Forming agentive nouns (-arz, -owiec, -acz)

To talk about the modern economy, specialized services, and everyday jobs, you don't always need to learn entirely new words. Polish frequently creates agentive nouns—words for professions and doers of an action—by attaching specific suffixes to existing words.

The classic suffix -arz

The suffix -arz (sometimes spelled -erz) is one of the most common ways to form a profession. It usually attaches to a noun to indicate someone who works with or makes that thing.

For example, from taksówka (taxi) we get taksówkarz (taxi driver), and from stół (table) we derive stolarz (carpenter). It can also attach to verbs, like malować (to paint) becoming malarz (painter).

How much does this taxi driver earn?
Ile zarabia ten taksówkarz?
This carpenter makes beautiful tables.
Ten stolarz robi piękne stoły.
Yesterday the painter painted my apartment.
Wczoraj malarz pomalował moje mieszkanie.

The specialized suffix -owiec

The suffix -owiec is highly productive in modern Polish. It is typically added to nouns to describe a specialist in a particular field, industry, or concept.

For instance, someone who handles szkolenie (training) is a szkoleniowiec (trainer), and an expert in handel (trade) is a handlowiec (salesperson).

How much does this trainer cost?
Ile kosztuje ten szkoleniowiec?
The salesperson is glad about the bonus.
Handlowiec cieszy się z premii.
The IT specialist repaired my laptop.
Komputerowiec naprawił mój laptop.
We forbid the advertiser to lie.
Zabraniamy reklamowcowi kłamać.

The doer suffix -acz

While -arz and -owiec often derive from nouns, the suffix -acz almost always attaches directly to verbs. It creates a noun for the person performing that specific action, very similar to the "-er" ending in English.

If you know the verb słuchać (to listen), you can easily guess that a słuchacz is a listener. Similarly, poszukiwać (to seek) gives us poszukiwacz (seeker).

How much time did the listener wait?
Ile czasu czekał słuchacz?
The job seeker is glad about the interview.
Poszukiwacz pracy cieszy się z rozmowy.