……
Breakdown of Moja koleżanka lubi zupę dnia.
lubić
to like
mój
my
zupa dnia
the soup of the day
koleżanka
the friend (female)
Questions & Answers about Moja koleżanka lubi zupę dnia.
What does the Polish word in the sentence koleżanka really mean—friend, colleague, or girlfriend?
Koleżanka means a female friend/acquaintance from school, work, a club, etc. It does not imply a close friendship or a romantic relationship. For a close female friend, use przyjaciółka; for a girlfriend (romantic partner), use dziewczyna.
Why is it moja and not mój?
Adjectives and possessives agree with the noun’s gender, number, and case. Koleżanka is feminine singular nominative, so you use the feminine form moja. Masculine would be mój (e.g., mój kolega), and neuter/plural non-masculine would be moje.
Why is it zupę and not zupa?
Because lubić (to like) takes a direct object in the accusative case. The noun zupa (feminine) in accusative singular becomes zupę. Compare:
- Nominative: Zupa dnia jest pyszna. (subject)
- Accusative: Lubi zupę dnia. (object)
What case is dnia, and why is it used?
Dnia is the genitive singular of dzień (day). Polish often uses genitive to express “of,” so zupa dnia literally means “soup of the day.” This genitive stays the same even when the head noun changes case:
- Nominative: zupa dnia
- Accusative: zupę dnia
How do I negate the sentence?
Use nie before the verb and switch the direct object to genitive (a common rule in Polish):
- Moja koleżanka nie lubi zupy dnia.
Here, zupę (accusative) → zupy (genitive).
How would I say “My female friends like the soup of the day”?
Moje koleżanki lubią zupę dnia.
- moje (plural, non-masculine personal)
- koleżanki (plural)
- lubią (3rd person plural)
How do I say it with a male friend?
Mój kolega lubi zupę dnia.
Here you use mój (masculine) and kolega (male counterpart of koleżanka).
What’s the difference between koleżanka, przyjaciółka, and dziewczyna?
- koleżanka: female acquaintance/friend from some context (neutral closeness)
- przyjaciółka: close female friend (stronger bond)
- dziewczyna: girlfriend (romantic partner) or a girl (by context)
How flexible is the word order here?
Polish word order is flexible and used for emphasis, but the neutral order is Subject–Verb–Object:
- Neutral: Moja koleżanka lubi zupę dnia.
- Emphasis on the soup: Zupę dnia lubi moja koleżanka. (contrasts who likes it)
- Emphasis on liking (colloquial/marked): Moja koleżanka zupę dnia lubi.
Meaning doesn’t change; only the focus does.
How do I pronounce tricky parts like dnia and the diacritics?
- moja: MO-ya (stress on MO)
- koleżanka: ko-le-ŻAN-ka; ż sounds like English “zh” in “vision”; stress on ŻAN
- lubi: LU-bi (stress on LU)
- zupę: ZU-peh; u like “oo” in “food”; ę is nasal but often sounds close to plain “e” at word end
- dnia: roughly “dnya” with a soft, palatal n (like Spanish ñ), stress on the penultimate syllable of the whole word where applicable (Polish usually stresses the second-to-last syllable)
Why is zupę written with ę if many people say it like plain “e”?
Word-final ę is often realized as a plain “e” (with minimal or no nasalization) in everyday speech. So zupę often sounds like “zupe.” The spelling stays ę regardless.
Should I use lubić or smakować when talking about liking food?
Both are possible but slightly different:
- lubić: general liking. Moja koleżanka lubi zupę dnia.
- smakować: “to taste good to someone” (dative). Mojej koleżance smakuje zupa dnia. / Zupa dnia jej smakuje.
For “really likes,” you can also say uwielbia (adores): Uwielbia zupę dnia.
How do I ask about the soup of the day in a restaurant?
- Jaka jest dzisiaj zupa dnia? (What is today’s soup of the day?)
- Jaką macie zupę dnia? (What soup of the day do you have?)
What’s the basic conjugation of lubić?
- ja lubię
- ty lubisz
- on/ona/ono lubi
- my lubimy
- wy lubicie
- oni/one lubią
When would moja change to moją?
When koleżanka becomes a direct object (accusative feminine):
- Subject: Moja koleżanka lubi zupę dnia.
- Object: Lubię moją koleżankę.
How do I express general liking vs a specific item, given Polish has no articles?
Polish has no “a/the,” so context and determiners do the job.
- General: Moja koleżanka lubi zupy. (She likes soups in general.)
- Specific: Moja koleżanka lubi tę zupę dnia. (She likes this soup of the day.)
Here tę is the feminine accusative form of ta (this).
More from this lesson
AI Language TutorTry it ↗
“What's the best way to learn Polish grammar?”
Polish grammar becomes intuitive with practice. Focus on understanding the core patterns first — how sentences are structured, how verbs change form, and how words relate to each other. Our course breaks these concepts into small lessons so you can build understanding step by step.
Sign up free — start using our AI language tutor
Start learning PolishMaster Polish — from Moja koleżanka lubi zupę dnia to fluency
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods.
- ✓ Infinitely deep — unlimited vocabulary and grammar
- ✓ Fast-paced — build complex sentences from the start
- ✓ Unforgettable — efficient spaced repetition system
- ✓ AI tutor to answer your grammar questions