Obok rynku jest nowa lodziarnia, ale dziś wolę ciepłą drożdżówkę.

Because obok normally requires the genitive case in Polish.

• dictionary form: rynek = market square
• after obok: rynku

So:

• obok rynku = next to / beside the market square

This is a very common pattern in Polish:

• obok domu = next to the house
• obok szkoły = next to the school

A learner should remember obok + genitive.

In this sentence, rynek usually means the market square or town square, not just a market where people buy things.

In many Polish towns, rynek refers to the central square. So obok rynku often suggests a location near the town center.

That cultural meaning is worth remembering, because translating it simply as market can sometimes sound misleading in English.

Here jest means is or there is.

• Obok rynku jest nowa lodziarnia.
• literally: Next to the market square is a new ice-cream shop.
• natural meaning: There is a new ice-cream shop next to the market square.

Polish often uses jest in sentences introducing the existence of something somewhere.

Compare:

• Jest sklep na rogu. = There is a shop on the corner.
• W domu jest cisza. = There is silence in the house.

Because the adjective has to agree with the noun in gender, number, and case.

Here:

• lodziarnia is feminine singular
• it is in the nominative case, because it is the subject of jest
• so nowy changes to nowa

That gives:

• nowa lodziarnia = a new ice-cream shop / ice-cream parlor

Other examples of agreement:

• nowy sklep = new shop
• nowa kawiarnia = new café
• nowe kino = new cinema

Lodziarnia means an ice-cream shop or ice-cream parlor.

It is related to lody, which means ice cream.

So:

• lody = ice cream
• lodziarnia = a place where ice cream is sold

This is a useful word-building pattern in Polish: a noun can describe a place connected with something.

Because Polish usually omits subject pronouns when they are already clear from the verb form.

• wolę already means I prefer
• so ja is not necessary

You could say ja wolę if you want emphasis, for example:

• Ale ja dziś wolę ciepłą drożdżówkę. = But I prefer a warm sweet bun today.

Without emphasis, Polish normally just says:

• wolę = I prefer

Yes, in most situations dziś and dzisiaj both mean today.

• dziś is slightly shorter and often feels a bit more compact
• dzisiaj is also very common and completely natural

So you could also say:

• ale dzisiaj wolę ciepłą drożdżówkę

Both are correct.

Because woleć (to prefer) takes a direct object, and that object usually goes into the accusative case.

The basic forms are:

• ciepła drożdżówka = warm sweet bun/pastry (nominative)
• ciepłą drożdżówkę = warm sweet bun/pastry (accusative)

Since the speaker prefers the pastry, it becomes the object:

• wolę ciepłą drożdżówkę

The adjective and noun both change because they are feminine singular.

Compare:

• Mam kawę. = I have coffee.
• Lubię nową kawiarnię. = I like the new café.
• Wolę ciepłą drożdżówkę. = I prefer a warm sweet bun.

This is a standard feminine singular accusative pattern.

For many feminine nouns and adjectives:

• nominative adjective: ciepła
• accusative adjective: ciepłą

and

• nominative noun: drożdżówka
• accusative noun: drożdżówkę

So the pair changes like this:

• ciepła drożdżówka → ciepłą drożdżówkę

A very similar example:

• dobra kawa → piję dobrą kawę
• nowa książka → czytam nową książkę

This is one of the most important case patterns to learn early.

Drożdżówka is a kind of sweet yeast pastry/bun. It is a very common Polish baked snack.

The word comes from drożdże, meaning yeast.

Depending on context, English translations might include:

• sweet bun
• yeast bun
• sweet yeast pastry

There is no perfect one-word English equivalent in every case, so translations can vary.

Ale means but.

It connects the two ideas:

• there is a new ice-cream shop next to the market square
• but today the speaker prefers something warm instead

So the contrast is:

• ice cream sounds like one option
• but today the speaker wants a warm pastry

This is a very natural use of ale for contrast.

Yes. Polish word order is relatively flexible, although not completely free. The original sentence is natural, but other orders are possible depending on emphasis.

Original:

• Obok rynku jest nowa lodziarnia, ale dziś wolę ciepłą drożdżówkę.

You could also say:

• Nowa lodziarnia jest obok rynku, ale dziś wolę ciepłą drożdżówkę.
• Ale dziś wolę ciepłą drożdżówkę, choć obok rynku jest nowa lodziarnia.

The original order sounds very neutral and natural: it introduces the location first, then the new ice-cream shop, then contrasts that with today's preference.

It can look intimidating, but it becomes easier if you break it into parts.

A rough pronunciation guide is:

• droż-dżów-kę

Helpful sound notes:

• ż sounds roughly like the s in measure
• dż sounds like j in jam
• ó sounds like u in Polish
• ę at the end is a nasal vowel, though in everyday speech it is often less strongly nasal than learners expect

A rough English-style approximation might be:

• drozh-JOOF-keh

But that is only approximate. The real Polish sounds are a bit different.

Often, yes. In context, that can sound very natural in English.

• dziś wolę ciepłą drożdżówkę
  can mean
  today I prefer a warm sweet bun
  or more naturally in some contexts,
  today I’d rather have a warm sweet bun

So while woleć basically means to prefer, English may use different phrasing depending on what sounds natural.