Learn Polish: Czy można tu spać? — Nie, nie można. - Can one sleep here?

Czy można tu spać? — Nie, nie można.

Can one sleep here? — No, one cannot.

Breakdown of Czy można tu spać? — Nie, nie można.

Questions & Answers about Czy można tu spać? — Nie, nie można.

Why is czy at the start of the sentence if the English translation starts with "Can"?

Czy doesn't actually mean "can". It is a special word used to turn a statement into a yes/no question. You put czy at the very beginning of a sentence to show you are asking a question, similar to how we use "do" or "is" in English. The "can" meaning in this sentence comes from the word można.

Who exactly is the subject of można here?

There isn't a specific person! Można is an impersonal word that means "one can," "it is possible," or "it is allowed." Because it doesn't refer to a specific person like "I" or "you", it never changes its ending. You use it when talking about general rules or possibilities.

Why is the verb spać (to sleep) in its dictionary form?

Whenever you use można to say what is allowed or possible, the action verb that follows must be in its infinitive (dictionary) form. The phrase można tu spać translates literally to "it is allowed to sleep here".

Why does the answer use nie twice in a row?

The first nie means "No" in answer to the question. The second nie means "not" and directly negates the word można. So, Nie, nie można simply means "No, [one] cannot." You need both to give a naturally complete negative answer.