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  What it means

  Literally “in one word.” This is a discourse marker meaning “in short,” “in a word,” “to sum up,” or “in brief.” It is placed before a short summary that captures the essence of what was just said at length. For example: “Był zmęczony, niezadowolony i sfrustrowany — jednym słowem, zrezygnowany.” (He was tired, dissatisfied, and frustrated — in a word, resigned.) It signals to the listener that a concise, defining statement is coming, making it a useful tool for structuring spoken and written Polish.

  Vocabulary

  • jeden / jedno — one (masculine / neuter)
  • słowo — word
  • jednym — one (instrumental singular neuter)
  • słowem — word (instrumental singular)

  Grammar note

  The instrumental case is used here to express manner — 'in/with one word.' 'Jedno słowo' (nominative) becomes 'jednym słowem' (instrumental). This is the 'instrumental of manner' construction, extremely common in Polish: compare 'tytułem wstępu' (by way of introduction), 'krótko mówiąc' (briefly speaking). The phrase is invariable — you cannot change the number or case of either element.

  Cultural context

  This connector is stylistically neutral and works in both formal writing and everyday conversation. In academic or journalistic Polish it is often the preferred way to introduce a closing label after a longer enumeration. It is similar in function to the French 'en un mot' or Italian 'in una parola.' In casual speech, Poles also use the shortened 'słowem' alone with the same meaning — 'Słowem, katastrofa.' (In a word, a disaster.)

  Beginner

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