Poczekaj, dopóki nie wrócę do domu.

Wait until I come back home.

Breakdown of Poczekaj, dopóki nie wrócę do domu.

• dom: the house
• do: to
• nie: not
• wrócić: to return
• poczekać: to wait
• dopóki: until

Questions & Answers about Poczekaj, dopóki nie wrócę do domu.

Why is there nie after dopóki even though the meaning isn’t negative?

In Polish, the pattern dopóki nie + perfective verb is the standard way to say “until + event.” The nie here is an expletive; it doesn’t negate the meaning.

• Dopóki żyję = as long as I live (no nie)
• Dopóki nie wrócę = until I return (with nie)

Why is it wrócę (future) when English uses present (“until I come back”)?

Polish uses a perfective verb to mark the single, completed future event at the endpoint. Wrócić is perfective, and its “present” form (wrócę) refers to the future. So dopóki nie wrócę = “until I return.”

Is Poczekaj informal? How do I say it to more than one person or politely?

• Singular, informal: Poczekaj.
• Plural, informal: Poczekajcie.
• Polite (to one man/woman): Niech Pan/Pani poczeka or Proszę poczekać.
• Polite to a group: Niech Państwo poczekają or Proszę poczekać.

What’s the difference between czekać and poczekać here?

Aspect:

• Czekać (imperfective) = be in the process of waiting. Czekaj, dopóki… suggests “keep waiting until…”
• Poczekać (perfective) = wait for a (bounded) period or until a result. Poczekaj, dopóki… is the most natural command: “Wait until…”

Can I drop the nie and say Poczekaj, dopóki wrócę?

No. Without nie, dopóki means “as long as,” not “until.”

• Dopóki wracam, nie dzwoń. = As long as I’m on my way back, don’t call.
• “Until I return” needs dopóki nie wrócę.

Can I use aż instead of dopóki nie?

Yes: Poczekaj, aż wrócę do domu is very common and fully correct. Subtlety:

• aż highlights the endpoint event.
• dopóki nie highlights the entire waiting period up to that event. Avoid the calque aż nie in standard Polish; prefer aż wrócę or dopóki nie wrócę.

Is the comma before dopóki required?

Yes. Subordinate clauses introduced by dopóki (and aż) take a comma: Poczekaj, dopóki nie wrócę do domu. If you front the clause, you also need a comma: Dopóki nie wrócę do domu, poczekaj.

Why is it do domu and not do dom?

The preposition do governs the genitive case. Dom (nom.) → domu (gen.). Do domu = “to home/into the house.”

Can I leave out do domu?

Yes. Poczekaj, dopóki nie wrócę simply means “Wait until I return,” without specifying where. Adding do domu clarifies “return home.”

Is zanim a good substitute for dopóki here?

No. Zanim means “before.” Poczekaj, zanim wrócę = “Wait before I return,” which is a different and usually odd instruction. Use dopóki nie or aż for “until.”

How is wrócę pronounced and why is it spelled with ó and ę?

• wrócę ≈ “vroo-tseh.”
• ó is pronounced like u.
• ę is a nasal vowel; at word end it often sounds like a lightly nasal “eh.” Note the stem alternation: infinitive wrócić (with ć), but 1st sg. future wrócę (with c
  • ę).

Could I say Czekaj, dopóki nie wrócę instead of Poczekaj?

Yes, and it subtly means “Keep waiting until I return,” emphasizing the ongoing action. Poczekaj just issues the instruction to wait (typically for a bounded time) until the event.

What about póki? Is Poczekaj, póki nie wrócę do domu OK?

Yes. Póki is a shorter, colloquial variant of dopóki. It’s widely used in speech: Póki nie wrócę, poczekaj works too.

Can I reformulate it with a noun instead of a clause?

Yes: Poczekaj do mojego powrotu (“Wait until my return”). You can add focus with aż do mojego powrotu, which stresses “all the way until.”

Does nie wrócę here mean “I won’t return”?

Not in this construction. In dopóki nie wrócę, the nie is part of the “until” pattern and does not negate the clause semantically. Standalone, Nie wrócę do domu would indeed mean “I won’t return home.”

Any pitfalls with do vs z here?

Yes. Do domu = “to home.” Z domu = “from home.” Don’t say wrócę z domu if you mean “return to home”; that means “return from home.”

Is there a gender difference anywhere in this sentence?

No. Poczekaj (imperative 2sg) and wrócę (1sg future) don’t show gender. Gender appears in past forms (e.g., wróciłem/wróciłam), not here.

Could I use verbs like przyjść/przyjechać instead of wrócić?

You could, but the nuance changes:

• wrócić = return (to a place you’d been before) → most idiomatic with “home.”
• przyjść/przyjechać = arrive (on foot/by vehicle), without the “return” idea. Poczekaj, aż przyjdę do domu is possible but less natural than wrócę for “get back home.”

Is there a version that says “until I am home” rather than “until I return”?

Yes: Poczekaj, aż będę w domu or Poczekaj, dopóki nie będę w domu. The first stresses the resulting state; the original with wrócę stresses the returning event.

Can I turn it into a yes/no question?

Yes: Poczekasz, dopóki nie wrócę do domu? = “Will you wait until I get home?” The structure of the subordinate clause stays the same.