• Listen

  What it means

  Literally “every moment.” The phrase means constantly, repeatedly, or at very frequent intervals — something keeps happening again and again in rapid succession. For example: “Telefon dzwoni co chwilę” (The phone is ringing every two minutes) or “Co chwilę ktoś pyta o to samo” (Every other moment someone asks the same question). It conveys mild exasperation or emphasis on the relentless frequency of an action, and is more vivid than simply saying “często” (often).

  Vocabulary

  • co — every (distributive use in time expressions)
  • chwila — moment, instant, a short while
  • chwilę — (accusative singular of chwila) — required after "co" in time expressions
  • co chwila — every moment (variant without accusative — also correct in casual speech)
  • co jakiś czas — every now and then (less frequent variant)

  Grammar note

  In Polish time expressions, "co" (meaning "every") takes the accusative case: "co chwilę," "co godzinę" (every hour), "co tydzień" (every week), "co rok" (every year). "Chwilę" is the accusative singular of the feminine noun "chwila." You may also hear "co chwila" (nominative) in casual speech — this variant is common but considered less precise. The construction follows the pattern co + accusative noun of time.

  Cultural context

  "Co chwilę" is a very natural, colloquial phrase used across all ages and registers in everyday spoken Polish. It often carries a tone of mild annoyance or tired resignation — the thing keeps happening more than one would like. The closest English equivalents are "every other second," "constantly," or "every few minutes" depending on context. It is rarely used in formal writing, where "wielokrotnie" (repeatedly) or "często" (often) would be preferred.

  Beginner

Noticed a typo, a wrong translation, or anything that doesn't look right? We'd love to fix it — just let us know via the contact page. Thank you!