niedźwiedź
/ˈɲɛ.d͡ʑvjɛt͡ɕ/masculine
The Polish word for bear is niedźwiedź. Wiktionary also lists niedźwiedzica and miś.
Meaning: large mammal of family Ursidae (noun)
Ways to say it
| Polish | IPA | Note |
|---|---|---|
| niedźwiedź | /ˈɲɛ.d͡ʑvjɛt͡ɕ/ /ˈɲɛ.d͡ʑvjɛt͡ɕ/ (Middle, Polish) |
masculine |
| niedźwiedzica | /ɲɛ.d͡ʑvjɛˈd͡ʑi.t͡sa/ | feminine |
| miś | /ˈmiɕ/ | diminutive, masculine |
This noun refers to the large mammal of the family Ursidae.
Which one should you use?
The form niedźwiedź is used to refer to a male bear or the species in general, while niedźwiedzica specifically refers to a female bear.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
While niedźwiedź is the standard term, the diminutive miś is an informal way to refer to a bear. It is commonly used to talk about teddy bears or to describe bears in a cute, affectionate or childish manner.
Related words
How does it change in a sentence?
niedźwiedź is a masculine noun, while niedźwiedzica is a feminine noun and miś is a masculine diminutive.
How do you pronounce it?
/ˈɲɛ.dʑvjɛtɕ/. It has 2 syllables and the stress is on the 1st syllable.
Did you know?
- The word niedźwiedź is actually a euphemism. In ancient times, people were afraid to name the bear directly, so they used a phrase meaning 'the honey-eater' to avoid summoning the beast.
- In Polish, the word miś is used for both a real bear and a teddy bear, but it is also a very common romantic nickname for a partner.
- Polish has a specific adjective niedźwiedzia used in the expression niedźwiedzia przysługa, which means a 'bear's service' or a well-intentioned but harmful favor.
Examples in context
- Jak długo śpi niedźwiedź?How long does a bear sleep?This sentence is useful for asking about the sleep duration of a niedźwiedź.Tatoeba #2350841 by MarekMazurkiewicz, translation #18082 by CK
- Stary niedźwiedź mocno śpiThe old bear is fast asleep.This sentence is useful for describing an old niedźwiedź that is sleeping heavily.Tatoeba #524059 by Bilberry, translation #524062 by Bilberry
- Niedźwiedź może wejść na drzewo.A bear can climb a tree.This sentence is useful for stating that a niedźwiedź has the ability to climb a tree.Tatoeba #352910 by zipangu, translation #18079 by CK
- Widziałem niedźwiedzia w lesieI saw a bear in the forest
- To jest nasz wielki miśThis is our big teddy bear
- Ten mały miś jest tak uroczyThis little teddy bear is so cute
- 4 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Katarzyna and Tomasz are looking at a picture book about animals.
- KatarzynaPopatrz, ten niedźwiedź jest ogromny!Look, this bear is huge!
- TomaszTak, to musi być niedźwiedź brunatny.Yes, it must be a brown bear.
- KatarzynaCzy niedźwiedź żyje w Polsce?Does a bear live in Poland?
- TomaszTak, niedźwiedź występuje w Tatrach.Yes, the bear occurs in the Tatra Mountains.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “bear” translations and entries niedźwiedź, niedźwiedzica, miś, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
