Learn Hardcore Polish: Moja siostra nie lubi zmywać naczyń. - My sister does not like to wash dishes.

Because siostra is the subject of the sentence and stands in the nominative case, so the possessive must also be nominative feminine singular: moja. The form moją is accusative/instrumental and would be used if “my sister” were an object, e.g. Widzę moją siostrę (I see my sister).

Why is it lubi and not lubię?

The verb lubić must agree with the subject. Moja siostra = she = 3rd person singular, so you use lubi. Present-tense forms:

ja: lubię
ty: lubisz
on/ona/ono: lubi
my: lubimy
wy: lubicie
oni/one: lubią

Why is nie written separately (nie lubi) and not as one word?

With verbs, nie is written separately: nie lubi, nie wiem, nie robi. With many adjectives and nouns it’s written together (spelled as one word), e.g. nieszczęśliwy (unhappy), nieprawda (untruth). So here, as a verb, it’s correctly separate.

Why zmywać and not myć? Are both correct?

Both are correct, with small nuances:

zmywać (naczynia) is the most idiomatic way to say “to do/wash the dishes.”
myć (naczynia) also works and is common; myć is a general “to wash” verb (hands, car, floor, etc.).
Perfective partners for a one-off, completed action: pozmywać/umyć (naczynia) = “to get the dishes washed (once, to completion).” In a like/dislike sentence about a general activity, the imperfective (zmywać / myć) is the natural choice: nie lubi zmywać.

Why is it naczyń and not naczynia?

Because of negation. In Polish, the direct object of a negated verb is normally in the genitive. Affirmative: Lubi zmywać naczynia (accusative plural). Negative: Nie lubi zmywać naczyń (genitive plural). Relevant forms of the neuter noun “naczynie” (a vessel/dish):

singular nominative: naczynie
plural nominative/accusative: naczynia
plural genitive: naczyń

But the negation is on lubi, not on zmywać. Does it still force genitive after the infinitive?

Yes. In constructions like (nie) lubić + infinitive + object, standard Polish puts the object in the genitive under negation: Nie lubię jeść jabłek (not: ❌jabłka), Nie lubi czytać książek. So: Nie lubi zmywać naczyń is the correct, standard form. Using the accusative here is common in casual speech but is considered nonstandard.

Can I change the word order?

Yes, but keep the default for clarity. Natural options:

Neutral: Moja siostra nie lubi zmywać naczyń.
With emphasis on the negation/verb: Nie lubi moja siostra zmywać naczyń.
More marked/focus on the object: Moja siostra naczyń zmywać nie lubi. The first version is the safest and most neutral.

Can I drop naczyń and just say Moja siostra nie lubi zmywać?

Yes. Moja siostra nie lubi zmywać is fine. In a household context, listeners will assume “the dishes.” Without context, it just means “doesn’t like washing (things).”

How do I pronounce the tricky parts?

si (in siostra) is a soft “sh” sound before a vowel: roughly “SHYO-stra.”
cz (in naczyń) is like “ch” in “church.”
y (in naczyń, zmywać) is not “ee”; it’s a central vowel (say “ih/uh” with the tongue pulled back).
ń (in naczyń) is a soft “ny,” like the Spanish ñ or “ny” in “canyon.”
w is pronounced like English “v” (so zmywać ≈ “ZMI-vatch” with a soft final “-ć”).
Word stress is on the second-to-last syllable of each multi-syllable word: mo-JA sio-STRA NIE LU-bi ZMY-wać NA-czyń.

Can lubić take both a verb and a noun as its complement?

Yes.

With an infinitive: Nie lubi zmywać (naczyń).
With a verbal noun (gerund): Nie lubi zmywania naczyń. Both are natural; the infinitive version is more colloquial. You’ll also hear the idiom for “not care for”: Nie przepada za zmywaniem naczyń (here, za takes the instrumental noun form).

What about aspect? Can I say Nie lubi pozmywać?

In like/dislike statements about general activities, Polish strongly prefers the imperfective: Nie lubi zmywać (naczyń). Perfective forms (pozmywać/umyć) refer to single, completed events, so they’re unusual with lubić. There are exceptions with certain perfective “for a while” forms (often with the prefix po-, e.g., lubi sobie pośpiewać), but for dishes stick to the imperfective: nie lubi zmywać.

Is it ever correct to say robić naczynia for “do the dishes”?

No. robić means “to make/create/do (a task),” but “do the dishes” in Polish is idiomatically zmywać naczynia or myć naczynia. So: Moja siostra nie lubi zmywać naczyń, not ❌robić naczynia.

What exactly does naczynia mean here?

Literally “vessels/containers/tableware,” but in household contexts zmywać naczynia means “to wash the dishes” (plates, bowls, glasses, cutlery, pots, etc.). The singular naczynie means “a vessel/dish” in a broad sense and is less common in the everyday “doing the dishes” phrase.

How would the sentence change with different subjects?

Masculine singular: Mój brat nie lubi zmywać naczyń.
1st person: Nie lubię zmywać naczyń.
2nd person: Nie lubisz zmywać naczyń.
Plural: Moi rodzice nie lubią zmywać naczyń. (note the verb: lubią)