Rozgrywka zaczyna się dzisiaj.

Rozgrywka usually refers to a game, match, round of play, or competition/play phase, depending on context. It is not the most general word for every kind of game situation, so the exact English translation depends on what is being talked about.

Grammatically, rozgrywka is:

• feminine
• singular
• in the nominative case here, because it is the subject of the sentence

The verb here is zaczynać się, which means to begin or to start in the sense of something beginning.

Compare:

• zaczynać coś = to start something
• zaczynać się = to begin / to start

So:

• Rozgrywka zaczyna się dzisiaj = The game begins today
• If you said zaczyna, that would usually suggest that someone is starting something, not that the game itself is beginning.

In this sentence, się is part of the verb zaczynać się. It helps create the meaning to begin rather than to start something.

This is a very common feature in Polish. Many verbs appear with się, and the meaning can change significantly.

For example:

• otwierać = to open something
• otwierać się = to open
• kończyć = to finish something
• kończyć się = to end

So here, się is not optional.

Zaczyna is the 3rd person singular present tense form of zaczynać.

Because the subject rozgrywka is singular, the verb is also singular.

So:

• ja zaczynam = I start / I am starting
• ty zaczynasz = you start
• on / ona / ono zaczyna = he / she / it starts

In this sentence:

• rozgrywka behaves like she/it grammatically
• so Polish uses zaczyna się

Yes, it is grammatically present tense. But Polish, like English, often uses the present tense for scheduled or arranged future events.

So Rozgrywka zaczyna się dzisiaj can mean:

• The game starts today
• The match begins today

This is very natural when talking about timetables, programs, events, or scheduled actions.

Yes. Polish word order is more flexible than English word order, because case endings do more of the grammatical work.

These are all possible, depending on emphasis:

• Rozgrywka zaczyna się dzisiaj.
• Dzisiaj zaczyna się rozgrywka.
• Zaczyna się dzisiaj rozgrywka.

The most neutral version is often the original:

• Rozgrywka zaczyna się dzisiaj.

If you put dzisiaj first, you emphasize today more strongly.

Yes. Dziś and dzisiaj both mean today.

So you can say:

• Rozgrywka zaczyna się dzisiaj.
• Rozgrywka zaczyna się dziś.

Both are correct. Dziś is shorter and very common in everyday speech. Dzisiaj can sound a little fuller or slightly more deliberate, but the difference is small.

Polish does not have articles like a, an, or the.

So rozgrywka can mean:

• a game
• the game

The exact meaning depends on context.

In this sentence, English will usually need the if both speakers already know which event is being discussed:

• The game starts today

But Polish does not need a separate word for that.

Się often appears near the verb, but its exact position can vary.

In your sentence:

• Rozgrywka zaczyna się dzisiaj

That is completely natural.

You may also see:

• Rozgrywka się zaczyna dzisiaj

But this version is less neutral and can sound more marked or stylistically different, depending on context.

As a learner, the safest pattern is:

• put się directly after the conjugated verb

So:

• zaczyna się
• kończy się
• odbywa się

A rough pronunciation guide is:

roz-GRIV-ka za-CHI-na sheng jee-SHYAY

A few helpful points:

• rz in rozgrywka sounds like the zh sound in measure
• y in gryw is a Polish vowel with no exact English equivalent
• cz in zaczyna sounds like ch in chocolate
• się sounds roughly like sheng, though the nasal vowel is not exactly like English
• dzisiaj sounds roughly like jee-shyay

If you want a more careful breakdown:

• Rozgrywka = roz-gryw-ka
• zaczyna = za-czy-na
• się = one syllable
• dzisiaj = dzi-siaj

Yes. Rozpoczyna się also means begins / starts, and it can sound a bit more formal or official than zaczyna się.

So:

• Rozgrywka zaczyna się dzisiaj = natural, everyday
• Rozgrywka rozpoczyna się dzisiaj = also correct, slightly more formal

Both are good Polish.