Grammar - difference between "jaki" and "co" in Polish language

Is there a difference between "jaki" and "co"? I never know when to use them when asking questions

Thanks xD

"jaki(ś)" means more "what type" or "kind"/"sort", e.g. "Proszę o chleb! - Jakiś chleb? = May I have some bread, please! - What kind?, or "Jakiś kolor jest?" = What color is that? "Co" is like "What", e.g. "Co to jest?" = What's that?, "O co to chodzi? = What's that (it) about? etc.

Thank you Lyzko! now it's clear to me

When using 'jaki?' you ask for description.....
i.e. jaki? bialy (white), mądry (wise), etc.

When using 'co?' you ask for subject....
i.e. co? Stół (Table)

in a sentence: To jest bialy stół. (This is a white table)

When I first started learning Polish eons ago, I too had a similar doubt, as well as about the difference between "jaki" vs. "który". My teacher mentioned to me one day that "Kupiłam dzisiaj sukienkę." to which I responded "No, który kolor?" whereupon she promptly corrected me by interjecting "JAKI kolor!" I mistakenly asked "Whose" resp. "Which" color instead of "What (kind of) color was it?"

Ever since I haven't forgotten the distinction:-)

Merged:

Jak/Jaki/Jaka?

I'm teaching myself Polish and at the moment, I'm learning the basics. I've come across both jak (Jak się masz?) and jaki (Jaki masz adres?). I would like to know when you use what and why?

As well as this, when I was googling the question, I came across jaka?

Thank you

@Sophaloaf

"Jak" is an adverb and means "how".

"Jaki/jaka/jakie" is an adjective and means "what kind/sort/type of". "Jaki" is masculine, and "jaka" is feminine, both nominative singular.

"JaCy" would be for persons, not things:-) Yet one of many further wrinkles in Polish pronouns, counting etc.

You are studying Polish for eons and came up with this?


Omg Lyzko! My eyes bleed! :( Please dont tell others. They might think mastering Polish is impossible when that is not true!!

That is a faux pas in English.

"Respectfully" never ever means "beziehungsweise", regardless of what any dictionary may tell you. It means something completely and utterly different, and has no one word equivalent in German. It's clumsy to translate into German, and even in English, it is a word that is best avoided even by native speakers (except when it means "with respect"). It generally shows that sentence structure has broken down. I think I've only used it once in the 500 articles and 10 books I've translated. Likewise, there is no one English word for "beziehungsweise", except perhaps "or" or "and".

Why do dictionaries give "respectively" as a translation for "beziehungsweise"? Beats the hell out of me. But it's very wrong.

Bzw. in German refers to something or someone. "Respectively", often translated as well with "jeweils" cf. "jeweilig-" is perfectly acceptable German for the English, although I do agree with you that dictionaries frequently make mistakes! Then again, so do translators:-)

I'd accept "beziehungsweise" as "respectively" any day of the week, so too my translation colleagues.
Sort of like "unbekannterweise". Normally, the best rendering into English is "...although we've never met".

@NoToForeigners,

How can I respond, other than to say politely to **** off and leave your harassment tactics at the door!!
If something weren't accurate and correct, I wouldn't post it.

No native English speaker ever would, and those who do not know German would be very confused by what you meant if you did, as I was when I first encountered it.

Sorry but your Polish is just like this:


Cant you really see that? I just show your Polish SUX and it's you who said that you spent eons studying it.

What I consider harrasment is you claiming that YOU KNOW POLISH. You DON'T. You are actually quite far away from that.
And Yeah! F**k off and stop mutilating my mother tongue!

I wont be that harsh and post the correct version of your post i have quotted above:

I would translate "unbekannterweise" into "unbeknown". "Beziehungsweise" is a little trickier because it can have different meanings in German. "Alternatively", "or", "or rather", "more specifically" for example.

@TheOther

The best solution is to reformulate the sentence in German without using "beziehungsweise" and then translating the result into English. Most of the time, "or" will suffice. "More specifically" would be "genauer gesagt".

@Dominic

I agree. "Genauer gesagt" is a much better translation, but there are some cases where "beziehungsweise" could also be used in the sense of "genauer gesagt".

Example:
Der Wert des Dollars, beziehungsweise sein Umtauschkurs, hat sich verändert.
(The value of the dollar, or - more specifically - its exchange rate has changed.)

As a translator, nonetheless, I would insist that "bzw." aka "beziehungsweise" IS, moreover, can certainly be used to mean, "respectively" as in "Er ist zwar Fremsprachenlehrer, bzw. Dozent fuer Fremdsprachen." = He is [in fact] a foreign language instructor, resp./that is to say, a foreign language adjunct lecturer. About that, there is really little room for doubt, quibble though as one well might, even in professional circles:-)

As to "respective" as in " the respective books which you ordered..." would best be rendered in German as "die jeweiligen Buecher....."

@NoToForeigners,

The distinction between "jakiś" vs. "który" has already been explained by me as well as by others! "Proszę o chleb! - Jakiś chleb?" = I'd like some bread, please! - What kind of bread? vs. "Piękna sukienka! Który kolor jest?" = Stunning blouse! What color is it?

Kind of a no-brainer, wouldn't you say?

This is not correct Polish ffs!

Joke: How many native speakers does it take to answer a question?

Answer: You ask two Poles, you get six different answers:-)

I've heard it used throughout Poland, so there's the answer. It's also in my "Poprawna polszczyzna", written by native Polish speakers indicating both standard and colloquial usage.

The 'ś' should be thrown away up there: - Jaki chleb? would be the question.

Also, you may be asked - Który chleb?, as there is always a limited range, as large as it may be, of the types of bread in the shop.


I guess you mean here : Piękna sukienka! W jakich jest (dostępna) kolorach? or W jakim ona jest kolorze?' if the prospective buyer is not sure of the colour. Btw, 'sukienka' isn't 'blouse' in my view.

@Lyzko
Show me ONE Pole that will agree with this "Piękna sukienka! Który kolor jest?" being correct Polish.

And you would be absolutely wrong. No English speaker would have the faintest clue what you are talking about. Never, ever can "beziehungsweise" be translated as "respectively", and vice versa. The examples you gave are pure nonsense in English, and no English speaker would ever guess what "resp." even stands for. There is no such abbreviation in English.

When a native English professional translator who has 500 articles and 10 books under his belt points out that you are mistaken error, it's not a good idea to contradict him. And if you don't believe me, this topic comes up very frequently on translator forums. Go look for yourself. Professional advice: never, ever use the word "respectively" in English for any reason. At best, it's bad style. And when Germans use it, it's pure gibberish.

Please keep to the topic about POLISH grammar

Beautiful dress :-)

I see that there is some confusion on several points. Concerning "jaki" vs. "jakiś" etc., I decided to consult my Bible, Poprawna Polszczyzna, having apparently either misread or plainly misunderstood Mr. Swan, and confess that indeed I was in error, at least partially:-) Preferring the Polish-language source to even as reliable an Anglo-Saxon Polish expert as Oscar Swan, I realized I must see for myself in the original Polish before I go about instructing others.

It seems that "jaki" and "jakiś" mean two different things, and that whatever I heard spoken, was either incorrect Polish or I simply didn't catch it on the fly, as it wereLOL

"Jaki" = ilość, jakość, therefore, my example sentence "Który kolór?" was wrong, as "który" can mean either "who", "whose", as well as "which". The phrase ought to have read "JakIEGO kolorU jest.....?" =WHICH (rather than WHOSE!!) color is....? For that, I sincerely apologize.

@DominicB,
I'm stating here and now that I will not at this time or any other submit to such a nasty, not to mention uncalled for, retort as yours! You happen to be speaking to a colleague and as I don't denegrate your experience and background, I shall not allow you to denegrate mine. Although I have read "resp." for "respectively" on more than one occasion in scientific journals and the like (written by native English speakers, I hasten to add), it might have simply been nothing more than "translatorese", a bastard tongue from which even I and others in my profession aren't immune:-))

'Jakiego koloru jest ta sukienka?' is an equivalent to 'W jakim kolorze jest ta sukienka?' or 'Jaki jest kolor tej sukienki?'. These three mean exactly the same.


This is my experience, too.

I suspected as much, Ziemowit. Thanks for being on my side:-)

WRONG! What colour is something in Polish is Jakiego koloru jest... (literally: of what colour is....). Secondly , jakiś chleb = some kind of bread, jaki chleb? = what kind of bread?

Merged:

Difference between "What is x like" and "What sort of x is that"

I am learning Polish and I am confused by how I should express "What is x like" and "What sort/kind of x is that".

My learning material translates "What is that house like?" as "Jaki jest ten dom?" and "What kind of dog is that?" as "Jaki to jest pies?".

It also notes that I can use "Co to (jest) za budynek?" to mean "What sort of building is that?".

When using "jaki" is it the difference in location of the "jest" or the use of "ten"/"to" that changes the meaning?

Off the top of my head (non-native speaker)

jaki dom - big? small? red? old?

jaki pies - big? nice? breed?

co za budynek - school? offices? government? apartment building?

jaki - is more about description

co - is more about function

the two might overlap a bit at times

That means, 'What a building!'

A native speaker would say 'Jakiego typu/rodzaju jest ten budynek?'