Ways to say it
| Polish | IPA |
|---|---|
| do widzenia | /dɔ‿viˈd͡zɛ.ɲa/ |
| bywaj | /ˈbɘ.vaj/ |
The primary way to express a farewell is through the phrase do widzenia. For a related noun meaning an utterance of goodbye, you would use pożegnanie.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase do widzenia literally translates to "until seeing (each other)" or "until we see each other".
Which one should you use?
do widzenia is the standard formal way to say goodbye, whereas bywaj is an informal and somewhat old-fashioned way to say goodbye, similar to saying "take care" or "bye".
Related words
How does it change in a sentence?
do widzenia is an indeclinable phrase, meaning it does not change its form based on the gender or number of the people speaking.
How do you pronounce it?
/dɔ‿viˈdzɛ.ɲa/. The phrase has 3 syllables, with the stress on the 2nd of 3 syllables.
When do people say it?
When leaving at night or before going to bed, instead of a general goodbye, Polish speakers typically use dobranoc, which is the equivalent of "goodnight".
Did you know?
- In casual settings, Poles often replace do widzenia with cześć, which is a linguistic curiosity because it is used for both 'hello' and 'goodbye'.
- While do widzenia is the standard formal farewell, the word bywaj is a command in its grammatical form, originating from the verb meaning 'to frequent' or 'to visit'.
- The phrase do widzenia shares a structural blueprint with the French 'au revoir', as both rely on a preposition and a noun or verb meaning 'seeing' to express the hope of meeting again.
Examples in context
- Czy powiedziałeś do widzenia?Did you say goodbye?This sentence is useful for checking if someone used the phrase do widzenia.Tatoeba #12453851 by Wojtanex, translation #12453676 by CK
- Tom powiedział "do widzenia" i wyszedł frontowymi drzwiami.Tom said goodbye and then walked out the front door.This sentence shows an example of using do widzenia to describe an action.Tatoeba #3085208 by jeedrek, translation #2639889 by CK
- Do widzenia.Goodbye.This is a simple example of using do widzenia as a standalone farewell.Tatoeba #6160573 by arie, translation #2591566 by tanay
- 3 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Anna and Paweł are leaving an office after a meeting.
- AnnaDo widzenia, Paweł.Goodbye, Paweł.
- PawełDo widzenia, Anno.Goodbye, Anna.
- AnnaDo zobaczenia jutro.See you tomorrow.
- PawełTak, do jutra.Yes, see you tomorrow.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “goodbye” translations and entries do widzenia, bywaj, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries bywaj, do, do widzenia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
