The Polish Alphabet Structure
The Polish alphabet consists of 32 letters, including 9 unique characters with diacritical marks. Based on the Latin alphabet, it has been adapted to represent Polish sounds accurately. As mentioned in our guide on how to learn Polish quickly, mastering the alphabet is your first step to success.
Basic Letters and Sounds
The Polish alphabet includes standard Latin letters that are pronounced similarly to English. Here are the basic letters:
Important
Unlike English, Polish letters maintain consistent pronunciation rules, making reading easier once you master the basics.
Special Polish Characters
Polish uses diacritical marks to create unique sounds essential for proper pronunciation:
Digraphs in Polish
Polish uses combinations of letters to create specific sounds:
Notes
Digraphs are treated as single sounds in Polish, though they're written as two letters.
Vowel Sounds
Polish vowels are relatively straightforward:
Common Letter Combinations
Understanding frequent letter combinations helps with pronunciation:
Examples
The word (good day) combines several Polish-specific sounds, as you'll learn in our Essential Polish Phrases guide.
Pronunciation Rules
Key rules for Polish pronunciation:
Important
Polish spelling is highly phonetic - once you learn the rules, you can pronounce any word correctly by looking at it.
Writing Polish Letters
Tips for writing Polish characters:
Notes
Most word processors and mobile devices now include built-in support for Polish characters.