Po pracy przyjemnie się odpoczywa na balkonie.

Po pracy means after work.

The noun praca changes to pracy because the preposition po takes the locative case when it means after in expressions of time.

• praca = work
• po pracy = after work

This is a very common pattern:

• po obiedzie = after dinner
• po szkole = after school
• po filmie = after the film

So pracy is the locative singular form of praca.

Because przyjemnie is an adverb, not an adjective.

Here it describes the whole experience of relaxing, not a noun. The idea is:

• It is pleasant to relax on the balcony after work
• literally more like Pleasantly, one relaxes on the balcony after work

Compare:

• przyjemny balkon = a pleasant balcony
• przyjemna praca = pleasant work
• przyjemnie odpoczywać / przyjemnie się odpoczywa = it is pleasant to rest / relax

So the sentence needs the adverb przyjemnie.

In this sentence, się helps create an impersonal meaning.

It does not mean that someone is literally doing something to themselves. Instead, it makes the sentence more general, like:

• one relaxes
• people relax
• it is possible / normal / pleasant to relax

So przyjemnie się odpoczywa means something like:

• it’s pleasant to relax
• one relaxes pleasantly
• people can relax pleasantly

This kind of się construction is very common in Polish for general statements.

Because impersonal się constructions usually use the verb in the 3rd person singular.

There is no specific subject like I, you, or they, so Polish uses this default verb form:

• Tu dobrze się pracuje. = It’s good to work here.
• W Polsce dużo się czyta. = People read a lot in Poland.
• Po pracy przyjemnie się odpoczywa. = After work, it’s pleasant to relax.

So odpoczywa is not referring to he/she/it in the normal sense. It is just the standard form used in this impersonal pattern.

That is often a useful way to understand it, yes.

A very literal English equivalent could be:

• one relaxes

But in natural English, we usually translate this more smoothly as:

• it’s pleasant to relax
• it’s nice to relax

So one relaxes helps explain the grammar, but it is usually not the best final translation in normal English.

Because this sentence needs a finite verb, and odpoczywa is the correct finite form here.

• odpoczywać = infinitive, to relax / to rest
• odpoczywa = relaxes / one relaxes / it is possible to relax
• odpocznie = perfective future, roughly will rest / will get some rest

Why odpoczywa specifically?

1. The sentence is a general statement, not a one-time completed action.
2. That favors the imperfective verb odpoczywać.
3. In the impersonal się pattern, we need the finite form odpoczywa.

So the sentence describes a general pleasant activity, not a single completed future event.

Balkonie is in the locative case.

That is because na can take different cases depending on meaning:

• na + locative = location, on / at
• na + accusative = movement toward a surface/place, onto / to

Here the meaning is location:

• na balkonie = on the balcony

So:

• balkon = balcony
• na balkonie = on the balcony

Because na balkon would suggest movement onto the balcony, not being there.

Compare:

• Idę na balkon. = I’m going out onto the balcony.
• Jestem na balkonie. = I’m on the balcony.
• Po pracy przyjemnie się odpoczywa na balkonie. = After work, it’s pleasant to relax on the balcony.

In your sentence, the person is already relaxing there, so na balkonie is the correct choice.

No, Polish word order is fairly flexible, though some versions sound more natural than others.

The original sentence is natural:

• Po pracy przyjemnie się odpoczywa na balkonie.

But you could also say:

• Na balkonie przyjemnie się odpoczywa po pracy.
• Przyjemnie się odpoczywa na balkonie po pracy.

The differences are mostly about emphasis.

A useful thing to remember: się usually stays close to the verb and normally does not begin the sentence.

It is general, not personal.

It does not mean:

• I relax on the balcony after work

That would be:

• Po pracy odpoczywam na balkonie.

Instead, Po pracy przyjemnie się odpoczywa na balkonie expresses a general observation:

• After work, it’s pleasant to relax on the balcony
• Relaxing on the balcony after work is nice

So the sentence sounds more like a general truth or experience than a statement about one specific person.

Yes, but the meaning or style changes slightly.

For example:

• Po pracy miło jest odpoczywać na balkonie.
• Po pracy przyjemnie jest odpoczywać na balkonie.

These are also correct and mean something similar: it is nice to relax on the balcony after work.

However, the original with się is very natural in Polish and often sounds smoother and more idiomatic in this kind of general statement.

You can also use miło.

For example:

• Po pracy miło się odpoczywa na balkonie.

This is very natural too.

A rough difference:

• miło = nice, pleasant, in a warm everyday way
• przyjemnie = pleasantly, pleasant in a slightly broader or sometimes a bit more formal-sounding way

In many contexts, they are very close, and both work well here.