który (zaimek względny)

Relative Który

Level 3

Use który to add information about a specific person or thing. It functions like English 'who', 'which', or 'that'. In Polish, you must always put a comma before it.

How It Works

The relative pronoun który is the most common way to connect a relative clause to a noun (the antecedent).

1. Agreement Rules
Agreement is split into two parts:

  • Gender and Number: These are taken from the noun being described. If you describe a woman (feminine singular), you use a feminine singular form of który.
  • Case: This is determined by the verb or preposition inside the relative clause.

2. Punctuation
Unlike English, Polish punctuation is strictly grammatical. You must place a comma before the relative clause (usually right before który or the preposition preceding it).

3. Morphology
It declines exactly like a hard-stem adjective (like nowy). You must be careful with the masculine-personal plural form którzy versus the non-masculine-personal form które.

4. Prepositions
If the relative clause requires a preposition, the preposition comes before który. English-style 'preposition stranding' (e.g., 'the man I talked to') is impossible in Polish.

5. Mandatory 'Co' Exception
When the antecedent is an indefinite pronoun such as to (that), wszystko (everything), nic (nothing), or coś (something), you cannot use który. In these cases, you must use relative co (e.g., Wszystko, co wiem...).

6. Który vs. Jaki
While który identifies a specific individual or item, jaki is used when the relative clause describes the 'kind' or 'type' of noun (e.g., 'the kind of car that I like').

Examples (4)

  1. To jest dom, który kupiliśmy w zeszłym roku.

    This is the house that we bought last year.

    Word by Word: This is house, which we-bought in last year.

    'Dom' is masculine singular. 'Który' is in the accusative case because it is the object of the verb 'kupiliśmy'.

  2. Znam kobietę, która tu mieszka.

    I know the woman who lives here.

    Word by Word: I-know woman, who here lives.

    'Kobieta' is feminine singular. 'Która' is in the nominative case because it is the subject of the relative clause.

  3. Ludzie, z którymi pracuję, są mili.

    The people with whom I work are nice.

    Word by Word: People, with whom I-work, are nice.

    'Ludzie' is masculine-personal plural. 'Którymi' is in the instrumental case because it follows the preposition 'z'.

  4. To jest książka, o której ci mówiłem.

    This is the book about which I told you.

    Word by Word: This is book, about which to-you I-told.

    'Książka' is feminine singular. 'Której' is in the locative case because of the preposition 'o' (about).

Common Mistakes

  • Omitting the relative pronoun (like in English 'The book I read').

    Książka czytałem była nudna.
    Książka, którą czytałem, była nudna.

    In Polish, you can never omit the relative pronoun. You must always include 'którą', 'który', etc.

  • Forgetting the obligatory comma before 'który'.

    To jest pies który szczeka.
    To jest pies, który szczeka.

    Polish grammar requires a comma to separate the main clause from the relative clause.

  • Putting the preposition at the end of the clause.

    To jest chłopak, którego rozmawiałem z.
    To jest chłopak, z którym rozmawiałem.

    Prepositions must always precede the relative pronoun in Polish.

How It Connects

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

który (zaimek względny)Level 3Relative Który

Learn This First

Learn Adjective Agreement, Question Words before Relative Który.

Learn Next

Patterns that build on this one.

Words in This Pattern