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✍️ Compendium
Grammar
PL
Polski — Spelling of nie
In Polish the particle nie is sometimes joined to the next word and sometimes written apart, depending on the part of speech. It fuses with nouns, adjectives and adverbs (niedobry, niedaleko), but stays separate before verbs (nie wiem).
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How it works
✓ Rule
Write nie together with nouns, adjectives and de-adjectival adverbs: niezgoda, niedobry, niedaleko. Write it apart with verbs: nie wiem, nie ma.
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Examples
| Part of speech | Spelling | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | together | niezgoda, nieprzyjaciel |
| Adjective | together | niedobry, niewielki |
| Adverb (from adjective) | together | niedaleko, niedobrze |
| Verb | apart | nie wiem, nie ma |
| Comparative / superlative | apart | nie lepszy, nie najlepszy |
| Adverbial participle | apart | nie wiedząc, nie mając |
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Good to know
⚠ Note
With verbs nie is always written apart: nie wiem, never *niewiem. It also stays apart in the comparative and superlative degrees (nie lepszy, nie najlepszy) and with adverbial participles (nie wiedząc).