Polish Has No Articles

Level 1

Polish has no articles. You just use the noun by itself.

How It Works

In English, we use articles like a, an, and the to show whether we are talking about something general or specific. Polish does not have these words at all!

Instead, a bare noun like kot can mean cat, a cat, or the cat. Context is the primary way to know which one is meant—if a noun was already mentioned or is obvious from the situation, it is usually understood as 'the'.

How else does Polish show definiteness?
As a helpful structural tool, Polish uses a flexible word order to signal if information is new or already known:

  • Known information (The): Usually placed at the beginning of the sentence.
  • New information (A/An): Usually placed at the end of the sentence.

For example:

  • Książka leży na stole. = The book is lying on the table. (We already know which book).
  • Na stole leży książka. = There is a book lying on the table. (Introducing a new book).

Do not try to force words like ten (this) or jeden (one) into your sentences just to replace English articles. If you really need to emphasize that a person or thing is unknown, you can use the word jakiś (some / a certain), for example: Szuka cię jakiś pan (Some man is looking for you). Otherwise, the bare noun is enough!

Examples (4)

  1. Mam psa.

    I have a dog. / I have the dog.

    Word by Word: I-have dog.

    The noun 'pies' (dog) stands alone. Context tells the listener if it's a specific dog or just a dog in general.

  2. Książka leży na stole.

    The book is lying on the table.

    Word by Word: Book lies on table.

    Placing 'książka' at the beginning of the sentence marks it as known information, translating naturally to 'the book'.

  3. Na stole leży książka.

    There is a book lying on the table.

    Word by Word: On table lies book.

    Placing 'książka' at the end of the sentence introduces it as new information, translating naturally to 'a book'.

  4. To jest dom.

    This is a house. / This is the house.

    Word by Word: This is house.

    No article is needed after the verb. The bare noun is perfectly complete.

Common Mistakes

  • Adding 'ten' every time English would say 'the'.

    Different MeaningGdzie jest ten bank?
    Gdzie jest bank?

    Gdzie jest ten bank? is natural when you mean one particular bank that you both know or can point to ('that bank'). Polish has no article, so for an ordinary question, the bare noun is enough: Gdzie jest bank?

  • Using 'jeden' (one) or 'jakiś' (some) every time you want to say 'a' or 'an'.

    To jest jakiś kot.
    To jest kot.

    Adding 'jakiś' changes the meaning to 'some random or unknown cat'. While 'jakiś' is perfectly correct when you want to emphasize that something is unfamiliar (like 'Szuka cię jakiś pan' for 'Some unknown man is looking for you'), you should not use it just to translate the English article 'a'. To simply say 'This is a cat', just use the noun by itself.