This page is a practical bank of the Polish wh-words, each with a model question you can reuse today. But it also makes one point that English speakers consistently miss and that quietly breaks half of their questions: in Polish the question word itself frequently declines to match the verb or preposition in the question. English who and what barely change shape (only who → whom, which most speakers drop). Polish kto and co run through the full case system, and a verb like szukać ("to look for") or a preposition like z ("with") forces the question word into whatever case the answer will take. Asking the question correctly therefore means knowing the government of the verb — so this bank drills the high-frequency question frames together with their cases.
kto — "who"
Kto ("who") asks about a person and, like any noun, it declines. In the basic subject question it is nominative (Kto?), but a preposition or a case-governing verb pulls it into another case. The high-frequency oblique forms are kogo (genitive/accusative), komu (dative), kim (instrumental/locative).
Kto to jest? — To mój nowy współlokator.
Who is that? — That's my new flatmate.
Z kim idziesz na koncert?
Who are you going to the concert with? (z + instrumental → kim)
Komu dałeś klucze?
Who did you give the keys to? (dać + dative → komu)
The middle example is the eye-opener. English asks with whom but routinely simplifies to "who… with". Polish has no such shortcut: z governs the instrumental, so "with whom" can only be z kim. You cannot leave kto in its dictionary form.
co — "what"
Co ("what") asks about a thing. Its declension is irregular and worth memorizing as a set: nominative/accusative co, genitive czego, dative czemu, instrumental/locative czym.
Co robisz w weekend?
What are you doing this weekend?
Czego szukasz? — Szukam okularów.
What are you looking for? — I'm looking for my glasses. (szukać + genitive → czego)
O czym mówisz? Nie rozumiem.
What are you talking about? I don't understand. (o + locative → czym)
Szukać ("to look for") governs the genitive, so "what are you looking for?" is czego szukasz?, not co szukasz?. Likewise o ("about") governs the locative, giving o czym ("about what"). The case of the question word is dictated entirely by the verb or preposition it depends on.
gdzie — "where"
Gdzie ("where") is indeclinable — a relief after kto and co. But the verb decides whether gdzie expects a location (locative/instrumental) or a direction (accusative/genitive) in the answer; gdzie itself never changes. For pure direction many speakers prefer dokąd ("where to"), and for origin skąd ("where from").
Gdzie jest najbliższa apteka?
Where is the nearest pharmacy?
Dokąd jedziecie na wakacje?
Where are you going on holiday? (direction → dokąd)
Skąd jesteś? — Jestem z Gdańska.
Where are you from? — I'm from Gdańsk. (origin → skąd)
kiedy — "when"
Kiedy ("when") is also indeclinable. For more precise time questions Polish often uses o której (godzinie)? ("at what time?") — note the locative której forced by o.
Kiedy masz urodziny?
When is your birthday?
O której godzinie zaczyna się film?
What time does the film start? (o + locative → której)
dlaczego — "why"
Dlaczego ("why") asks for a reason; the answer typically comes with bo ("because") or dlatego, że ("for the reason that"). A softer, slightly more colloquial variant is czemu ("why, how come") — confusingly identical in form to the dative of co, but here used adverbially.
Dlaczego nie odbierasz telefonu?
Why aren't you answering the phone?
Czemu jesteś taki smutny?
Why (how come) are you so sad? (colloquial)
jak — "how"
Jak ("how") asks about manner and is indeclinable. It also fronts a whole family of degree questions: jak długo ("how long"), jak często ("how often"), jak daleko ("how far"). Note the idiom Jak się masz? ("How are you?"), where jak pairs with the reflexive verb.
Jak dojadę na dworzec?
How do I get to the station?
Jak często chodzisz na siłownię?
How often do you go to the gym?
Jak się masz? — Dziękuję, w porządku.
How are you? — Fine, thanks.
ile — "how much / how many"
Ile ("how much / how many") is a quantity word, and like all Polish quantifiers it has consequences for the case of what it counts: the counted noun goes into the genitive plural (countable) or genitive singular (mass). Ile itself also declines (ilu for masculine-personal counts, iloma in the instrumental), but at A2 the nominative ile covers most needs.
Ile to kosztuje?
How much does it cost?
Ile masz lat? — Mam dwadzieścia trzy lata.
How old are you? — I'm twenty-three. (ile + genitive plural → lat)
Ilu studentów przyszło na wykład?
How many students came to the lecture? (ilu + masculine-personal genitive plural)
który — "which (one)"
Który ("which") picks one out of a known set, and because it is adjectival it agrees in gender, number and case with the noun it questions: który (m.), która (f.), które (n.). It also takes whatever case the verb or preposition demands.
Który autobus jedzie do centrum?
Which bus goes to the centre? (autobus is masculine → który)
Którą sukienkę kupiłaś?
Which dress did you buy? (sukienka is feminine accusative → którą)
W którym roku to było?
In which year was that? (w + locative → którym)
Don't confuse który with jaki ("what kind of"). Który selects from a defined set ("which of these buses"); jaki asks about quality or type ("what sort of bus"). See który vs jaki.
czyj — "whose"
Czyj ("whose") asks about ownership and, like który, agrees with the thing owned: czyj (m.), czyja (f.), czyje (n.), plural czyje / czyi (masculine-personal).
Czyja to torba? — Moja.
Whose bag is this? — Mine. (torba is feminine → czyja)
Czyj jest ten samochód przed bramą?
Whose is that car in front of the gate?
Quick reference table
| Word | Meaning | Declines? | High-frequency oblique frame |
|---|---|---|---|
| kto | who | yes | z kim (with whom), komu (to whom), kogo (whom) |
| co | what | yes | czego (szukać), o czym (about what), czym (with what) |
| gdzie | where | no | dokąd (where to), skąd (where from) |
| kiedy | when | no | o której godzinie (at what time) |
| dlaczego | why | no | czemu (colloquial) |
| jak | how | no | jak często, jak długo, jak daleko |
| ile | how much/many | yes | ilu (masc.-pers.), + genitive on the counted noun |
| który | which | yes (agrees) | w którym roku, którą + acc. noun |
| czyj | whose | yes (agrees) | czyja torba, czyje dziecko |
Common Mistakes
Leaving kto/co in the nominative after a preposition or governing verb. This is the signature A2 error. Z takes the instrumental, szukać takes the genitive — the question word must follow.
❌ Z kto idziesz?
Incorrect — z governs the instrumental: z kim.
✅ Z kim idziesz?
Who are you going with?
Using co instead of czego after szukać. Verbs that govern the genitive carry that genitive into the question word.
❌ Co szukasz?
Incorrect — szukać takes the genitive: czego.
✅ Czego szukasz?
What are you looking for?
Confusing który (selection) with jaki (quality). Asking Jaki autobus jedzie do centrum? asks what kind of bus, which sounds odd when you mean "which of these buses".
❌ Jaki autobus jedzie do centrum?
Odd — this asks what type of bus, not which one.
✅ Który autobus jedzie do centrum?
Which bus goes to the centre?
Failing to agree który / czyj with the noun's gender and case. They are adjectival and must match.
❌ Który sukienkę kupiłaś?
Incorrect — sukienka is feminine accusative: którą.
✅ Którą sukienkę kupiłaś?
Which dress did you buy?
Dropping diacritics on the question frames. It is dlaczego, jak często (with ę), o której (with ó), skąd (with ą).
❌ jak czesto, o ktorej, skad
Incorrect spelling — missing ę, ó, ą.
✅ jak często, o której, skąd
how often, at what time, where from (correct).
Key Takeaways
- Kto and co fully decline; the verb or preposition decides the case — z kim, komu, czego szukasz, o czym.
- Ask yourself what case the answer is in: the question word takes the same case.
- Gdzie, kiedy, dlaczego, jak are indeclinable, but pair with dokąd / skąd and o której godzinie for precision.
- Ile forces the genitive on what it counts (ile lat); ilu counts groups of men.
- Który ("which one of a set") and czyj ("whose") are adjectival — they agree in gender, number and case.
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Start learning Polish→Related Topics
- Question Words: kto, co, gdzie, kiedy, dlaczego, jakA1 — How Polish wh-questions work: the question word goes first, the rest keeps statement order, there's no 'do' auxiliary, intonation falls — and kto/co/który must appear in the exact case their role in the sentence demands.
- Interrogative Pronouns: kto, coA1 — The question words kto 'who' and co 'what' fully decline — the case you choose telegraphs how the answer fits into the sentence, and kto always triggers masculine agreement.
- Verb Government: Which Case a Verb TakesB1 — Which case a Polish verb demands for its object — a categorized overview of accusative, genitive, dative, instrumental, and prepositional government, with the insight that the Polish case rarely matches the English preposition.
- Which Case After Which PrepositionA2 — The master overview of Polish preposition-case government — which case every common preposition demands, and why a dozen prepositions switch case to switch meaning.
- Your First Questions: A ToolkitA1 — The first questions every beginner needs — Co to jest?, Kto to?, Gdzie jest…?, Ile to kosztuje?, Jak masz na imię?, Czy mówisz po angielsku? — built with czy or a question word and no 'do', no inversion.
- which, what kind, whose: który, jaki, czyjB1 — How Polish splits English 'what/which' into który (selecting from a set) and jaki (asking about quality or kind), plus the dedicated possessive question word czyj ('whose').