Learn Hardcore Polish: Herbata jest gorąca.

Polish does not have articles like the or a. Speakers rely on context or additional words (e.g. ta for “this”) to show definiteness or indefiniteness. So Herbata jest gorąca can mean either Tea is hot or The tea is hot, depending on the situation.

What is jest and why is it used here?

Jest is the 3rd person singular present form of the verb być (to be). In Polish, you generally need jest to express is, so Herbata jest gorąca literally translates as Tea is hot.

Why does gorąca end with -a?

Adjectives in Polish must agree with their nouns in gender, number, and case. Herbata is feminine singular nominative, so the adjective gorący (“hot”) takes the feminine nominative singular form gorąca.

What grammatical case is herbata in?

Herbata is in the nominative case because it is the subject of the sentence. In Polish, subjects typically appear in the nominative.

Can you omit jest and still understand the sentence?

In very casual speech or in headlines you might see Herbata gorąca, but in standard spoken and written Polish the verb jest is required for a complete sentence. Without it, you only have a phrase, not a full statement.

How would you say This tea is hot?

You insert the demonstrative adjective ta before herbata:
Ta herbata jest gorąca.

Where is the stress in herbata and gorąca?

Polish almost always stresses the penultimate (second-to-last) syllable. So you pronounce her-BA-ta and go-RON-ca (the ą is a nasal vowel sounding roughly like on).

Is the word order important here?

Polish allows flexible word order, but Herbata jest gorąca is the neutral, everyday order (Subject–Predicate–Adjective). You could rearrange for emphasis—Gorąca jest herbata draws focus to hot—but that sounds more marked or poetic.