Czy te rajstopy nie są za cienkie do butów na takim obcasie?

Czy is the standard particle used to introduce a yes/no question in Polish.

So:

• Czy te rajstopy są za cienkie? = Are these tights too thin?
• Czy te rajstopy nie są za cienkie? = Aren’t these tights too thin?

In everyday speech, Polish speakers sometimes omit czy and use intonation alone:

• Te rajstopy nie są za cienkie?

But with czy, the sentence sounds clearer and more standard.

Yes, nie is the negation word, but in this sentence it does more than simply make the sentence negative.

Czy te rajstopy nie są za cienkie...? is a negative question, which often suggests that the speaker expects the answer might be yes. In English, this is similar to:

• Aren’t these tights too thin...?

So the speaker is not just asking neutrally. They are expressing a doubt, concern, or expectation.

Compare:

• Czy te rajstopy są za cienkie...? = Are these tights too thin...?
  More neutral.
• Czy te rajstopy nie są za cienkie...? = Aren’t these tights too thin...?
  Suggests the speaker thinks they probably are too thin.

Yes. Rajstopy is treated as plural in Polish.

That is why you get:

• te rajstopy = these tights / these pantyhose
• są = are
• cienkie = plural adjective form

So the structure is:

• te = plural these
• rajstopy = plural noun
• są = plural are
• cienkie = plural thin

This is similar to how English often treats pants, trousers, or tights as plural.

Because te is the nominative plural form of this/these for non-masculine-personal nouns, and rajstopy is plural.

A quick comparison:

• ten = masculine singular
• ta = feminine singular
• to = neuter singular
• te = plural

Since rajstopy is plural, you need te:

• te rajstopy = these tights

Because adjectives in Polish must agree with the noun in number and gender.

Since rajstopy is plural, the adjective also has to be plural:

• cienkie rajstopy = thin tights

Compare:

• cienki but = a thin/slim shoe (masculine singular)
• cienka skarpeta = a thin sock (feminine singular)
• cienkie rajstopy = thin tights (plural)

In this sentence, after są, you still use the plural adjective form:

• rajstopy są cienkie = the tights are thin

Za before an adjective means too in the sense of excessively.

So:

• cienkie = thin
• za cienkie = too thin

This is a very common pattern in Polish:

• za drogi = too expensive
• za mały = too small
• za wysoki = too tall / too high
• za cienkie = too thin

So nie są za cienkie means aren’t they too thin.

Butów is in the genitive plural, because the preposition do normally requires the genitive.

Base form:

• buty = shoes

After do:

• do butów = for shoes / for the shoes

In this sentence, do expresses suitability or appropriateness:

• za cienkie do butów... = too thin for shoes...

So this is not the literal English to. It is the normal Polish construction with do + genitive.

Literally, na takim obcasie means something like on such a heel.

More natural English translations would be:

• with such a heel
• with heels that high
• for shoes with that kind of heel

Here:

• na takes the locative
• takim is the locative singular form of taki
• obcasie is the locative singular of obcas (heel)

So:

• na takim obcasie = with a heel like that / on that kind of heel

In context, it refers to shoes with such a heel.

Because after na, the case depends on the meaning.

• na + accusative often suggests movement toward something
• na + locative often describes location, position, or a fixed characteristic

Here the sentence is describing a kind of shoe:

• buty na takim obcasie = shoes with such a heel

So this is a descriptive, fixed expression, which uses na + locative:

• na takim obcasie

If you said na taki obcas, it would sound like movement toward or onto something and would not fit this sentence.

Yes, z takim obcasem is possible and also means with such a heel.

However, buty na obcasie is a very common Polish expression for high-heeled shoes / shoes with heels. Because of that, na takim obcasie sounds especially natural here.

So:

• buty na obcasie = very common, idiomatic
• buty z obcasem = understandable, but less standard in this exact kind of phrasing

Taki means such, that kind of, or like that, depending on context.

In this sentence:

• na takim obcasie = with such a heel / with a heel like that

The form takim is used because it has to match obcasie in case, number, and gender:

• dictionary form: taki
• locative masculine singular: takim

So taki changes form just like an adjective.

The basic meaning stays the same, but Polish word order is more flexible than English.

The given sentence:

• Czy te rajstopy nie są za cienkie do butów na takim obcasie?

is natural and neutral.

You might also hear variations like:

• Czy te rajstopy nie są do butów na takim obcasie za cienkie?
• Te rajstopy nie są za cienkie do butów na takim obcasie?

These may shift the emphasis slightly, but the original version is the safest and most standard for a learner.

In natural English, you should understand it as shoes with such a heel.

Polish often uses na in places where English prefers with. So although the literal wording may look strange, the idiomatic meaning is clear:

• buty na obcasie = heels / shoes with heels
• buty na wysokim obcasie = high-heeled shoes
• buty na takim obcasie = shoes with that kind of heel

So do not translate it word-for-word too mechanically.

This can be tricky for English speakers, because negative questions do not always match English intuition perfectly.

Possible answers:

• Tak, są za cienkie. = Yes, they are too thin.
• Nie, nie są za cienkie. = No, they aren’t too thin.

Polish usually answers according to the truth of the statement being discussed:

• If the tights are too thin: Tak
• If the tights are not too thin: Nie

So in practice, learners should pay attention to the full reply, not just tak or nie.