Mówi się, że ten kraj jest piękny.

to be

Breakdown of Mówi się, że ten kraj jest piękny.

• że: that
• piękny: beautiful
• ten: this

Questions & Answers about Mówi się, że ten kraj jest piękny.

What does mówi się literally mean, and why is się there at all?

Literally, mówi się could be broken down as:

• mówi – one speaks / (someone) speaks
• się – a reflexive particle

But in this structure mówi się does not mean “someone speaks themselves”. Instead, this is a very common Polish pattern called impersonal reflexive.

mówi się corresponds best to:

• “it is said” or
• “people say”

So Mówi się, że ten kraj jest piękny ≈ It is said / People say that this country is beautiful.

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Is mówi się closer to English “it is said” or “people say”?

Functionally, it can cover both, but the feel is a bit different:

• Like “it is said” – impersonal, no clear subject, general rumor or opinion.
• Like “people say” – also general, but hints more at what people think / say.

In practice:

• Mówi się, że… is very close to English “they say that…” or “people say that…” in everyday speech.
• In more formal or written English, you might translate it as “it is said that…”.

So it sits somewhere between the two; context and style of the translation decide which English version you choose.

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