Polish has nine letters with marks: ą, ć, ę, ł, ń, ó, ś, ź and ż. Each one is a letter of its own, and dropping the mark can change a word: laska is a walking stick, and łaska is grace.
English comparisons are rough, so tap the words to hear them.
| Letter | Sounds like | Example |
|---|---|---|
| ł | the w in will | (roll), (king) |
| ą | a nasal o, like French bon | (they are), (corner) |
| ę | a nasal e, like French cinq | (five), (hand) |
| ż | the s in vision, with the tongue curled back | (wife), (Paris) |
| ź | a softer s in vision, with the middle of the tongue | źle (badly) |
| ś | the sh in sheep, softer | (sleeps) |
| ć | the ch in cheap, softer | (hi) |
| ń | the ny in canyon | (the city) |
| ó | the oo in boot, the same as u | (my) |
- łstrokeU+0142lplain lU+006CŁ has a short line through it. Laska is a stick and łaska is grace.
- ąogonekU+0105ęogonekU+0119The little hook at the bottom is called an ogonek, which means little tail. It marks a nasal vowel, as in wąs (moustache) and gęś (goose).
- żdot aboveU+017CźacuteU+017AŻ has a dot and ź has a slanted stroke. They sound different.
- ćacuteU+0107ńacuteU+0144śacuteU+015BóacuteU+00F3These four carry the same slanted stroke on c, n, s and o.
Copy them from the box above, or use one of these. These steps were checked against the official pages listed below in November 2026.
- iPhone and iPadIn Settings, tap General, Keyboard, Keyboards and Add New Keyboard, then choose Polish. Switch to it with the globe key.
- AndroidAdd Polish in your keyboard's language settings. In Gboard, touch and hold a letter such as l, or to see more options, and slide to the one with the mark.
- MacPress the Fn or globe key and E, search for the letter's name, such as l with stroke, and click it.
- WindowsAdd the Polish (Programmers) keyboard under Settings, Time & language, and press the Windows key and the space bar to switch to it. Then hold Right Alt and press the plain letter, so Right Alt and l gives ł.
- Word on WindowsType the code, such as 0142 for ł, select just those four characters, and press Alt and X together.
- Google DocsChoose Insert, then Symbols, then Special characters, and type the code in the search box, such as 0142 for ł or 017C for ż.
Tap the Polish words above to hear them. Once the letters feel easy, the best apps to learn Polish lists what you can use next.
Is Polish Ó the Same as U?
They sound the same, like the oo in boot. The spelling tells you which one a word uses, so (my) has an ó.
Which Polish App Should a Beginner Choose?
If you are serious about learning Polish, start with Bubblegum. Poppy, your AI tutor, writes lessons at your level about things you like. Our Polish guide shows the order to learn things in.
Is Bubblegum Free?
Yes. Lessons Poppy wrote for other learners are free for everyone to read. Custom lessons cost us money to make, so you need Bubblegum Pro for unlimited custom lessons.
Sources
- Wikipedia, Polish alphabet (nine letters with marks; code points U+0105, U+0107, U+0119, U+0142, U+0144, U+00F3, U+015B, U+017A, U+017C; sounds with English comparisons)
- Unicode Character Database, NamesList (U+0142 LATIN SMALL LETTER L WITH STROKE, U+0105 A WITH OGONEK, U+0119 E WITH OGONEK, U+017C Z WITH DOT ABOVE, U+017A Z WITH ACUTE)
- Microsoft Learn, Windows keyboard layouts (Polish (Programmers) and Polish (214) are separate layouts; page dated 28 September 2026)
- Wikipedia, AltGr key (Right Alt on many layouts; Windows treats Ctrl+Alt as AltGr)
- Apple, iOS and iPadOS feature availability (the QuickType keyboard list includes Polish)
- Apple Support, Add or change keyboards on iPhone (Settings, General, Keyboard, Keyboards, Add New Keyboard)
- Google, Use your keyboard (on Android, touch and hold a key to find accents and more options)
- Google, Type in a different language with Gboard
- Apple Support, Use emoji and symbols on Mac (Fn or Globe key and E opens the Character Viewer; search by word)
- Apple Support, Enter characters with accent marks on Mac (press and hold a letter key; menu not shown for keys with no accents)
- Microsoft Support, Insert ASCII or Unicode character codes in Word (type the code, then press Alt+X)
- Google Docs Help, Insert special characters (Insert, Symbols, Special characters; find a character by category, Unicode value or drawing)
