The charts below show the way in which the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) represents Polish pronunciations in Wiktionary entries.
All voiced obstruents /b, d, ɡ, v, z, ʐ, ʑ, dʐ, dʑ/ are devoiced (so /d/ becomes /t/, etc.) at the ends of words and in clusters ending in any unvoiced obstruents /p, t, k, f, s, x, ʂ, ɕ, tʂ, tɕ/. The voiceless obstruents are voiced (/x/ becoming [ɣ], etc.) in clusters ending in any voiced obstruent except /v/, and /ʐ/ (when spelled with ⟨rz⟩), which are themselves devoiced in this case.
| Consonants
|
| IPA |
Polish |
Example |
English approximation
|
| b
|
b
|
bardzo
|
bike
|
| ɕ
|
ś, s(i)[1]
|
Jaś
|
she
|
| d
|
d
|
dawno
|
door
|
| d͡z[2]
|
dz
|
dzban
|
beds
|
| d͡ʑ[2]
|
dź, dz(i)[1]
|
dziadek
|
jeep[3]
|
| d͡ʐ [2]
|
dż
|
Dżakarta
|
jug[3]
|
| f
|
f
|
foka
|
feist
|
| ɡ
|
g
|
grać
|
girl
|
| j
|
j, i[1]
|
jak
|
yes
|
| k
|
k
|
krowa
|
scam
|
| l
|
l
|
lampa
|
lilt
|
| ɫ (Middle Polish)
|
ł
|
łapać
|
lion
|
| m
|
m
|
morze
|
mile
|
| n
|
n
|
nad
|
Nile
|
| ɲ
|
ń, n(i)[1]
|
nie
|
canyon
|
| p
|
p
|
policja
|
spike
|
| r
|
r
|
różowy
|
(General American), with flapping: atom
|
| r̝ (Middle Polish)
|
rz
|
przyglądać
|
Ryukyu
|
| s
|
s
|
smak
|
sign
|
| ʂ
|
sz
|
szybko
|
shore[3]
|
| t
|
t
|
tak
|
stow
|
| t͡ɕ[2]
|
ć, c(i)[1]
|
cierpki
|
cheer[3]
|
| t͡s[2]
|
c
|
całkiem
|
cats
|
| t͡ʂ[2]
|
cz
|
czy
|
child[3]
|
| v
|
w
|
wartość
|
vile
|
| w
|
ł
|
ładny
|
way
|
| w̃
|
ą, ę[4]
|
kęs
|
long
|
| x
|
ch, h
|
chleb
|
hello
|
| z
|
z
|
zebra
|
zebra
|
| ʑ
|
ź, z(i)[1]
|
ziarno
|
vision, azure[3]
|
| ʐ
|
ż, rz
|
rzadko
|
|
| Other symbols used for Polish
|
| IPA |
Explanation
|
| ˈ
|
Primary stress (placed before the stressed syllable), usually the penultimate syllable of a word.
|
| ˌ
|
Secondary stress (placed before the stressed syllable).
|
| .
|
Syllable break.
|
|
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 The letter ⟨i⟩, when followed by a vowel, represents a pronunciation like a ⟨j⟩ or a "soft" pronunciation of the preceding consonant (so pies is pronounced as if it were spelt ⟨pjes⟩). It has the same effect as an acute accent on an alvoelar consonant (⟨s⟩, ⟨z⟩, ⟨c⟩, ⟨dz⟩, ⟨n⟩). Thus, się, cios and niania are pronounced as if they were spelled ⟨śę⟩, ⟨ćos⟩, ⟨ńańa⟩. A following ⟨i⟩ also softens consonants if it is pronounced as a vowel. Thus, zima, ci and dzisiaj are pronounced as if if they were spelled ⟨źima⟩, ⟨ći⟩, ⟨dźiśaj⟩.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 Polish contrasts affricates /t͡s, d͡z, t͡ɕ, d͡ʑ, t͡ʂ, d͡ʐ/ with stop–fricative clusters: for example, czysta [ˈt͡ʂɨs.ta], "clean", versus trzysta [ˈtʂɨs.ta], "three hundred".
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 Polish makes contrasts between retroflex and alveolo-palatal consonants, both of which sound similar to the English postalveolars /ʃ ʒ tʃ dʒ/ The retroflex sounds are pronounced "hard" with the front of the tongue raised, and the alveolo-palatal sounds are "soft" with the middle of the tongue raised, adding a bit of an "ee" sound to them.
- ^ The letters ą and ę are used to represent /ɔw̃/ and /ɛw̃/ before /s, z, ʂ, ʐ, x/, and, in case of ą, word-finally.
