Clothes in Polish

The most common Polish clothing words are koszulka (T-shirt), spodnie (trousers), sukienka (dress), kurtka (jacket) and buty (shoes). To say you wear something regularly, use nosić (Noszę okulary); to put something on, use założyć (Załóż kurtkę).

Everyday clothes in Polish

The word for clothes is ubrania (one item is ubranie). In casual speech young people say ciuchy. Here are the clothes you will name most often.

Koszula is a shirt with buttons and a collar. Add the small ending -ka and you get koszulka, the T-shirt. You will also see T-shirt in shops, said as in English. A dres is not a dress, it is a tracksuit. The dress is sukienka.

Underwear, shoes and accessories

Underwear and socks

Shoes

Shoes are buty (one shoe is but). A pair is para: para butów (a pair of shoes).

Adidasy is the everyday word for any sports shoes, whatever the brand. And kapcie matter in Poland: people take off their shoes at the door, and a host will often offer guests a pair of slippers.

Accessories

Plural-only nouns: spodnie, okulary, rajstopy

Some clothing words exist only in the plural, as in English "trousers" and "glasses". One pair of trousers is still spodnie, and every word around it must be plural too: the verb, the adjective and the pointing word.

• spodnie (trousers), dżinsy (jeans), spodenki (shorts), legginsy (leggings)
• majtki (underpants), bokserki (boxers), rajstopy (tights)
• okulary (glasses)

• Te spodnie są za długie.
  These trousers are too long.
• Gdzie są moje okulary?
  Where are my glasses?
• Kupiłam nowe dżinsy.
  I bought new jeans. (said by a woman)
• Mam tylko jedne czarne spodnie.
  I only have one pair of black trousers.
• Potrzebuję dwóch par rajstop.
  I need two pairs of tights.

To count them, you can say jedne spodnie for one pair, but from two upwards Poles normally use para: dwie pary spodni, trzy pary okularów. The same goes for words that do have a singular, like socks: pięć par skarpetek.

To wear, to put on, to get dressed

English "wear" and "put on" split into several Polish verbs. Most come in pairs: the first is imperfective (an ongoing or repeated action), the second is perfective (one finished action).

• Załóż czapkę, jest zimno.
  Put a hat on, it's cold.
• Zawsze noszę okulary.
  I always wear glasses.
• Co masz dziś na sobie?
  What are you wearing today?
• Mam na sobie niebieską sukienkę.
  I'm wearing a blue dress.
• Zdejmij buty w przedpokoju.
  Take your shoes off in the hall.
• Ubieram się i wychodzę.
  I'm getting dressed and going out.
• Muszę się przebrać przed kolacją.
  I need to get changed before dinner.

The item after these verbs is in the accusative case. For feminine words ending in -a, that means -ę: kurtka becomes Załóż kurtkę, sukienka becomes Noszę sukienkę. Masculine and plural things usually stay the same: Załóż sweter, Załóż buty.

Sizes and shopping for clothes

Size is rozmiar. Polish shops use European sizes. Clothes come in letters (S, M, L, XL) or numbers (women's 36, 38, 40; men's 48, 50, 52). Shoe size is numer buta or rozmiar buta, also European: 38, 42, 44 and so on. Letters are said the Polish way: S is "es", M is "em", L is "el", XL is "iks el".

Other words you will see in shops: przymierzalnia (fitting room), kasa (checkout), paragon (receipt, you need it to return something), zwrot (return), wymiana (exchange), wyprzedaż (sale), promocja (special offer), przecena (price reduction).

To describe fabric and patterns: bawełna (cotton), wełna (wool), skóra (leather), jedwab (silk), len (linen). A shirt can be gładka (plain), w paski (striped), w kratę (checked) or w kropki (polka-dot). The color words work like any adjective: czarna kurtka, białe buty.