Kiedy nie znam znaczenia słowa, najpierw pytam koleżankę, a dopiero potem sprawdzam je w słowniku.

Kiedy means when and is a very common way to introduce a time clause.

In this sentence, Kiedy nie znam znaczenia słowa... means When I don’t know the meaning of a word...

A learner might also see:

• gdy — also means when, but can sound a bit more formal or literary in some contexts
• jak — sometimes used colloquially in time clauses, but it is not the most neutral choice here

So kiedy is the most straightforward, standard option.

In Polish, znać and wiedzieć are different verbs.

• znać = to know, be familiar with
• wiedzieć = to know a fact, to be aware

You say:

• znam to słowo = I know this word
• nie znam znaczenia = I don’t know the meaning

But:

• wiem, co to znaczy = I know what it means

So nie znam znaczenia słowa is natural because the speaker is talking about not being familiar with the meaning.

Because the verb znać often takes a direct object, but after negation in Polish, that object is very often put in the genitive instead of the accusative.

Compare:

• Znam znaczenie słowa. = I know the meaning of the word.
• Nie znam znaczenia słowa. = I do not know the meaning of the word.

So:

• affirmative: znaczenie (accusative, same form as nominative here)
• negative: znaczenia (genitive)

This is a very important pattern in Polish: negation often triggers the genitive.

Słowa is the genitive singular of słowo (word).

In znaczenie słowa, the structure means the meaning of a word / the word’s meaning.

So:

• znaczenie = meaning
• słowa = of a word

This is a normal noun + genitive pattern in Polish, similar to:

• kolor domu = the color of the house
• imię dziecka = the child’s name

Najpierw means first, at first, or first of all, depending on context.

In this sentence it marks the first step in a sequence:

• najpierw pytam koleżankę = first I ask my female friend / colleague

It is often paired with something that marks the next step, such as:

• potem = then, afterwards
• później = later
• a potem = and then / and after that

Potem simply means then / afterwards.

Dopiero potem adds emphasis and means something like:

• only then
• not until afterwards
• only after that

So the sentence does not just say:

• First I ask my friend, then I check it in the dictionary

It says more specifically:

• First I ask my friend, and only then do I check it in the dictionary

Dopiero often gives this sense of delay or “not before that point”.

Here a is a conjunction linking the two parts of the sentence:

• najpierw pytam koleżankę
• a dopiero potem sprawdzam je w słowniku

In English, a can correspond to:

• and
• while
• sometimes just a linking pause

In this sentence, it helps contrast the two steps in sequence: first one action, and only then the second action.

So a dopiero potem sounds very natural and emphasizes the progression.

Koleżankę is accusative singular of koleżanka.

The verb pytać usually takes:

• the person asked in the accusative
• the thing asked about, often with o
  • accusative

So:

• pytam koleżankę = I ask my female friend / colleague
• pytam koleżankę o znaczenie słowa = I ask my female friend about the meaning of the word

In your sentence, the o... part is omitted because it is understood from context.

It can mean either, depending on context.

Very roughly:

• kolega / koleżanka = colleague, classmate, acquaintance, friend
• przyjaciel / przyjaciółka = close friend

So koleżanka does not necessarily mean a very close friend. It often means a female friend, female classmate, or female colleague.

Without context, a natural translation could be female friend or female colleague.

Je refers back to znaczenie or possibly to the whole idea of the unknown word’s meaning, but grammatically it works as a pronoun matching a neuter singular noun used as a direct object.

Here the most important thing to notice is:

• słowo is neuter
• znaczenie is also neuter
• the accusative singular pronoun for neuter is je

So:

• sprawdzam je = I check it

Polish often uses pronouns where English might also use it, but the form must match the noun’s gender and case.

Yes, grammatically it could, because both słowo and znaczenie are neuter singular, so the pronoun je fits either one.

But in context, the intended idea is most likely the meaning or the word/its meaning as something to look up. In real usage, Polish speakers often rely on context like this.

If someone wanted to make it more explicit, they might say:

• sprawdzam znaczenie słowa w słowniku = I check the meaning of the word in the dictionary

But sprawdzam je sounds natural once the object has already been introduced.

W słowniku means in the dictionary.

After w meaning in, Polish normally uses the locative case.

So:

• słownik = dictionary
• w słowniku = in the dictionary

This is a very common pattern:

• w domu = in the house / at home
• w szkole = at school
• w książce = in the book

Be careful: w can also take the accusative when it means into, but here it means location, so it takes the locative.

Polish often uses sprawdzać in contexts where English uses check or look up.

So:

• sprawdzam je w słowniku literally = I check it in the dictionary
• natural English meaning = I look it up in the dictionary

Polish does not always need a special separate verb exactly matching English look up. Sprawdzać works very naturally here.

Yes, Polish word order is flexible, but this version is very natural because it highlights the sequence clearly:

• Kiedy nie znam znaczenia słowa — setting the situation
• najpierw — first step
• a dopiero potem — second step, with emphasis

You could rearrange parts for emphasis, for example:

• Najpierw pytam koleżankę, a dopiero potem sprawdzam je w słowniku, kiedy nie znam znaczenia słowa.

But that sounds less neutral and less smooth.

The original order is the clearest and most natural for everyday Polish.