How do we, Poles, look at the world? What do we see? Do we watch it closely?… 

No, we won’t analyse today neither the physiology nor social aspects of visual perception. Spoko Polish is here to make the Polish language understandable for the western audience and help you learn Polish the easiest way. So what’s the difference between patrzeć, widzieć, oglądać? Today we will take a closer look at the verbs of visual perception. 

“Oglądałeś?… Patrz!… Nie widzę…” If you live in Poland or you have already started learning Polish as a foreign language, I am sure you have come across those verbs. Let’s take a closer look at them and try to find the best translation:

1. oglądać (ja oglądam, ty oglądasz) – to watch
2. patrzeć (ja patrzę, ty patrzysz) – to look (at)
3. widzieć (ja widzę, ty widzisz) – to see

These translations are quite accurate. Let’s compare the examples below:

I see the TV, it’s right there. – Widzę telewizor, jest tam.

I am looking at the TV but I am not watching the movie. – Patrzę na telewizor, ale nie oglądam filmu.

The verb to watch (oglądać) marks an engaging, active and continuous activity. You are not passive like when you see (widzieć) something just because your eyes are open. Neither are you looking at something (patrzeć) in a somewhat active but not engaged (or analysing) way.

You might have also heard “Patrz!”, “Popatrz!” or “Zobacz!”. These are amongst the most common imperatives used in everyday spoken language and even though there are some nuances in their meanings, usually you can use them interchangeably when you want to show something to someone and say: “look!”. If you want to learn more about the imperative check out our article “In the imperative mood”.

However, beware of a few traps awaiting you when translating from English.

• “I see… Now I see what you mean” – you do not mean that you are using the sense of sight, so in Polish you shouldn’t use the verb “widzieć”. Instead of that use “rozumiem” (I understand)
• “They look really nice” – here the verb “look” is referring to the appearance and not “looking at” something. In this case the Polish verb you are looking for is “wyglądać”.
• “Look, it wasn’t my fault…” – we usually don’t use “patrz!” or “popatrz!” when we are not actually showing something to someone. When we want someone to listen to us, we would rather go for “słuchaj” (meaning “listen”).

Are you still wondering about the three imperatives: where do they come from? What are the nuances? Check out our Polish language courses and find the best Polish course for you. We provide Polish online courses, prepare students for the Polish B1 exam and make sure you learn Polish in a friendly atmosphere – this is the easiest way to learn Polish after all.

And of course follow Spoko Polish website and social media.

The second part of the article is coming soon!