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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).

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### 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).

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### 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).

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

adjective

adverb

conjunction

determiner

interjection

noun

numeral

particle

predicative

preposition

pronoun

proper noun

sentence

verb

This is (to jest)

The verb to be, singular (być)

Formal address (Pan, Pani)

Demonstrative pronouns (ten, ta, to)

Adjective agreement

Negation (nie)

Basic questions (czy, kto, co, gdzie, jak)

The verb to be, plural (być)

Present tense -m/-sz verbs

Reflexive verbs (się)

Coordinating conjunctions (i, a, ale)

Feminine direct objects (Accusative)

Inanimate direct objects (Accusative)

Animate masculine direct objects (Accusative)

Present tense verbs 2 (-ę, -isz / -ysz)

Expressing location (w, na)

Locative adjective agreement

Professions and nationalities (Instrumental)

Accompaniment (z + Instrumental)

Present tense verbs 3 (-ę, -esz)

Plural possessives (nasz, wasz)

Numbers 1 to 10

Genitive of possession

Genitive of negation

Lack or absence (nie ma)

Basic quantifiers (dużo, mało, trochę)

Liking things (podoba mi się)

Modal verbs (móc, musieć)

Subordinating conjunctions (bo, że)

Unidirectional motion verbs (iść, jechać)

Expressing age (mieć... lat)

Habitual motion (chodzić, jeździć)

Expressing destination (do)

Days of the week (poniedziałek, wtorek...)

Plural nouns for objects and animals

Plural nouns for people

Plural adjective agreement

Accusative object pronouns (go, ją, je...)

The past tense of to be (był)

Singular past tense (-łem, -łam...)

Expressing age (mieć + lata / lat)

Plural past tense (-li / -ły)

Perfective past tense

Future tense (będę + infinitive)

Age: one year (mieć rok)

Prices and currency (złoty, grosz)

Destination (na + accusative)

Non-masculine plurals (-e, -y, -i)

Instrumental pronouns (ze mną, z tobą)

To know (znać vs wiedzieć)

The future perfective tense

The imperative mood

Months of the year (styczeń, luty)

Greetings and farewells (dzień dobry, cześć)

Introducing yourself (mam na imię)

Thank you and sorry (dziękuję, przepraszam)

Left, right, up and down (po lewej stronie)

Parts of the body (ręka, noga)

Parts of the day (dzień, noc, południe)

What is it like? (jaki, jaka, jakie)

Speaking Polish (mówić po polsku)

Instrumental for adjectives (dobrym, dobrą)

Please do... (proszę + infinitive)

Interests (interesować się + Instrumental)

Can one? (można, trzeba, nie wolno)

By bus or by train (jechać autobusem)

Where are you from? (jestem z Polski)

Where exactly? (obok, przy, przed, za, pod, nad)

What time is it? (Która godzina?)

Not seeing her (go, jej, ich; niego, niej, nich)

When I have time (kiedy as a conjunction)

Irregular past stems (miał, mieli)

The verb 'iść' in the past (szedł, szli)

Imperfective future (będę odpoczywał)

Past aspect (robił vs zrobił)

Future aspect (będzie malował vs pomaluje)

Perfective motion with po- (pójść, pojechać)

Arrival verbs with przy- (przyjść, przyjechać)

Departure verbs with wy- (wyjść, wyjechać)

The Vocative case (Panie, Mamo)

Plural possessives (moi, moje)

Reflexive possessive pronouns (swój)

Genitive plural of masculine nouns (-ów, -y, -i)

Genitive plural of feminine and neuter nouns

Genitive plural of adjectives (-ych, -ich)

Accusative plural of masculine personal nouns

Question	Answer
the taxi driver	taksówkarz
The taxi driver is afraid of ZUS.	Taksówkarz boi się ZUS-u.
How much does this taxi driver earn?	Ile zarabia ten taksówkarz?
the carpenter	stolarz
This carpenter makes beautiful tables.	Ten stolarz robi piękne stoły.
We are carpenters.	My jesteśmy stolarzami.
the painter	malarz
Yesterday the painter painted my apartment.	Wczoraj malarz pomalował moje mieszkanie.
They are famous painters.	Oni są sławnymi malarzami.
the trainer	szkoleniowiec
How much does this trainer cost?	Ile kosztuje ten szkoleniowiec?
The trainer ordered us to practice.	Szkoleniowiec kazał nam ćwiczyć.
the salesperson	handlowiec
The salesperson is glad about the bonus.	Handlowiec cieszy się z premii.
You are good salespeople.	Wy jesteście dobrymi handlowcami.
the IT specialist	komputerowiec
The IT specialist repaired my laptop.	Komputerowiec naprawił mój laptop.
Does the IT specialist allow you to play?	Czy komputerowiec pozwala ci grać?
the financier	finansowiec
The financier must understand the economy.	Finansowiec musi rozumieć gospodarkę.
The financier did not pay his PIT.	Finansowiec nie zapłacił PIT-u.
the advertiser	reklamowiec
We forbid the advertiser to lie.	Zabraniamy reklamowcowi kłamać.
This advertising specialist has a problem with ZUS.	Ten reklamowiec ma problem z ZUS-em.
the listener	słuchacz
How much time did the listener wait?	Ile czasu czekał słuchacz?
Listeners are afraid of silence.	Słuchacze boją się ciszy.
the seeker	poszukiwacz
The job seeker is glad about the interview.	Poszukiwacz pracy cieszy się z rozmowy.
We are talent scouts.	My jesteśmy poszukiwaczami talentów.