Learn Hardcore Polish: Jestem zadowolony z wyniku, chociaż popełniłem kilka błędów. - I am satisfied with the result, although I made a few mistakes.

jestem zadowolony = I am satisfied / I’m pleased
mam zadowolenie is grammatically possible but sounds very unnatural and abstract, more like I possess satisfaction.

Other similar patterns:

jestem zmęczony – I am tired
jestem zajęty – I am busy
jestem szczęśliwy – I am happy

So for emotional or physical states, think jestem + adjective, not mam + noun in most everyday sentences.

What gender and form is zadowolony, and how would it change if the speaker is female or if there are more people?

Zadowolony is a masculine singular form of the adjective zadowolony (satisfied, pleased).

It changes for gender and number:

male speaker: jestem zadowolony
female speaker: jestem zadowolona
group of people (at least one man): jesteśmy zadowoleni
group of only women: jesteśmy zadowolone

So a woman would say in your sentence:

Jestem zadowolona z wyniku, chociaż popełniłam kilka błędów.

What does zadowolony mean exactly, and how is it different from szczęśliwy?

Both can be translated as happy, but they are used a bit differently:

zadowolony = satisfied, pleased, content
- often about a specific result, situation, service, performance, etc.
- more about contentment than strong emotion.
szczęśliwy = happy (in the emotional sense), fortunate
- stronger and more emotional; can be general life happiness or luck.

Your sentence:

Jestem zadowolony z wyniku...
→ I’m satisfied with the result... (not necessarily thrilled, but content).

If you said:

Jestem szczęśliwy z wyniku...
it would sound more like I’m really happy with the result, stronger enthusiasm.

Why do we say z wyniku and not z wynik or z wynikem? What case is wyniku?

Wynik is the noun (result). In z wyniku, it appears as wyniku, which is genitive singular.

Two things are happening:

The preposition z (in the sense used here) usually requires the genitive case.
The pattern zadowolony z czegoś also always takes the genitive.

So:

wynik (nominative, dictionary form)
z wyniku (genitive singular: wyniku)

Other examples:

zadowolony z pracy – satisfied with the work
zadowolony z decyzji – satisfied with the decision
zadowolony z siebie – satisfied with oneself

So z wyniku is with the result / about the result, grammatically: z + genitive.

What is the literal meaning of zadowolony z wyniku?

Literally, you can think of it as:

zadowolony z wyniku ≈ satisfied from/with the result

The structure is:

zadowolony z + [genitive]

This is the standard way in Polish to say satisfied with something, pleased with something. There is no special idiom; it’s just the normal combination zadowolony z + noun (in genitive).

Could I say jestem zadowolony z rezultatu instead of z wyniku?

Yes, you can.

wynik and rezultat are close synonyms meaning result.
wynik is more common and neutral; rezultat can sound slightly more formal or technical, but it’s also very normal.

So you could say:

Jestem zadowolony z wyniku.
Jestem zadowolony z rezultatu.

Both are correct and very natural.

Why is there a comma before chociaż? Could we drop it?

In Polish, chociaż (although, even though) introduces a subordinate clause. The rule is that subordinate clauses are separated by a comma.

Your sentence has two clauses:

Jestem zadowolony z wyniku – main clause
chociaż popełniłem kilka błędów – subordinate clause (introduced by chociaż)

So we must write:

Jestem zadowolony z wyniku, chociaż popełniłem kilka błędów.

You cannot drop the comma here; without it, the sentence would be considered incorrectly punctuated in standard Polish.

Can I put chociaż at the beginning: Chociaż popełniłem kilka błędów, jestem zadowolony z wyniku? Does the meaning change?

Yes, that word order is completely correct and very natural:

Chociaż popełniłem kilka błędów, jestem zadowolony z wyniku.

The meaning is the same; only the emphasis changes slightly:

Original: Jestem zadowolony z wyniku, chociaż popełniłem kilka błędów.
→ focus more on being satisfied, then add the contrast.
Reversed: Chociaż popełniłem kilka błędów, jestem zadowolony z wyniku.
→ focus first on the fact that you made mistakes, then say still, I’m satisfied.

Both are stylistically fine.

What’s the difference between chociaż, choć, ale, and mimo że here?

All relate to contrast, but they’re used slightly differently:

chociaż – although, even though (subordinating conjunction)
choć – mostly a shorter, slightly more informal version of chociaż
- Jestem zadowolony z wyniku, choć popełniłem kilka błędów.
ale – but (coordinating conjunction)
- Popełniłem kilka błędów, ale jestem zadowolony z wyniku.
  (Different structure: you contrast two main clauses.)
mimo że – despite the fact that / even though
- Jestem zadowolony z wyniku, mimo że popełniłem kilka błędów.
  (Slightly stronger feeling of in spite of.)

In your sentence, chociaż and choć are the most direct equivalents of English although.

Why is it popełniłem and not popełniałem? What is the difference?

This is about aspect (perfective vs. imperfective):

popełniłem – perfective, past tense, completed action
- I made/committed some mistakes (the fact is done; we know the result).
popełniałem – imperfective, past tense, ongoing/repeated action in the past
- I was making / used to make mistakes (focus on process or habit, not just the completed fact).

In your sentence, you refer to a finished situation (e.g., an exam, a performance), so you use popełniłem:

Jestem zadowolony z wyniku, chociaż popełniłem kilka błędów.

→ I’m satisfied with the result, although I did make a few mistakes (during that event).

Why do we say popełniłem kilka błędów and not zrobiłem kilka błędów?

You can sometimes hear zrobić błąd, but the most natural and standard collocation in Polish is:

popełnić błąd – to commit a mistake / make a mistake

So:

popełniłem kilka błędów is the idiomatic and preferred form.
zrobiłem kilka błędów is understandable but sounds less natural in many contexts and can be considered non‑standard or childish.

Think of popełnić as the usual verb with błąd (mistake), similar to English commit an error or make a mistake.

Why is it kilka błędów and not kilka błędy? What case is błędów?

Kilka (a few, several) behaves like a numeral that requires the genitive plural of the noun that follows.

Dictionary form: błąd – a mistake (nominative singular)
Genitive plural: błędów

So you must say:

kilka błędów – a few mistakes

and not:

✗ kilka błędy – incorrect
✗ kilka błędy – incorrect form/case

Other examples:

kilka książek – a few books
kilka pytań – a few questions
kilka minut – a few minutes

So the pattern is: kilka + [genitive plural].

Why does popełniłem end with -em? How would this change if the speaker were female?

The ending -em in popełniłem shows:

1st person singular (I)
masculine gender
past tense, perfective

Polish past tense verbs agree with the subject in person and gender.

So:

male speaker: popełniłem
female speaker: popełniłam

Full sentence for a female speaker:

Jestem zadowolona z wyniku, chociaż popełniłam kilka błędów.

The -em / -am contrast in past tense is very common:

zrobiłem / zrobiłam – I did
widziałem / widziałam – I saw
napisałem / napisałam – I wrote