Ways to say it
| Polish | IPA | Note |
|---|---|---|
| ubrania | /uˈbra.ɲa/ | nonvirile, plural |
| odzież | /ˈɔ.d͡ʑɛʂ/ | feminine |
This term refers to apparel or individual items of clothing worn by people. It is the most common way to refer to various pieces of clothing in everyday speech, such as a koszula (shirt), spodnie (trousers), sukienka (dress), sweter (sweater), spódnica (skirt) or kapelusz (hat).
Which one should you use?
While ubrania is the common way to talk about clothes, odzież is used for more collective or formal concepts like apparel or professional clothing. In very casual settings, you might also encounter the word ciuchy.
How does it change in a sentence?
ubrania is a nonvirile plural noun. Conversely, odzież is a singular feminine noun that functions as a mass noun, similar to how 'apparel' works in English.
How do you pronounce it?
The word ubrania is pronounced /uˈbra.ɲa/ and consists of 3 syllables, with the stress on the 2nd syllable.
Did you know?
- In traditional Polish culture, the phrase ubrać w słowa means 'to clothe in words', used when someone tries to articulate a complex feeling or thought.
- The casual word for clothes, ciuchy, is actually the plural form of ciuch, which originally referred to a 'rag' or a 'scrap of cloth'.
- The term odzież was borrowed into Polish from the Ukrainian words оде́жа and о́діж.
Examples in context
- Tam są ciepłe ubrania.There are warm clothes there.This sentence shows how to describe the location of warm clothes using ubrania.Tatoeba #10695944 by tokzyk, translation #10696188 by tokzyk
- Moje ubrania są brudne.My clothes are dirty.This sentence describes the condition of one's clothes using ubrania.Tatoeba #11581778 by polski_ren, translation #6273242 by CK
- Ubrania Toma są brudne.Tom's clothes are dirty.This sentence attributes dirty clothes to a specific person using ubrania.Tatoeba #11581781 by polski_ren, translation #5502418 by CK
- Wczoraj kupiłem nowe ciuchy.I bought new clothes yesterday.
- Ona musi kupić ciepłe ubrania na zimę.She needs to buy some warm clothes for winter.
- Te spodnie nie pasują mi dobrze.Those pants don't fit me well.
- Uwielbiam twój kapelusz!I love your hat!
- 56 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Katarzyna and Krzysztof are packing for a trip.
- KatarzynaCzy wziąłeś swoje ubrania?Did you take your clothes?
- KrzysztofTak, spakowałem wszystkie ubrania.Yes, I packed all the clothes.
- KatarzynaA moje ubrania są w walizce?And are my clothes in the suitcase?
- KrzysztofTak, wszystko jest gotowe.Yes, everything is ready.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “clothes” translations and entries ubrania, odzież, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries odzież, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
