Breakdown of Jest mi zimno, ale i tak idę na spacer.
Questions & Answers about Jest mi zimno, ale i tak idę na spacer.
Polish uses an impersonal construction to talk about feeling cold, hot, etc.:
- Jest mi zimno. – I feel cold (literally: It is cold to me).
- Jest mi gorąco. – I am hot / I feel hot.
Using jestem zimny / zimna describes what you are like, not how you feel:
- Jestem zimny / zimna. – I am cold in the sense: cold person / cold to the touch / unemotional.
So, for physical sensation:
→ jest mi zimno, jest mi gorąco, jest mi zimno w ręce etc., not jestem zimny.
Mi is the dative form of ja (I), and in this position it’s a clitic (short, unstressed pronoun):
- ja (nominative) → mi / mnie (dative)
In sentences like jest mi zimno, the construction is literally "it is cold to me". The experiencer of the feeling is in the dative:
- Jest mi zimno. – It is cold to me.
- Jest ci zimno. – It is cold to you.
- Jest mu zimno. – He feels cold.
Mi is the short, common spoken form. You can also say mnie:
- Jest mnie zimno. – possible, but sounds more emphatic or careful; everyday speech strongly prefers mi here.
Yes, both are correct and mean the same in practice:
- Jest mi zimno.
- Zimno mi.
The second version simply drops the verb jest, which is very common in Polish in such constructions. It’s slightly more colloquial/short, but completely standard.
You can do the same with other sensations:
- Jest mi gorąco → Gorąco mi.
- Jest mu smutno → Smutno mu.
Here zimno is not a normal adjective agreeing with a noun; it functions as a kind of impersonal predicative (similar to an adverb):
- zimny / zimna / zimne – adjective forms (cold)
- zimno – here: “cold” as a state/feeling (like “it is cold” in English)
Polish uses neuter singular for many such “impersonal” states:
- Jest zimno. – It is cold.
- Jest mi zimno. – I am cold.
- Jest mi gorąco. – I’m hot.
- Jest mi smutno. – I feel sad.
So zimno here doesn’t agree with “I” (ja); it’s a fixed neuter form used in this type of construction.
- ale = but
- i tak (together) ≈ anyway / even so / regardless / still
In ale i tak idę na spacer, the structure is:
- ale – introduces contrast with the previous clause (but…)
- i tak – reinforces “despite that / even so / anyway”
So:
- Jest mi zimno, ale i tak idę na spacer.
≈ I feel cold, but I’m going for a walk anyway / but even so I’m going for a walk.
You could say only ale idę na spacer (but I’m going for a walk), but ale i tak is stronger and more expressive: but I’m still going anyway.
That word order is possible but sounds marked / less natural in this context. The most natural is:
- ale i tak idę na spacer
I tak usually appears before the verb when it means “anyway, in any case, despite that”:
- On protestuje, ale i tak to zrobimy. – He protests, but we’ll do it anyway.
Putting i tak at the end (…idę na spacer i tak) can sometimes sound like you’re listing it as an afterthought. It’s not wrong in every context, but in the given sentence, the standard choice is ale i tak idę…
In Polish, spacer (“a walk”) normally needs a preposition to express “for a walk”. The fixed, natural phrase is:
- iść na spacer – to go for a walk
So you need:
- na
- spacer (accusative) → na spacer
Examples:
- Jutro idę na spacer. – I’m going for a walk tomorrow.
- Chodzimy codziennie na spacer. – We go for a walk every day.
Without na, idę spacer is incorrect.
Both relate to walking, but they’re used differently:
iść na spacer – to go for a walk (focusing on the act of going for a walk, often a single event)
- Idę na spacer. – I’m going for a walk (now / shortly).
spacerować – to walk / to stroll (focusing on the activity of walking around itself)
- Lubię spacerować. – I like walking (strolling).
- Spacerujemy po parku. – We are walking/strolling in the park.
So you might:
- Idę na spacer – you leave home to go for a walk, and then
- spaceruję po mieście – you are strolling around town.
Polish distinguishes two types of “go” verbs (especially for walking):
- iść – one-direction, going now / in progress / this specific time
- chodzić – habitual, repeated actions, or movement “around” (not single, focused trip)
In ale i tak idę na spacer, you’re talking about this particular walk (now / shortly):
- Idę na spacer. – I’m going (now / in a moment) for a walk.
Compare:
- Codziennie chodzę na spacer. – I go for a walk every day. (habit)
- Dzisiaj też idę na spacer. – Today I’m (also) going for a walk. (today’s specific case)
So idę fits the “this time, right now” meaning.
Yes, but the nuance changes.
Idę na spacer.
- present tense of iść
- describes something already decided / starting now or very soon, often almost “in progress”:
- I’m going for a walk (now / in a minute).
Pójdę na spacer.
- future (perfective) of pójść
- focuses on the future decision or result:
- I will go for a walk (at some point later).
In your full sentence:
Jest mi zimno, ale i tak idę na spacer.
– I feel cold, but I’m (still) going for a walk (now / very soon).Jest mi zimno, ale i tak pójdę na spacer.
– I feel cold, but I’ll (still) go for a walk (I’ve decided / at some point, maybe not immediately).
Both are correct; context and intended timing decide which is better.
You can say Ja idę na spacer, but the pronoun ja is usually omitted unless you want to emphasize the subject:
- Idę na spacer. – I’m going for a walk. (normal, neutral)
- Ja idę na spacer. – I am going for a walk (implying contrast, e.g. I am, but you’re not).
In your sentence, the neutral, most natural version is exactly what you have:
- Jest mi zimno, ale i tak idę na spacer.