Nauczycielka tłumaczy nowe słowo.

Nauczycielka means female teacher, while nauczyciel means male teacher or sometimes teacher in a more general masculine form.

So this sentence specifically tells you that the teacher is a woman.

• nauczyciel = male teacher
• nauczycielka = female teacher

Polish often marks gender in nouns much more clearly than English does.

Here, tłumaczy means explains or is explaining.

The basic verb is tłumaczyć, which can mean:

• to explain
• to translate

In this sentence, the meaning is explains, because the object is nowe słowo = a new word. Depending on context, tłumaczyć słowo can also feel close to explain a word.

Also, tłumaczy is the 3rd person singular form, so it means:

• he explains
• she explains
• it explains

Here it matches nauczycielka, so: the female teacher explains.

Yes. Tłumaczy is in the present tense.

So the sentence can mean:

• The teacher explains a new word
• The teacher is explaining a new word

Polish present tense often covers both the simple present and the present continuous meanings that English separates.

Because Polish does not normally build the present continuous the way English does.

English says:

• she explains
• she is explaining

Polish usually uses just one present-tense form:

• ona tłumaczy

So tłumaczy can mean both explains and is explaining, depending on context.

Because słowo is a neuter noun, and nowe is the adjective new agreeing with it.

In Polish, adjectives must agree with nouns in:

• gender
• number
• case

Here:

• słowo = neuter singular
• nowe = neuter singular form of nowy = new

So:

• nowy = masculine
• nowa = feminine
• nowe = neuter

That is why you get nowe słowo.

It is in the accusative case, because it is the direct object of the verb tłumaczy.

The teacher explains what?

• nowe słowo

That makes it the object.

However, there is an important detail: for many neuter inanimate nouns, the accusative looks exactly the same as the nominative.

So:

• nominative: nowe słowo
• accusative: nowe słowo

Even though the form does not change, the grammatical role does.

In this sentence, the subject is nauczycielka, and the object is nowe słowo.

You know this because of a combination of:

• meaning
• case patterns
• normal sentence structure

The most neutral Polish word order here is:

• Nauczycielka tłumaczy nowe słowo.

That is basically:

• Teacher explains new word

Polish word order is more flexible than English, so you could also say:

• Nowe słowo tłumaczy nauczycielka.

This would still mean The teacher explains a new word, not The new word explains the teacher, because the sentence structure and meaning make the roles clear.

Yes. Tłumaczyć can mean both:

• to explain
• to translate

So nauczycielka tłumaczy nowe słowo could also be understood in some contexts as:

• The teacher translates a new word

But in many learning contexts, it is often understood as explains a new word.

If you want to be more specific, context usually makes the meaning clear.

It is not needed in Polish.

The verb form tłumaczy already tells you the subject is he/she/it in the singular, and the noun nauczycielka makes it clear that it is she.

Polish often leaves out subject pronouns when they are unnecessary.

So instead of saying:

• Ona tłumaczy nowe słowo

you can simply say:

• Nauczycielka tłumaczy nowe słowo

Using ona is possible, but often unnecessary unless you want emphasis.

A rough English-friendly guide is:

nau-chi-CHYEL-ka

More carefully:

• nau sounds roughly like now
• czy sounds like a hard ch followed by a short vowel somewhat like i in a reduced syllable
• ciel sounds roughly like chyel
• stress is on the second-to-last syllable: -ciel-

So the stress is here:

• nau-czy-CIEL-ka

As with most Polish words, the stress is on the penultimate syllable.

In the present tense, Polish verbs usually do not show gender.

So:

• nauczycielka tłumaczy = the female teacher explains
• nauczyciel tłumaczy = the male teacher explains

The verb tłumaczy stays the same.

Gender usually appears:

• in the noun itself, like nauczycielka
• or in some past-tense verb forms

For example:

• Nauczycielka tłumaczyła = The female teacher was explaining / explained
• Nauczyciel tłumaczył = The male teacher was explaining / explained

So gender matters more visibly in the past tense than in the present tense.

Yes, you could.

Wyjaśnia comes from wyjaśniać, which means to explain. It is often a very natural choice here.

So:

• Nauczycielka tłumaczy nowe słowo
• Nauczycielka wyjaśnia nowe słowo

Both can work, though they may differ slightly depending on context.

Very roughly:

• tłumaczyć can be broader and may also mean translate
• wyjaśniać is more specifically explain / clarify

So if you want to avoid the possible translate meaning, wyjaśnia can be clearer.