Rozpoczynać - Zaczynać

Time to test what I've learnt...

Is zaczynać the perfect form of the imperfect verb rozpoczynać, or are they just synonyms?

they are just synonyms

Thanks Mike. Are they used in different contexts, or just swaps?

Firma rozpoczęła proces rekrutacyjny.

Zacząłem czytać powieść.

Mógłbyś zacząć od nowa?- can mean repeat sth or make a fresh start

zaczynac, zaczynać raz jeszcze, zaczynać od nowa, rozpoczynać nowy rozdział( np. w życiu)- metaphor

Rozpoczynać is a little bit more formal, but they are interchangeable in most cases.

Cinek

Dzięki Cinek. :)

Yes, you explained it well.

One more thought on this.
Zaczynać can be used with verbs and nouns, while rozpoczynać only works with nouns, which fits what I wrote before e.g.:

Zacząłem pracę w nowej firmie <- noun 'pracę', sounds neutral
Zacząłem pracować w nowej firmie <- verb 'pracować', sounds neutral
vs.
Rozpocząłem pracę w nowej firmie <- noun 'pracę' - this sounds quite formal
Rozpocząłem pracować w nowej firmie <- verb 'pracować' WRONG! This sounds BAD and NEVER use it this way.

Cinek

OK, but why? I ask this question, because there will be other words like rozpoczynać, and I won't know which ones they are if there isn't some rule that points me in the right direction...

What words do you mean? I wrote before that 'rozpoczynać' should not be used with verbs and that's just an example of improper usage of the word.

Cinek

I meant are there any other words similar to rozpoczynać that should also not be used with verbs, and if so, which are they, and how would I know them if I come across them?

I don't think there's any rule for this. You must just learn them by heart (the same way you must learn that in English you say 'I can do' but 'I'm able to do'.

Cinek