Brakuje mi czasu.

I don’t have enough time.

Breakdown of Brakuje mi czasu.

• czas: the time
• mi: me
• brakować: to lack

Questions & Answers about Brakuje mi czasu.

What is the literal structure of Brakuje mi czasu?

It uses the verb brakować “to lack, to be missing” in an impersonal way:

• Brakuje = “there is a lack” (3rd person singular)
• mi = “to me” (dative)
• czasu = “of time” (genitive)

Literal idea: “There is a lack to me of time.” Natural English: “I’m short of time / I lack time.”

Why is mi in the dative, and what about mnie?

With brakować, the person who experiences the lack is in the dative, so mi (to me).

• mi is the unstressed, clitic form; it’s the default in neutral statements: Brakuje mi czasu.
• mnie is the stressed form, used for emphasis or after prepositions: Mnie brakuje czasu (It’s me who lacks time).
• Starting with Mi brakuje czasu is very common in speech but considered colloquial in formal writing, where Brakuje mi czasu or Mnie brakuje czasu is preferred.

Why is it czasu (genitive) and not czas?

Because brakować governs the genitive for the thing that is lacking. The genitive also serves a partitive role (an indefinite amount), which fits “time.” The genitive singular of czas is czasu: Brakuje mi czasu.