)

  One word for a full round of the clock: the shop is open całą dobę — around the clock. Feminine, and no relative of anything you know — just memorize it.
• setna rocznica

  centenary

  A centenary as a round date, an anniversary: setna rocznica urodzin — "the hundredth anniversary of a birth". Assembled from words you know: setny, "hundredth", and rocznica, "anniversary".
• minuta

  minute

  The Latin-rooted word is spotted at first glance. From five up the noun takes the of-form plural: pięć minut, but dwie minuty.
• sekunda

  second

  Another Latinism, also without surprises. Sekundę! — "a second!" — is exactly how one asks for a moment.
• pół godziny

  half an hour

  Literally "half of an hour": pół puts the next word into its of-form — pół godziny, pół litra. Written as two words.
• południe

  noon

  Noon — and, on the same ticket, the south: on Polish maps the south is called południe. One word covers both senses; position tells them apart.
• północ

  midnight

  The same story as południe: midnight — and the north in the bargain. O północy — "at midnight" — with o, not w.
• teraz

  now

  Said much like its cousin in neighboring languages and meaning the same. Next to it stands zaraz — "in a moment": teraz is already happening, zaraz has not started yet.
• termin

  deadline, due date

  A false friend: where other languages took the Latin word for "a term in a dictionary", Polish keeps it for dates — termin oddania, "the due date", termin ważności, "the expiry date".
• następny

  next

  From następstwo, "sequence". At the bus stop it is announced exactly like this: następny przystanek — "next stop".
• zeszły

  last (of a period)

  About time: zeszły rok — last year, w zeszłym tygodniu — last week. The equivalent poprzedni is more about order in a queue or a list.
• spóźniać się

  to be late

  A relative of późno, "late". The perfective spóźnić się is to be late once and for good.
• zdążać

  to make it (in time)

  Almost always with a destination: zdążę na pociąg — "I will make the train". The perfective is zdążyć: Zdążyłeś! — "you made it!".
• znowu

  again

  The most common word for "again". The equivalent znów is the same thing, just shorter and a touch bookier.
• wkrótce

  soon

  Literally "in a short time": w-krót-ce. This is how letters sign off: odpowiem wkrótce — "I will reply soon".
• dawno

  long ago

  About the distant past: dawno temu — "long, long ago", the way fairy tales open. "We haven't seen each other in ages" is built through the past tense.
• niedawno

  recently

  Plain nie plus the familiar dawno: the word assembles itself. About the near past, not the far one.
• późno

  late

  The ó is heard as "oo". The pair is wcześnie — "early" — and both words of this pair simply have to be learned: no look-alikes will carry you.
• wcześnie

  early

  Inside hides "early-bright": literally "early in the day". The comparative wcześniejszy — "earlier" — is built with the -niej engine.
• szybko

  fast, quickly

  The adverb of szybki, "fast" — the adjective arrives in the "What is he like" lesson of this wave. The comparative is szybciej — "faster".
• przed chwilą

  just now, a moment ago

  Literally "before a moment": chwila is an instant. The verb after it stands in the past: przed chwilą piłem — "I was drinking just now".
• z rana

  in the morning

  Rano is the same "morning" a Pole uses to say "in the morning". Z rana is literally "from morning on" — the dark part of the day is over.
• w dzień

  in the daytime

  Literally "in [the] day": the preposition w plus the familiar dzień. W ciągu dnia is "during the course of the day" — a different phrase.
• wieczorem

  in the evening

  The instrumental of the familiar wieczór: the evening given as "by means of" means "when". The base course promised you this word in the hint to wieczór.
• po nocach

  at night

  Literally "over the nights" — not one night but nights in general. Nocą is the form of the familiar noc, and a single specific night is tej nocy.
• co dzień

  every day

  Literally "what [each] day": no day slips past. The word codziennie is the same "daily" — here it is built from dzień instead.
• cały dzień

  all day

  Cały means both "whole" and "entire": cały dzień is one unbroken stretch from morning to evening. Not to be confused with co dzień — there the days repeat.
• moment

  moment

  A Latin borrowing, recognizable at a glance. The other word for an instant is chwila; in the street you are more likely to hear Moment! barked at you.
• zegar

  clock

  Zegarek, a wristwatch, is the same root with the diminutive -ek. Zegar is the big kind: wall, table and tower clocks.
• która godzina

  what time is it?

  Literally "which hour". Godzina is "hour", which you know; która is "which", feminine — agreeing with godzina itself.
• kiedykolwiek

  ever, at any time

  The same -kolwiek series: whenever, at any time you please. Kiedyś was "once, sometime"; kiedykolwiek is any time — and in a question a bare kiedy suffices.

How it sounds in a sentence

A word list is a blank. Conversation is made of sentences, and these are the ones the words fit into most often.

• Do Warszawy jest godzina drogi

  It is an hour's drive to Warsaw
• Dzisiaj jest ładny dzień

  Today is a nice day
• Dzisiaj pracuję do piątej

  Today I am working until five
• Jutro idziemy w góry

  Tomorrow we are going to the mountains
• Wczoraj cały dzień padał deszcz

  Yesterday it rained all day
• Rano piję kawę

  In the morning I drink coffee

What is worth knowing about these words

godzina — hour. Both the unit of time and the time of day: Która godzina? — "what time is it?". The watch on your wrist is zegarek, never godzina.

dzień — day. Said with a soft "djen". Partings wish you Dobrego dnia! — "of a good day".

dzisiaj — today. Both dzisiaj and the shorter dziś — the same thing, both built from dzień: literally "of this day".

jutro — tomorrow. The famous impostor of the language family: in more than one neighbor language jutro means "morning", here it means "tomorrow". The Polish morning is rano.

Test yourself

Recalling a spelling from meaning is harder than recognizing a familiar word — and therefore more useful.

How to learn the set instead of just reading it

Today, tomorrow, in the morning, at six. You cannot arrange to meet without these — let alone understand the answer.

A list is read in a minute and forgotten in a day. What works: hide the translation, try to recall, get it wrong — and come back to the same words tomorrow.

• Recalling beats re-reading. Covering the translation and trying to remember it does more than reading it ten more times.checked many times
  Adesope, 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.
• Study spread over days wins not only in experiments but in ordinary classrooms, with real students.checked many times
  Mawson & Kang, 2025, Behavioral Sciences 15(6):771 · 22 studies, d = 0.54 (confidence interval 0.31–0.77). The authors warn that individual studies disagree widely.

Next

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