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  What it means

  Literally “with other words,” this phrase means “in other words” — a discourse marker used to rephrase or clarify what was just said. It signals that the speaker is about to restate an idea more simply, more precisely, or from a different angle. Poles use it in conversation, academic writing, and public speaking alike whenever they want to make sure their point landed: “To jest bardzo skomplikowane — innymi słowy, potrzebujemy więcej czasu.” (This is very complicated — in other words, we need more time.)

  Vocabulary

  • innymi — other (instrumental plural of 'inny')
  • słowy — words (instrumental plural of 'słowo')
  • słowo — word (base form)

  Grammar note

  Both 'innymi' and 'słowy' are in the instrumental plural — the case required after prepositions like 'z' (with), and also used in many fixed adverbial expressions without an explicit preposition. The full implied phrase is 'z innymi słowami,' but the preposition is dropped in this frozen idiom. Note that 'słowy' is an archaic-flavored instrumental form; the modern standard is 'słowami,' but 'innymi słowami' and 'innymi słowy' are both accepted.

  Cultural context

  Entirely neutral and stylistically versatile — equally at home in a university lecture, a parliamentary speech, or a WhatsApp message. Because it is a transparent calque of the Latin 'aliis verbis,' it carries a slightly intellectual tone, but its ubiquity has made it feel natural even in casual speech.

  Beginner

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