If you follow Polish news, you might have seen headlines shouting about a “Great Spelling Reform” (Reforma ortografii) coming our way. The Council for the Polish Language (Rada Języka Polskiego or RJP) has announced that new rules will officially go into effect on January 1, 2026.
Before you throw your textbooks out the window, take a deep breath.
I want to tell you exactly what I tell my students: Don’t worry about this. Unless you are a professional editor, a journalist, or writing a PhD thesis in Polish, these changes will likely not affect your daily life.
Why change the rules?
The goal of this reform isn’t to make Polish harder, it’s actually to make it easier.
Right now, many native speakers are confused by specific rules. You will often see different people writing the same thing in different ways. The RJP is simply trying to standardise these exceptions so that there is one norm rather than many conflicting habits. As Professor Jan Miodek, a famous Polish linguist, noted regarding these changes: “There will be no revolution.” It’s mostly about tidying up the language to reflect how people are already using it.
1. Capital letters for names of city residents
From 2026, names of people living in cities, districts, villages, and housing estates are written with a capital letter. This is more consistent and easier to remember.
- Warszawianin
- Zgierzanin
- Mokotowianin
- Nowohucianin
- Chochołowianin
Some informal or colloquial ethnic names can now be written either with a capital or lowercase letter:
- kitajec / Kitajec
- angol / Angol
- jugol / Jugol
- żabojad / Żabojad
⚠️ These words are often informal or even offensive, so you as a learner should be careful when using them. Better not to use them.
2. Capital letters for products
Now we use capital letters not only for brands, but also for single products:
- samochód marki Ford
- Pod oknem zaparkował czerwony Ford.
And that’s pretty much how I’ve always written it.
3. Spelling of -by with conjunctions
Forms like -by, -bym, -byś are now written separately when they follow conjunctions:
Zastanawiam się, czy by nie pojechać w góry.
I bet many natives didn’t know that till now we’ve written it together.
4. “Nie” + participles
From 2026, nie- is written together with inflected participles — always, regardless of meaning.
- nieczytany
- niezrobiony
- nieskończony
The old “meaning-based exception” is gone.
5. Adjectives from names
Adjectives formed from personal names are now generally written with a lowercase letter, whether they mean “whose?” or “what kind?”:
- dramat szekspirowski
- filozofia sokratejska
- dialogi platońskie
BUT: adjectives from first names can be flexible
Adjectives ending in -owy, -in (-yn), -ów may be written with a lowercase or capital letter. Both versions are correct in this case.
- zosina lalka / Zosina lalka
- jacków dom / Jacków dom
- poezja miłoszowa / poezja Miłoszowa
6. “Pół” written together (mostly)
Now pół- is written together in many expressions:
- półzabawa, półnauka
- półżartem, półserio
- półspał, półczuwał
BUT: when referring to people, use a hyphen:
- pół-Polka
- pół-Francuzka
7. Paired words
For paired, rhythmic expressions, three versions are now allowed:
- tuż-tuż / tuż, tuż / tuż tuż
- trzask-prask / trzask, prask / trzask prask
- bij-zabij / bij, zabij / bij zabij
8. Capital letters in proper names
a) Comets. All words are capitalized:
- Kometa Halleya
- Kometa Enckego
b) Public places. Words like aleja, plac, park, most, zamek are now capitalized when they start the name:
- ulica Józefa Piłsudskiego
- Aleja Róż
- Plac Zbawiciela
- Park Kościuszki
- Zamek Książ
⚠️ Note: ulica stays lowercase.
c) Restaurants, cafés, shops
All main words are capitalized (except prepositions and conjunctions):
- Kawiarnia Literacka
- Apteka pod Orłem
- Hotel pod Różą
- Restauracja pod Żaglami
d) Awards and titles. All main elements are capitalized:
- Nagroda Nobla
- Nagroda Pulitzera
- Nagroda Literacka Gdynia
- Honorowy Obywatel Miasta Krakowa
9. Prefixes
a) Prefix + capital letter = hyphen
- arcy-Europejczyk
b) Super, ekstra, eko, etc. — two options
These can be written together or separately, if they can function as independent words:
- superpomysł / super pomysł
- ekożywność / eko żywność
- miniwieża / mini wieża
10. „Niby” and „quasi”
With lowercase words → always together:
- nibyartysta
- nibyludowy
- quasiopiekun
- quasinauka
With capital letters → hyphen:
- niby-Polak
- quasi-Anglia
11. “Nie” with adjectives and adverbs
From 2026, nie- is written together with adjectives and adverbs in all degrees:
- niebanalny
- niemilszy
- nienajmilszy
- nielepiej
- nienajstaranniej
This is one of the best changes for learners – no more exceptions.
Final thoughts: do learners need to panic?
Absolutely not.
- These rules apply officially from 2026
- Older spelling will still be understood
- Many changes actually simplify Polish spelling
- Even native speakers will need time to adapt
If you’re learning Polish, focus on communication first. Orthography is important, but it comes later.
