g / dz

G and Dz Alternation

Level 3

In Polish, the letter g often changes to dz when followed by certain endings like -e or -i. This happens in feminine dative/locative cases and masculine personal plurals.

How It Works

The g → dz alternation is a systematic phonological shift. It is triggered by 'softening' vowels that follow the stem.

1. Feminine Nouns (Singular)
When a feminine noun ends in -ga, the g changes to dz before the Locative or Dative ending -e.

  • noga (leg) → nodze
  • droga (road) → drodze

2. Masculine Personal Nouns (Plural)
In the Masculine-Personal Plural, the ending is often -i. Because of Polish spelling rules, dz + i is written as dzy.

  • kolega (colleague) → koledzy
  • biolog (biologist) → biolodzy

3. Adjectives (Masculine Personal Plural)
Similarly, adjectives describing groups of men (or mixed groups) undergo this change before the plural ending.

  • drogi (dear/expensive) → drodzy
  • ubogi (poor) → ubodzy

Note: Do not confuse this with g → ż, which happens in verbs (mogę/możesz) or the Vocative (Bóg/Boże).

Examples (4)

  1. Mieszkam w Pradze.

    I live in Prague.

    Word by Word: I live in Prague.

    The city 'Praga' (feminine) changes 'g' to 'dz' in the locative case after the preposition 'w'.

  2. Moi koledzy są tutaj.

    My colleagues are here.

    Word by Word: My colleagues are here.

    The noun 'kolega' (masculine personal) changes 'g' to 'dz' in the nominative plural.

  3. Drodzy państwo, zapraszam!

    Dear ladies and gentlemen, I invite you!

    Word by Word: Dear [plural-polite], I invite!

    The adjective 'drogi' (dear) changes to 'drodzy' to agree with the masculine-personal plural 'państwo'.

  4. Daję to mojej papudze.

    I am giving it to my parrot.

    Word by Word: I give it to my parrot.

    The feminine noun 'papuga' changes to 'papudze' in the dative case (indirect object).

Common Mistakes

  • Applying the change to masculine inanimate nouns.

    Widzę pociądzy.
    Widzę pociągi.

    The g → dz change in the plural ONLY applies to 'masculine personal' nouns (humans). For inanimate objects like 'pociąg' (train), the plural is 'pociągi'.

  • Using the wrong locative ending for feminine nouns.

    Jestem w drogu.
    Jestem w drodze.

    Feminine nouns ending in -ga must use the -e ending in the locative, which triggers the g → dz shift. The -u ending is for masculine/neuter nouns.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

g / dzLevel 3G and Dz Alternation

Learn This First

Learn Consonant Softening Before I before G And Dz Alternation.