Category: Daily LifePart of speech: verbDifficulty: Common

sprzątać

/sprzątać/Roman

English meaning: To clean; to tidy up

Definition

To make a place clean and orderly.

Example

“W sobotę sprzątam mieszkanie.”

In English: “On Saturday I clean the flat.”

Another example: “W soboty zawsze sprzątam całe mieszkanie.”

Usage — When, Where & How

Core imperfective verb 'to clean/tidy up' (a room, flat). Perfective 'posprzątać' marks the finished job. Everyday housework vocabulary; neutral register.

Etymology & Origin

English — Origin & History

'Sprzątać' comes from the Proto-Slavic *sprěžati, which means to clean or tidy. Its development reflects the increasing emphasis on cleanliness within households.

Common Collocations

  • sprzątać mieszkanie
  • sprzątać pokój
  • sprzątać po sobie
  • sprzątać ze stołu
  • trzeba posprzątać

Word Forms

imperf.; pres. sprzątam, sprzątasz, sprząta, sprzątamy; past sprzątał/sprzątała; perf. posprzątać

Word Tools

Literary Heritage

“Litwo! Ojczyzno moja! ty jesteś jak zdrowie”

/Litwo! Ojczyzno moja! ty yestes jak zdrowie/

“Lithuania! My homeland! You are like health — one only knows your worth when you are lost.”

Adam Mickiewicz · National Poet of Poland & Lithuania · 1798–1855

Pan Tadeusz

Pan Tadeusz (1834) — the Polish national epic, opening line known to every Pole

“Tyle wiemy o sobie, ile nas sprawdzono.”

“We know ourselves only insofar as we have been tested.”

Wisława Szymborska · Poet, Nobel Laureate (1996) · 1923–2012

View With a Grain of Sand

Szymborska's sceptical, warm philosophy — celebrated for finding wonder in everyday life

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Language information

Language
Polski
Polish
Script
Latin
Family
Slavic
Speakers
45M
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