Words difference - 'ale' and 'przecież'

what is the difference between ' ale' and 'przecież'. both mean ' but' clarification please.

thanks

chaza

Ale = but
Przecież = however

przecież is closer to after all, isn't it?

Perhaps also "yet", "still", more or less.

If you are unsure, it is more safe to use ale. Most situations with English but, can be translated as ale.

Asia kupiła psa, ale nie ma gdzie go trzymać.
(Asia has bought a dog but she don't have a place to keep him)

In above sentence you can't use przecież.

But you can use it in such conversation:
- Asia kupiła psa.
- Przecież nie ma gdzie go trzymać!

(usage of ale in this conversation wouldn't be correct)

So maybe it's that you can't use przecież in the middle of the sentence as a linking word, unlike ale. However ale and przecież aren't quite the synonims. Przecież gives an impression of an astonishment or a reproof:

Przecież ci mówiłem! Ile razy mam ci to powtarzać!?
(I've already told you! How many times you want me to repeat it to you!?)

- Przecież chciałeś żebym kupiła mandarynki
- Tak, ale zmieniłem zdanie!

(- I thought you said you want me to buy tangerines
- Yes, but I've changed my mind)

Notice that those translations aren't very accurate - I used such expressions: "I thought you said", "I've already" out of lack of better phrases which would suite the situation. So as you see the word przecież is not very easy to translate and one must use a substitude pharses (or maybe I'm not right, dear English native speakers?)


(But) I've already told you! How many times you want me to repeat it to you!?


- (But) I thought you said you want me to buy tangerines
- Yes, but I've changed my mind

what is the correct usage of the word 'lecz'

chaza

Lekarzu, lecz się sam! This is a translation from the well known Latin proverb: medice, cura te ipsum!

nie rozumie

chaza

This was a joke! Basically, 'lecz' is quite similar to 'ale'. However, not always you can replace one with the other, for example in this sentence: "Ale z Ciebie głuptas!" You can't say: "Lecz z Ciebie głuptas!"

therefore
byłem iść do praca, lecz zdecyduję do iść dom.
byłem iść do praca, ale zdecyduję do iść dom.

correct?

i know the grammar is bad.

chaza

miałem iść do pracy is correct

This is so, Chaza! Except for the bad grammar, you've grasped the idea perfectly in those two sentences of yours.

is it then a matter of choice which i use, or are there some gramatical rules which determine which i use.

Przecież is often used at the start or end of a sentence for emphasis. Ale is used after a comma and is just like but.

It's better to say Asia has bought a dog but she doesn't have.... [past perfect tense]