Ways to say it
| Polish | IPA | Note |
|---|---|---|
| malować | /maˈlɔ.vat͡ɕ/ /maˈlɔ.vat͡ɕ/ (Middle, Polish) |
imperfective |
| pomalować | /pɔ.maˈlɔ.vat͡ɕ/ | perfective |
The verbs used to express the act of applying paint are differentiated by whether you are focusing on the process or the completion of the task. If you are referring to the substance itself, use the noun farba or the plural farby for paints. For a set of colorful paints, such as small containers or blocks of color, the word is farbki. The formal term for painting as an artistic expression is Malarstwo.
Which one should you use?
Use the imperfective form malować to describe an ongoing process or a habitual action. Use the perfective form pomalować to describe a single finished instance or the completion of the act of painting.
Related words
How does it change in a sentence?
When speaking about yourself in the present tense, the first-person singular form of the imperfective verb is maluję. For the past tense of the perfective verb pomalować, use pomalowałem if you are a male speaker and pomalowałam if you are a female speaker.
How do you pronounce it?
{'ipa': '/maˈlɔ.vatɕ/', 'syllables': 3, 'stressed_syllable': '2 of 3'}
Did you know?
- In Polish, if you want to say someone is 'painting' in the sense of applying makeup to their face, you use the word malować.
- While malować refers to the act of painting, the word farba is also used in Polish to describe hair dye.
- The term malarstwo refers to the fine art of painting, but a person who paints for a living is a malarz, regardless of whether they are an artist or a house painter.
Examples in context
- Tom nie umie malować.Tom can't paint.This sentence shows the use of the imperfective form malować regarding ability.Tatoeba #3749873 by gin, translation #3736707 by CK
- Chciałabym pomalować paznokcie na brązowo.I'd like to paint my nails brown.This sentence demonstrates the use of the perfective form pomalować for a specific task.Tatoeba #13789420 by Just_Balls, translation #13789419 by Just_Balls
- Została poproszona, żeby pomogła mu malować dom.She was asked to help him paint the house.This sentence illustrates the use of the imperfective form malować in the context of helping with a task.Tatoeba #4229818 by jeedrek, translation #887545 by CK
- Malarstwo jest moją pasją.Painting is my passion.
- Czy wiesz, jak się farbuje meble drewniane?Do you know how to paint wooden furniture?
- 7 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Tomasz and Agnieszka are discussing home improvements in their apartment.
- TomaszAgnieszko, kiedy będziemy malować tę sypialnię?Agnieszka, when will we paint this bedroom?
- AgnieszkaMoże w przyszły weekend, Tomaszu?Maybe next weekend, Tomasz?
- TomaszDobrze, ja będę malować rano.Good, I will be painting in the morning.
- AgnieszkaA ja zajmę się sprzątaniem.And I will take care of the cleaning.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “paint” translations and entries malować, pomalować, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
