nigdy
/ˈɲi.ɡdɘ/
The Polish word for "never" is nigdy.
Nigdy is the most common and versatile word for "never" in Polish.
Meaning: at no time (adv)
Which one should you use?
While nigdy is the standard term, przenigdy can be used as a more emphatic form to stress an absolute lack of occurrence or possibility. For a formal way to say "in no case" or "under no circumstances", you may use the phrase W żadnym wypadku.
How does it change in a sentence?
In Polish, the word nigdy must be paired with the negative particle nie to express "never" in a sentence.
How do you pronounce it?
/ˈɲi.ɡdɘ/. It has 2 syllables, and the stress is on the 1st syllable.
What mistakes should you avoid?
English speakers often forget to include the second negation nie after nigdy, which results in a grammatically incorrect sentence.
Did you know?
- When Poles want to say 'never in a million years', they often use nigdy w życiu, which literally translates to 'never in life'.
- While nigdy means 'never', the emphatic form przenigdy is often used in a playful or exaggerated way to express total disbelief or refusal.
- The word nigdy is a combination of two parts: the negative particle ni and the word gdy, which means 'when'. Literally, the word means 'not when'.
Examples in context
- Ja nigdy nie palę.I never smoke.This sentence shows how to use nigdy in a simple statement.Tatoeba #11131769 by MarekMazurkiewicz, translation #10491239 by Adelpa
- Nigdy nie piję sam.I never drink alone.This sentence demonstrates the use of nigdy regarding a habit.Tatoeba #10584403 by tokzyk, translation #2208379 by CK
- On nigdy nie kłamie.He never lies.This sentence shows how to use nigdy when describing someone else's actions.Tatoeba #817823 by zipangu, translation #295799 by CH
- Nigdy nie jem mięsa.I never eat meat.
- Ani razu tego nie próbowałem.I never tried it once.
- Pod żadnym pozorem nie dotykaj tego.Under no circumstances touch that.
- 814 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Tomasz and Katarzyna are discussing their travel habits.
- KatarzynaCzy ty kiedykolwiek podróżujesz sam?Do you ever travel alone?
- TomaszNie, ja nigdy nie podróżuję bez przyjaciół.No, I never travel without friends.
- KatarzynaRozumiem, to dla mnie bardzo ważne.I understand, that is very important to me.
- TomaszKatarzyno, bezpieczeństwo jest najważniejsze.Katarzyna, safety is the most important thing.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “never” translations and entries nigdy, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries nigdy, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
