Ways to say it
| Polish | IPA | Note |
|---|---|---|
| grać | /ˈɡrat͡ɕ/ /ˈɡrat͡ɕ/ (Middle, Polish) |
imperfective |
| bawić się | /ˈba.vit͡ɕ ɕɛ/ (word by word) | imperfective |
grać is the standard term used when referring to activities such as playing sports, playing musical instruments, playing games or acting. If you are referring to the act of having fun or amusing oneself, use bawić się.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase bawić się is a reflexive verb. It is composed of the verb bawić, meaning 'to amuse' and the reflexive pronoun się, meaning 'oneself'.
Which one should you use?
Use grać when the focus is on the specific activity of playing a game, a sport or a musical instrument. In contrast, use bawić się when the focus is on the act of having fun or amusing oneself rather than the specific rules of a game.
Related words
How does it change in a sentence?
When expressing that you play a specific game or sport, you must use the preposition w followed by the accusative case (e.g., grać w…).
How do you pronounce it?
/ˈɡratɕ/
What mistakes should you avoid?
Avoid combining these two verbs into grać się. This is a common error for English speakers. grać is not reflexive and does not mean 'to have fun'.
Did you know?
- The word grać can be used idiomatically to mean 'to pretend' or 'to fake' an emotion, such as grać smutnego meaning 'to play sad'.
- The word zabawa comes from bawić się and is used not only for play but also to describe a party or a festive gathering.
- While grać covers sports and instruments, the word bawić is also used to mean 'to entertain' guests, such as in the phrase bawić gości.
Examples in context
- Idę grać w tenisa.I am going to play tennis.This sentence shows how to use grać when mentioning a specific sport.Tatoeba #704122 by zipangu, translation #255099 by CK
- Lubię grać w piłkę.I like to play football.Tatoeba #7185035 by arie, translation #6864123 by deniko
- Nie mam z kim grać.I don't have anyone to play with.Tatoeba #13308453 by Alogo, translation #6222424 by CK
- Kiedy będziemy mogli grać w piłkę nożną?When will we be able to play soccer?
- Ona bardzo dobrze gra na pianinie.She plays the piano very well.
- Czy możemy teraz grać w planszówki?Can we play board games now?
- Studenci wystawiają sztukę teatralną. Będą grali wieczorem.The students are performing a play. They will be playing tonight.
- Dzieci uwielbiają bawić się na placu zabaw.Children love to play at the playground.
- Przyjdź do naszej imprezy! Będziemy się świetnie bawić.Come to our party! We'll have a great time.
- 124 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Katarzyna and Paweł are talking about their children's activities.
- KatarzynaCo teraz robią dzieci?What are the children doing now?
- PawełOni chcą grać w chowanego.They want to play hide-and-seek.
- KatarzynaCzy Paweł może grać z nimi?Can Paweł play with them?
- PawełTak, on bardzo lubi grać.Yes, he loves to play very much.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “play” translations and entries grać, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- IPA marked “word by word” joins the Wiktionary pronunciations of each word (bawić, się) and can differ in connected speech.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
