Nie chcę ci przeszkadzać.

I

Breakdown of Nie chcę ci przeszkadzać.

• nie: not
• chcieć: to want
• ci: you

Questions & Answers about Nie chcę ci przeszkadzać.

Why is it chcę and not chce?

Chcę is the 1st person singular form of chcieć (to want), so it means I want.

• chcę = I want
• chcesz = you want
• chce = he/she/it wants

So in Nie chcę ci przeszkadzać, the speaker is saying I don’t want..., which is why chcę is needed.

Also notice the letter ę at the end. It is not optional spelling; it is part of the correct verb form.

What does ci mean here, and why is it not ciebie or tobie?

Here, ci means to you.

It is the unstressed dative form of ty (you, singular, informal).

Compare:

• ci = short, unstressed to you
• tobie = fuller, stressed to you
• ciebie = you in different cases, not the one used here

The verb przeszkadzać takes the dative case, so Polish uses the equivalent of to you:

• przeszkadzać komuś = to disturb/bother someone

That is why we get:

• ci przeszkadzać = to bother/disturb you

You could also say Nie chcę tobie przeszkadzać, but ci sounds more natural in a neutral sentence.

Why is ci in lowercase?