• Listen

  What it means

  Meaning ‘without a doubt’ or ‘undoubtedly,’ this phrase is used to assert something with complete confidence, leaving no room for question. ‘To jest bez wątpienia najlepsza polska restauracja w mieście’ means ‘This is without a doubt the best Polish restaurant in the city.’ It is an emphatic affirmation that the speaker has no reservations about the statement made.

  Vocabulary

  • bez — without (preposition governing genitive)
  • wątpienie — doubt, doubting (verbal noun from 'wątpić' — to doubt)
  • wątpienia — doubt (genitive singular of 'wątpienie')

  Grammar note

  'Bez' governs the genitive, so the verbal noun 'wątpienie' takes its genitive form 'wątpienia.' 'Wątpienie' is a neuter verbal noun (gerund-like) derived from the verb 'wątpić.' The whole phrase functions as an adverbial of certainty, modifying the predicate of the sentence. It is always invariable.

  Cultural context

  A formal-to-neutral expression appropriate in both written and spoken Polish. It is more elevated in register than the colloquial 'na pewno' (for sure) or 'oczywiście' (of course), and is common in journalism, academic writing, and formal speech. The English equivalent is 'without a doubt' or 'undoubtedly.'

  Beginner

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