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The Polish word **nie** acts as "no", "not", and negative prefixes like "un-" or "dis-". Because it is so versatile, Polish relies on strict spacing rules depending on the part of speech being negated.

### Verbs and Nouns

The foundational rule is that **nie** is always written **separately** from verbs.

However, when **nie** negates a noun to mean its opposite, it is written **together** as a single word.

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### Adjectives

Just like nouns, **nie** is written **together** with adjectives. Notice in the examples below how the adjective becomes one word, while the verb remains strictly separated from its **nie**.

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### Adverbs

Adverbs derived from adjectives follow the same rule: **nie** is written **together** with them. Again, contrast this with the verbs in the same sentences, which always keep their distance from the negation.

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Spelling rules for negation (nie)

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
to tolerate	tolerować
mess	nieporządek
I do not tolerate this mess in the room.	Nie toleruję tego nieporządku w pokoju.
If there is a mess here, I will not work.	Jeśli tu będzie nieporządek, nie będę pracować.
unaware	nieświadomy
Our client was unaware that we do not tolerate such behavior.	Nasz klient był nieświadomy, że nie tolerujemy takiego zachowania.
ignorance	niewiedza
I hope our ignorance is not a problem!	Oby nasza niewiedza nie była problemem!
If it weren't for your ignorance, we would not have this mess.	Gdyby nie twoja niewiedza, nie mielibyśmy tego nieporządku.
Your ignorance is dangerous, and you do not understand it.	Twoja niewiedza jest niebezpieczna, a ty tego nie rozumiesz.
anxiety	niepokój
I feel anxiety when she does not call.	Czuję niepokój, kiedy ona nie dzwoni.
I do not understand why you feel anxiety.	Nie rozumiem, dlaczego czujesz niepokój.
shy	nieśmiały
This shy boy does not talk to anyone.	Ten nieśmiały chłopiec nie rozmawia z nikim.
He is shy, so he does not want to sing.	Jest nieśmiały, więc nie chce śpiewać.
essential	niezbędny
A phone is essential there where we do not have internet.	Telefon jest niezbędny tam, gdzie nie mamy internetu.
I do not think that this is essential.	Nie sądzę, żeby to było niezbędne.
impolite	niegrzeczny
I do not like it when a child is impolite.	Nie lubię, kiedy dziecko jest niegrzeczne.
The impolite boy is not obedient to his father.	Niegrzeczny chłopiec nie jest posłuszny ojcu.
carelessly	niedbale
He worked carelessly and did not check the documents.	Pracował niedbale i nie sprawdził dokumentów.
Do not write carelessly if you do not want to make a mistake.	Nie pisz niedbale, jeśli nie chcesz zrobić błędu.
to distinguish	rozróżniać
I do not distinguish colors well, so I do not know.	Nie rozróżniam dobrze kolorów, więc nie wiem.
This student does not distinguish these words.	Ten student nie rozróżnia tych słów.
He is completely unaware of this problem.	On jest całkowicie nieświadomy tego problemu.