Learn Hardcore Polish: Po pracy wolę leżeć na kanapie niż siedzieć przy biurku. - After work I prefer to lie on the sofa rather than sit at the desk.

When po means “after (in time)”, it takes the locative:
- po pracy – after work
- po śniadaniu – after breakfast
- po szkole – after school

So po pracy literally means “after (the) work” with praca in the locative form pracy.

Why is it wolę, and what verb is that?

Wolę is the 1st person singular present tense of the verb woleć = “to prefer”.

Infinitive: woleć – to prefer
ja wolę – I prefer
ty wolisz – you prefer
on/ona woli – he/she prefers

So Po pracy wolę… = “After work I prefer…”.

This verb is typically followed by a noun or an infinitive:

Wolę kawę. – I prefer coffee.
Wolę leżeć. – I prefer to lie (down).

Why do we use infinitives leżeć and siedzieć after wolę?

In Polish, after verbs of liking/wanting/preference (like lubić, chcieć, woleć), you usually use the infinitive to talk about actions in general:

Lubię czytać. – I like to read.
Chcę spać. – I want to sleep.
Wolę leżeć niż siedzieć. – I prefer to lie (down) rather than sit.

So leżeć and siedzieć are just the basic dictionary forms, used here to express general activities.

What case is kanapie in na kanapie, and why is that form used?

Kanapie is in the locative case.

The preposition na can take locative or accusative, depending on the meaning:

na
- locative = location / “on” (no movement)
- na kanapie – on the couch (where?)
- na stole – on the table (where?)
na
- accusative = direction / “onto” (movement)
- siadam na kanapę – I sit down on(to) the couch (where to?)
- kładę książkę na stół – I put the book on(to) the table (where to?)

In your sentence, the idea is “lying on the couch” as a place, not moving onto it, so na kanapie (locative) is correct.

Why is it przy biurku and not na biurku or w biurku?

Przy biurku literally means “by/at the desk”, i.e. the place where you sit to work.

przy
- locative = next to / by / at
  - przy biurku – at the desk
  - przy stole – at the table

Other prepositions would change the meaning:

na biurku – on the desk (on the surface)
w biurku – in the desk (inside a drawer etc.)

Since the sentence contrasts lying on a couch with sitting at a desk, przy biurku is the natural choice.

What case is biurku in przy biurku?

Biurku is in the locative case.

The preposition przy (“by / near / at”) always takes the locative:

przy oknie – by the window
przy drzwiach – by the door
przy biurku – by/at the desk

So biurko (desk, nominative) → biurku (locative).

How does the comparison with niż work here? Could I use od instead?

In this sentence niż works like “rather than / than” in English:

Wolę leżeć na kanapie niż siedzieć przy biurku.
– I prefer lying on the couch to sitting at the desk.

Common patterns:

wolę X niż Y – I prefer X rather than Y
bardziej lubię X niż Y – I like X more than Y

Od is normally used with adjectives/adverbs in comparisons:

Jestem wyższy od ciebie. – I am taller than you.
Ten film jest lepszy od tamtego. – This film is better than that one.

With woleć, the usual and most natural pattern is wolę X niż Y, not od.

Can I move po pracy to another place in the sentence? For example: Wolę po pracy leżeć na kanapie…?

Yes. Polish word order is quite flexible. All of these are grammatically correct:

Po pracy wolę leżeć na kanapie niż siedzieć przy biurku.
Wolę po pracy leżeć na kanapie niż siedzieć przy biurku.
Wolę leżeć na kanapie po pracy niż siedzieć przy biurku.

The differences are mostly in emphasis:

Starting with Po pracy highlights the time (“After work, I prefer…”).
Putting po pracy after wolę or at the end sounds a bit more neutral or slightly emphasizes the activity instead of the time.

For a learner, the original order is very natural and clear.

Why is there no ja (“I”) in the sentence? Is it wrong to say Ja po pracy wolę…?

Polish usually drops subject pronouns when the verb ending already shows the person:

Wolę already means “I prefer” (1st person singular), so ja is not needed.

You can say:

Ja po pracy wolę leżeć na kanapie…

That is grammatically correct, but adding ja often gives a feeling of emphasis or contrast:

Ja po pracy wolę leżeć na kanapie, a ty wolisz siedzieć przy biurku.
– I after work prefer lying on the couch, and you prefer sitting at the desk.

So: no ja is the default; ja is used for highlighting or contrast.

What is the difference between wolę leżeć and wolę poleżeć?

Both are possible, but the aspect is different:

leżeć – imperfective, focuses on the activity itself, general or ongoing
- Wolę leżeć na kanapie. – I prefer (the activity of) lying on the couch.
poleżeć – perfective, suggests lying for some time / for a while, a kind of completed episode
- Po pracy wolę trochę poleżeć. – After work I prefer to lie down for a while.

In your sentence, wolę leżeć expresses a general preference (lying vs sitting).
Wolę poleżeć would sound more like “I’d rather go lie down for a bit (now/today).”

Does Po pracy wolę leżeć… describe a general habit or just today?

Grammatically, wolę is present tense, and without extra context it most naturally expresses a general preference / habit:

“After work, I (generally) prefer to lie on the couch…”

In context, it can also refer to a specific situation (“today after work”), especially if the conversation makes that clear:

Dzisiaj po pracy wolę leżeć na kanapie. – Today after work I’d rather lie on the couch.

So the bare sentence is best understood as a general preference, but can be used about the near future if context suggests that.

How do you pronounce the tricky parts: wolę, leżeć, przy, biurku?

Approximate English-based hints (not IPA):

wolę – VOH-leh
- w like v in voice
- o like in lot
- lę: l
  - e; final ę is usually just e with a very light or no nasal sound in casual speech
leżeć – LEH-zhech
- le as in let
- ż like s in measure
- final ć is a soft ch (as in “chew” but softer and shorter)
przy – roughly pshih
- prz = a single sound like psh or sh, but with a p starting it
- y is a hard i, like the vowel in Polish my (no real English equivalent; somewhere between i in bit and u in put)
biurku – BYOOR-koo
- biu like byoo
- r rolled or tapped
- ku like koo in cool

These are approximations, but they should help you get close.