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  What it means

  Literally “without a shadow of a doubt,” this phrase expresses absolute certainty or conviction. It is used to emphasise that something is completely true or that a decision has been made with total confidence. Poles use it in arguments, declarations, and formal statements to signal that there is no room for debate. It has a formal, slightly rhetorical flavour.

  Vocabulary

  • bez — without (preposition + genitive)
  • cień — shadow, shade
  • cienia — genitive singular of cień
  • wątpliwość — doubt
  • wątpliwości — genitive singular of wątpliwość

  Grammar note

  Both nouns are in the genitive case, governed by the preposition 'bez' (without). This is a fixed prepositional phrase: 'bez + genitive' is the standard Polish construction for 'without + noun'. The phrase functions as an adverbial modifier and can precede or follow the main clause.

  Cultural context

  This phrase is neutral to formal in register and appears frequently in journalism, legal language, and political speech. It is the direct Polish equivalent of the English 'without a shadow of a doubt' or 'beyond all doubt.' It is not slang and is appropriate in any context from everyday conversation to academic writing.

  Intermediate

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