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To react spontaneously and express strong emotion about a person, thing, or situation, Polish uses the exclamatory phrase **co za** (what a). 

### The Nominative Case

Unlike many other prepositions and expressions in Polish, **co za** does not change the grammatical case of the noun that follows it. The noun simply remains in the **Nominative** case—its basic dictionary form. 

You can use it for both positive reactions and negative shocks.

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### Adding Context to the Exclamation

Often, you will want to explain exactly *what* triggered your reaction. You can expand a **co za** exclamation by attaching an action to it. This is usually done with a simple infinitive verb, a **że** (that) clause, or a **żeby** (to) clause.

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Noun exclamations (co za)

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
what a	co za
lucky break	fart
What a lucky break!	Co za fart!
relief	ulga
What a relief!	Co za ulga!
nerve	tupet
What nerve not to call us back!	Co za tupet, żeby do nas nie oddzwonić!
insolence	bezczelność
What insolence that he lies!	Co za bezczelność, że kłamie!
boorishness	chamstwo
What boorishness! Such things are heard every day.	Co za chamstwo! Takie rzeczy słyszy się codziennie.
agony	męczarnia
The patient shouted in pain: what agony!	Pacjent krzyknął z bólu: co za męczarnia!
disgrace	kompromitacja
What a disgrace! And he cared so much about this project.	Co za kompromitacja! A bardzo zależało mu na tym projekcie.
irony	ironia
What an irony of fate!	Co za ironia losu!
cowardice	tchórzostwo
What cowardice to run away from here!	Co za tchórzostwo uciekać stąd!
It was a double mistake. What irony!	To był podwójny błąd. Co za ironia!
What a lucky break that this article reads so fast!	Co za fart, że ten artykuł czyta się szybko!
The waitress sighed quietly: what a relief!	Kelnerka westchnęła cichutko: co za ulga!
Peace was important to me, and here what agony!	Zależało mi na spokoju, a tu co za męczarnia!
What nerve! He is asking for money again.	Co za tupet! Znowu prosi o pieniądze.
What boorishness! Nobody helped.	Co za chamstwo! Nikt nie pomógł.
What double insolence to lie like that!	Co za podwójna bezczelność, żeby tak kłamać!
What cowardice! I will never understand this.	Co za tchórzostwo! Nigdy tego nie zrozumiem.
What a disgrace in front of the boss!	Co za kompromitacja przed szefem!