Percentages and the Genitive Case
To express percentages in Polish, use the word procent. When you want to specify a percentage of something, the noun that follows must be in the Genitive case.
For example, "body mass" is masa ciała, but "a percentage of body mass" becomes procent masy ciała.
Reading Decimals with "Przecinek"
In English, we write and read decimals with a decimal point (e.g., "point five"). Polish uses a comma instead, both in written numbers and in speech. The Polish word for comma is przecinek.
When reading a decimal number like 22.5, a Polish speaker literally says "twenty-two comma five" (dwadzieścia dwa przecinek pięć).
Talking About Measurements
Tracking fitness means looking at measurements like height (wzrost), circumference (obwód), and monitoring your muscles (mięsień). When you state a measurement using decimals, the unit of measurement also typically takes the Genitive case (such as metra for meters).
"Stanowić": To Constitute
When analyzing results, especially in formal or medical contexts, Polish often uses the verb stanowić (to constitute / to make up) instead of simply using the verb "to be". You can seamlessly combine this with your new decimals and percentages.
Putting It All Together
Let's look at a few final examples calculating a fat index (wskaźnik tłuszczowy) and body circumference. Notice how the numbers flow using przecinek and procent alongside the fitness vocabulary.
