Revolution in the Polish language. The Polish Language Council introduces new rules

Upper case or lower case? Or maybe in total? Or with a hyphen. Do we write part of the name in lowercase and part in uppercase? Or maybe another way? These burning problems of the Polish language, which is a living and changing language, will face new regulations. She thought things through and decided to make life easier for all people who have to write something in Polish from time to time – there will be fewer problems, less thinking and more intuition.

The Polish Language Council introduces new spelling rules

On January 1, 2026, in accordance with the resolution of the Polish Language Council, the rules for spelling certain words, groups of words, connections and exceptions that have caused problems (especially for students) for decades will change. RJP introduces many simplifications and harmonizations in spelling, which is sometimes chaotic and difficult to remember. In just a year and a half, you won’t have to wonder for a moment whether it’s spelled “Baltic Sea” or “Baltic Sea”. The resolution introduces, among others: consistent spelling of multi-part geographical names – “deserts”, “seas”, “mountains” and other components of names found on maps will be written with a capital letter, as long as the proper name of the geological formation is followed by it. There are, of course, many, many more rules.

Monuments, churches, palaces, bridges – all names of public space objects will begin with a capital letter. There will now be one exception – only “Jana Kowalskiego Street” becomes a small “street”, and not a “street”. No more thinking whether the Nobel Prize or a medal with some fancy name should be written partly in lower case and partly in capital letters – we will start everything with a capital letter. It will be correct to write “tuż-tuż” and other similar pairs of words in three ways – with a hyphen, a comma and separated. Cars will be written in capital letters (“he arrived in a green Skoda”), and not in lowercase as before. Residents of cities and specific districts will gain importance and will be written with a capital letter. But this is just a summary of what awaits us. Check what changes have been prepared for us by the Polish Language Council, which has the right and obligation in Poland to guard linguistic correctness and establish the rules currently applicable in our language.

Spelling rules in Polish from January 1, 2026

1. Capitalize the names of city residents and their districtssettlements and villages, e.g. Warszawianin, Ochocianka, Mokotowianin, Nowohucianin, Łęczyczanin, Chochołowianin;

Allowing alternative spellings (in lower or upper case letters) of unofficial ethnic names, such as kitajec or Kitajec, jugol or Jugol, angol or Jugol, Żabojad or Żabojad, szkop or Szkop, macariarz or Makaroniarz.

2. Introducing spelling with a capital letter not only company names and brands of industrial products, but also single copies of these products (a Ford car and a red Ford parked under the window).

3. Introducing separate spellings of particles -by, -by, -by, -by, -byści with conjunctionse.g. I’m wondering whether to go to the mountains.

4. Establishment unexceptional conjunctive spelling non- with conjugated participles (regardless of the meaning interpretation: verb or adjectival), i.e. abolition of the exception allowing for “consciously separated spelling”.

5. Unification of the writing (in lower case) of adjectives derived from personal names ending in -owskiregardless of whether their interpretation is possessive (they answer the question whose?) or qualitative (they answer the question which?), e.g. Shakespeare’s drama, Sigismund’s era, Chopin’s concerto, Wittgenstein’s concept, Miłosz’s poem.

Adjectives derived from given names (less often from surnames), ending in -owy, -in(-yn), -ów, of an archaic nature, can be written with a lowercase or uppercase letter, e.g. Jacek’s children or Jacek’s children; Miłosz’s poetry or Miłosz’s poetry; zosina doll or Zosina doll; Jacek’s house or Jacek’s house.

6. Introduction the combined spelling of the semi- in expressions:

• half fun, half learning;
  half-jokingly, half-seriously;
  half asleep, half awake
• and hyphenated spellings such as: half-Polish, half-French (referring to one person).

7. Admission in pairs of equivalent words, sounding similar or identical, usually appearing together, three spelling versions: :

• with a hyphen, e.g. just-right; smack-prask; beat-kill;
• with a comma, e.g. just, just; crackle, snap; beat, kill;
• separately, e.g. right next door; the crack of presses; beat kill.

8. Regarding the use of capital letters in proper names:

and) in the names of comets entering the record all parts with a capital lettere.g. Halley’s Comet, Encke’s Comet;

b) introducing spelling capitalize all parts of multi-word geographical and place namesthe second part of which is a noun in the nominative case, such as the Sea of ​​Marmara, the Gobi Desert, the Hel Peninsula, the Island of Usedom;

c) in the names of public space objects spelling introduction capital letter standing at the beginning of the word aleja, gate, boulevard, estate, square, park, mound, church, monastery, palace, villa, castle, bridge, pier, monument, cemetery (while maintaining the lowercase spelling of the word street), e.g. Józefa Piłsudskiego Street, Aleja Róż, Warsaw Gate, Plac Zbawiciela, Kościuszko Park, Wanda’s Mound, St. Mary’s Church, Staszic Palace, Ksi±¿ Castle, Poniatowski Bridge, Ghetto Victims Monument, Rakowicki Cemetery;

d) introducing spelling capitalize all parts (except prepositions and conjunctions) in multi-word names of service and catering establishmentse.g. Karczma Słupska, Kawiarnia Literacka, Księgarnia Naukowa, Kino Charlie, Apteka pod Orłem, Bar Flisak, Hotel pod Różą, Hotel Campanile, Restauracja pod Żaglami, Winiarnia Bachus, Zajazd u Kmicica, Pierogarnia Krakowiacy, Pizzeria Napoli, Trattoria Santa Lucia, Veganic Restaurant, Variety Theater, Grand Theater;

e) introducing spelling capital letters of all elements in the names of orders, medals, decorations, awards and honorary titles, e.g. Jan Karski and Pola Nireńska, Nobel Prize, Pulitzer Prize, Tempelton Prize, Kyoto Prize, Central European Angelus Literary Award, Artistic Award of the City of Lublin, Gdynia Literary Award, Silesian Quality Award, Rector’s Award for Outstanding Scientific Achievements, Newsweek Award. Teresa Torańska, High Caliber Award, Master of Polish Speech, Ambassador of the Polish Language, Honorary Citizen of the City of Krakow.

9. Regarding the spelling of prefixes:

a) supplement to the general rule: In Polish prefixes – native and foreign – are written together with words written in lower case. If a word begins with a capital letter, a hyphen is placed after the prefix, e.g. super-Europejczyk;

b) allowing separate spellings of particles such as super-, extra-, eco-, wege- mini-, maxi, midi-, mega-, macro-which can also appear as independent words, e.g.

• mini tower or mini tower, because it is possible: tower (in size) mini;
• super idea or great idea, because it is possible: great idea;
• extra earnings or extra earnings, because it is possible: extra earnings;
• eco-food or eco-food, because it is possible: eco-food.

10. Introduction of uniform combined spelling of quasi-, -quasi- particles with words written in lower case, e.g.

• quasi-artistic, quasi-gothic, quasi-folk, quasi-oriental, quasi-romantic;
• pseudomembrane, pseudoberry, pseudoear, pseudoleaf, pseudopod, pseudopod;
• quasi-caregiver, quasi-science, quasi-progressive, quasi-romantic,
• while maintaining the spelling with a hyphen before words written with a capital letter, e.g. quasi-Polak, quasi-Anglia.

11. Introduction combined spelling of non- with adjectives and adverbs from adjectives regardless of the degree category, so also in a higher and highest degreee.g.

• inadequate, unoriginal, original, infrequent, unrealistic;
• unkind, unkinder, not the nicest;
• inadequately, unusually, infrequently, inappropriately;
• not better, not sooner, not best, not carefully.