This page covers the aspect pair zarabiać (imperfective) / zarobić (perfective), "to earn (money)". It is one third of the everyday money-verb set: you zarabiać (earn) money, you wydawać (spend) it, and you płacić (pay) with it. Together these three verbs cover almost every transaction sentence a learner needs. This page gives the full paradigm of zarabiać/zarobić, shows how it slots in beside płacić and wydawać, and teaches the very common zarabiać na + accusative idiom that has no clean English equivalent.
The money-verb set: earn, spend, pay
Polish keeps three distinct verbs where English often reaches for "make/pay/spend" loosely:
| Verb pair | Meaning | Typical government |
|---|---|---|
| zarabiać / zarobić | to earn (money) |
|
| wydawać / wydać | to spend (money) |
|
| płacić / zapłacić | to pay | za + accusative; komuś (dative) for whom |
Zarabiam mało, wydaję dużo i ciągle za coś płacę.
I earn little, spend a lot, and I'm always paying for something.
zarabiać (imperfective) — full conjugation
zarabiać describes earning as an ongoing state, a habit, or a general fact about income: "I earn a decent wage", "she earns more than me". This is the form you almost always want when talking about salary, because earning a salary is a continuous, habitual situation.
Present tense
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ja | zarabiam |
| ty | zarabiasz |
| on / ona / ono | zarabia |
| my | zarabiamy |
| wy | zarabiacie |
| oni / one | zarabiają |
A textbook-regular -am / -asz verb.
Ile zarabiasz, jeśli można spytać?
How much do you earn, if I may ask?
Zarabia więcej ode mnie, ale i więcej pracuje.
She earns more than me, but she also works more.
Past tense (gendered)
| Subject | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| masculine | zarabiałem / zarabiałeś / zarabiał | zarabialiśmy / zarabialiście / zarabiali |
| feminine | zarabiałam / zarabiałaś / zarabiała | zarabiałyśmy / zarabiałyście / zarabiały |
| neuter | — / — / zarabiało | — |
Masculine-personal plural zarabiali (group with a man); non-masculine-personal zarabiały.
Kiedyś zarabiałem na życie graniem na ulicy.
I once earned a living playing music on the street.
Imperative
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ty | zarabiaj! |
| my | zarabiajmy! |
| wy | zarabiajcie! |
Imperfective future (compound)
Because zarabiać is imperfective, its future is the compound type with być + infinitive (or + the -ł participle):
Po awansie będę zarabiać o tysiąc więcej.
After the promotion I'll be earning a thousand more.
Participles
- Contemporary adverbial participle: zarabiając ("while earning").
- Active adjectival participle: zarabiający / zarabiająca / zarabiające ("earning"). Osoby najlepiej zarabiające = "the highest earners".
Zarabiając uczciwie, śpisz spokojnie.
When you earn honestly, you sleep soundly.
zarobić (perfective) — full conjugation
zarobić is the perfective: a single, completed, bounded act of earning — earning a specific sum, making money on one particular deal, "I'll earn enough for a holiday". Note the ó in the stem.
Simple future (perfective)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ja | zarobię |
| ty | zarobisz |
| on / ona / ono | zarobi |
| my | zarobimy |
| wy | zarobicie |
| oni / one | zarobią |
This is a regular -ę / -isz verb. Note: the ó of the infinitive zarobić shows up as o throughout the conjugation (zarobię, zarobił) — the ó is purely an orthographic alternation of the base robić family.
Jak dobrze pójdzie, zarobię na tym kilka tysięcy.
If it goes well, I'll make a few thousand on this.
Zarobisz na wakacje, jeśli weźmiesz nadgodziny.
You'll earn enough for a holiday if you take overtime.
Past tense (gendered)
| Subject | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| masculine | zarobiłem / zarobiłeś / zarobił | zarobiliśmy / zarobiliście / zarobili |
| feminine | zarobiłam / zarobiłaś / zarobiła | zarobiłyśmy / zarobiłyście / zarobiły |
| neuter | — / — / zarobiło | — |
Zarobił fortunę na nieruchomościach.
He made a fortune in real estate.
Zarobiłam pierwsze pieniądze jako nastolatka.
I earned my first money as a teenager.
Imperative — zarób!
Note the ó returns in the imperative stem.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ty | zarób! |
| my | zaróbmy! |
| wy | zaróbcie! |
Najpierw zarób, a potem wydawaj.
First earn it, then spend it.
Passive participle
zarobiony / zarobiona / zarobione ("earned"). Ciężko zarobione pieniądze = "hard-earned money".
To są moje ciężko zarobione pieniądze.
This is my hard-earned money.
Government and the zarabiać na idiom
The plain pattern is zarabiać + accusative: zarabiać pieniądze ("earn money"), zarobić tysiąc złotych ("earn a thousand złoty").
Two idioms are worth memorizing because English handles them with completely different structures:
- zarabiać na życie — "to earn a living" (lit. "to earn for life", na
- accusative).
- zarabiać na czymś — "to earn from / make money on something" (na
- locative). Here na takes the locative, because the meaning is "to profit on the basis of something", not motion toward it.
Czym się zajmujesz? Z czego się utrzymujesz, na czym zarabiasz?
What do you do? What do you live on, what do you earn money from?
Zarobił krocie na akcjach spółek technologicznych.
He made a killing on tech-company shares.
There is also a fixed colloquial sense zarobić na coś = "to be in for / earn oneself (something bad)": zarobić na karę, zarobić w głowę (vulgar-ish, "to get a smack in the head"). Recognize it but use it carefully; it is informal.
Jeszcze słowo, a zarobisz uwagę od nauczyciela.
One more word and you'll earn yourself a warning from the teacher.
Common Mistakes
❌ Płacę pięć tysięcy miesięcznie (meaning 'I earn 5000 a month').
Incorrect — płacić is 'pay out', not 'earn'.
✅ Zarabiam pięć tysięcy miesięcznie.
I earn five thousand a month.
❌ Ile zarobisz w tej firmie? (asking about a regular salary)
Incorrect — a regular, habitual salary takes the imperfective.
✅ Ile zarabiasz w tej firmie?
How much do you earn at this company?
❌ Zarabiam na akcje.
Incorrect — 'make money on something' takes na + locative, not accusative.
✅ Zarabiam na akcjach.
I make money on shares.
❌ Zarobij więcej w tym roku!
Incorrect — the imperative of zarobić is zarób, with ó.
✅ Zarób więcej w tym roku!
Earn more this year!
❌ Będę zarobić tysiąc więcej.
Incorrect — no compound future from a perfective; use the perfective simple future or the imperfective compound.
✅ Zarobię tysiąc więcej.
I'll earn a thousand more.
Key Takeaways
- zarabiać / zarobić = "to earn (money)", with the imperfective for habitual income (salary) and the perfective for a single bounded sum.
- It belongs to the money-verb set with wydawać/wydać (spend) and płacić/zapłacić (pay) — don't substitute one for another.
- Government: plain accusative for what you earn; zarabiać na życie (na + accusative) "earn a living"; zarabiać na czymś (na + locative) "make money from something".
- Mind the orthography: infinitive and imperative carry ó (zarobić, zarób), but conjugated forms show o (zarobię, zarobił).
- The perfective forms its future simply (zarobię); the imperfective uses the compound future (będę zarabiać).
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