Learn Hardcore Polish: W pudełku w zamrażarce trzymam warzywa na zupę. - In a box in the freezer I keep vegetables for soup.

For movement into something, Polish normally uses do + genitive: e.g., wkładam warzywa do zamrażarki (I’m putting the vegetables into the freezer).

Why does “pudełko” become “pudełku” (with -u), not something like “pudełce”?

Neuter nouns vary in the locative. Some take -e (e.g., w oknie from okno, na krześle from krzesło), and some take -u (e.g., w jajku from jajko, w pudełku from pudełko). It’s a lexical pattern you learn with each noun; dictionaries list the locative.

What’s going on with “zamrażarce”? How is “zamrażarka” declined?

Zamrażarka (a freezer appliance) is a regular feminine noun:

nominative: zamrażarka
accusative: zamrażarkę
genitive: zamrażarki
dative/locative: zamrażarce → hence w zamrażarce (“in the freezer”)
instrumental: zamrażarką

Why is it “warzywa” and not “warzywy”?

The base noun is neuter: warzywo (a vegetable). Neuter nouns typically make the plural in -a: warzywa (vegetables). There is no form “warzywy.”

Is “warzywa” nominative or accusative here?

Accusative. It’s the direct object of trzymam (I keep). For neuter plural, nominative and accusative look the same: warzywa.

Why “na zupę” and not “do zupy”? Are both correct?

Both are possible, but they have slightly different flavors:

na + accusative often expresses intended purpose/use. warzywa na zupę = vegetables intended for making soup (natural collocation).
do + genitive is “for/to/into” in a destination or suitability sense. warzywa do zupy = vegetables for soup (also fine, a bit more “suitable for adding to soup”). In everyday speech, na zupę is very idiomatic with ingredients.

Why singular “zupę” and not plural “zupy”?

You’re talking about soup as a dish/purpose in general (“for soup”), so singular is used: na zupę. Na zupy would mean “for soups” (various soups), which is rarer unless you mean multiple different soups.

Can I change the order of the two “w …” phrases?

Yes. Polish word order is flexible. You could say:

W pudełku w zamrażarce trzymam warzywa na zupę. (original)
W zamrażarce, w pudełku, trzymam warzywa na zupę.
Trzymam warzywa na zupę w pudełku w zamrażarce. Order slightly affects emphasis (what you foreground first), but all are grammatical.

Do I need to say “Ja trzymam …”?

No. Polish usually drops subject pronouns because the verb ending (-am in trzymam) already shows person/number. Ja trzymam is used for emphasis or contrast (I keep them, not someone else).

What’s the difference between “trzymam,” “przechowuję,” and “mam” here?

trzymam = I keep/store (neutral, common in everyday speech).
przechowuję = I store/preserve (more formal/technical).
mam = I have (expresses possession; you can say Mam warzywa w pudełku w zamrażarce, which is also natural). Avoid przetrzymuję here—it implies keeping something too long or improperly.

What’s the difference between “zamrażarka” and “zamrażalnik”?

zamrażarka = the freezer appliance (a standalone unit or the freezer as a device).
zamrażalnik = the freezer compartment within a fridge. In everyday talk, people also say zamrażarka for the freezer compartment, but zamrażalnik is the precise term.

Should it be “w” or “we” before “zamrażarce”?

Use w zamrażarce. The variant we appears mainly before words beginning with w- or f- (or tricky clusters) to ease pronunciation (e.g., we wtorek, we Wrocławiu, we Francji). Before zamrażarce, standard is plain w.

Is it okay to have two “w …” phrases in a row? Do I need a comma?

It’s perfectly fine to stack them: w pudełku w zamrażarce. No comma is needed unless you’re adding a pause for style or emphasis.

How would I say “I’m putting the vegetables into the box and into the freezer”?

Use motion “into” with do + genitive:

Present: Wkładam warzywa do pudełka i (wkładam pudełko) do zamrażarki.
Past perfective: Włożyłem/Włożyłam warzywa do pudełka i do zamrażarki. Using w + accusative for containers is much less common here; do is the default.

How do you pronounce the tricky parts: “trzymam,” “rz,” and the final “ę” in “zupę”?

trz in trzymam sounds like a hard “tsh” cluster ([tʂ]); think “ch” in “chocolate” but retroflex and stronger.
rz (as in zamrażarce) sounds like “zh” (as in “measure”).
ł (in pudełku) is like English “w.”
Final ę (in zupę) is often realized close to plain “e,” so it sounds like “ZOO-peh.”

Is there a single word for “vegetables for soup” in Polish?

Yes: włoszczyzna—the typical Polish soup-veg mix (carrot, parsley root, celery, leek, etc.). You could say: W zamrażarce w pudełku trzymam włoszczyznę. But warzywa na zupę is more general and equally natural.

Would “pojemnik” be more natural than “pudełko” for a freezer container?

Often yes. Pudełko is “a box” (often cardboard or any box-like container). For food in the freezer, people commonly say pojemnik (plastikowy) “container.” Example: W pojemniku w zamrażarce trzymam warzywa na zupę.