The Prefix prze-: Doing Too Much
In Polish, adding the prefix prze- to a verb often changes its meaning to express excess—doing something too much, exceeding a limit, or going too far. For example, it turns the base verb into an extreme: solić (to salt) becomes przesolić (to oversalt), and płacić (to pay) becomes przepłacić (to overpay).
| You evidently overdid it with this sugar. | Najwyraźniej przesadziłeś z tym cukrem. |
| I think that the cook oversalted the soup. | Myślę, że kucharz przesolił zupę. |
| We evidently overpaid for these tickets. | Najwyraźniej przepłaciliśmy za te bilety. |
This prefix can also be attached to reflexive verbs, like eating too much, or used figuratively to describe looking past something so far that you miss it completely (overlooking).
| She said that the children allegedly overate at the party. | Powiedziała, że dzieci rzekomo przejadły się na imprezie. |
| The lawyer evidently overlooked an error in the contract. | Prawnik najwyraźniej przeoczył błąd w umowie. |
The Prefix niedo-: Falling Short
To express the exact opposite—a deficiency, failing to reach a standard, or not doing something enough—Polish uses the prefix niedo-. You can think of it as the equivalent of the English prefix "under-".
Just as przesolić means to oversalt, niedosolić means to undersalt.
| You undersalted this pasta again. | Znowu niedosoliłeś ten makaron. |
| The client underpaid for the order, so we cancelled the delivery. | Klient niedopłacił za zamówienie, więc anulowaliśmy dostawę. |
This prefix is highly versatile and is used for many common mistakes, physical limits, and miscalculations. You will frequently see it used for underestimating someone (niedocenić), undercooking a meal (niedogotować), or mishearing someone (niedosłyszeć—literally "to under-hear").
| I think that the director underestimated this employee. | Sądzę, że dyrektor niedocenił tego pracownika. |
| If the cook undercooks this meat, we will be sick. | Jeśli kucharz niedogotuje tego mięsa, będziemy chorzy. |
| I'm sorry, I evidently misheard you. | Przepraszam, najwyraźniej cię niedosłyszałem. |