Expressing Likes in Polish

In Brief

Use lubić for general preferences and enjoyable activities: Lubię kawę (“I like coffee”) and Lubię czytać (“I like reading”). Use podobać się when a person or thing appeals to someone: Podoba mi się Kraków literally works like “Krakow is pleasing to me.” Kochać means “to love” and expresses a much stronger feeling.

Overview

Talking about food, hobbies, music, places, and people quickly requires a way to say what you like. At A1, the most useful pattern is lubić followed by either a noun (a word naming a person, thing, or idea) or an infinitive (the basic verb form, like English “to read”). This gives you sentences such as Lubimy polską kuchnię (“We like Polish cuisine”) and Lubię czytać (“I like reading”).

Polish also commonly uses podobać się. Although English normally puts the person who has the opinion first—“I like Krakow”—Polish builds this expression around the thing that makes the positive impression. In Podoba mi się Kraków, Kraków is the subject (the person or thing the sentence is about grammatically), while mi means “to me.” This reversal is the main point English-speaking learners need to practise.

Finally, kochać means “to love.” It can describe love for a person or a very strong enthusiasm for something. The three verbs overlap, but they are not interchangeable in every context: lubić is the safe everyday choice for a general liking, podobać się highlights appeal or a positive impression, and kochać is emotionally stronger.

How It Works

1. Lubić: liking something or enjoying an activity

Lubić behaves like an ordinary verb. The person who likes something is the subject, and the verb changes to match that person.

Person	Present form	Meaning
ja	lubię	I like
ty	lubisz	you like (singular, informal)
on / ona / ono	lubi	he / she / it likes
my	lubimy	we like
wy	lubicie	you like (plural)
oni / one	lubią	they like

Polish often leaves out subject pronouns such as ja and my, because the verb ending already identifies the person. Lubię jazz is therefore more neutral than Ja lubię jazz. Add the pronoun for contrast: Ja lubię jazz, a Marta woli rock (“I like jazz, while Marta prefers rock”).

When lubić is followed by a noun, that noun is normally the direct object (the person or thing directly affected by the verb) and takes the accusative case. A case is a change in a noun, adjective, or pronoun that shows its role in the sentence.

Basic form	After lubić	Example
kawa (coffee)	kawę	Lubię kawę.
polska kuchnia (Polish cuisine)	polską kuchnię	Lubimy polską kuchnię.
ten film (this film)	ten film	Lubię ten film.
Marek	Marka	Lubię Marka.

Not every accusative form looks different from the basic dictionary form, which is why film remains film. At beginner level, learn frequent likes as complete phrases: lubię kawę, lubię muzykę, lubię sport.

For activities, put an infinitive directly after lubić. Polish does not need the equivalent of English “-ing” here:

• Lubię czytać. — I like reading / I like to read.
• Lubisz gotować? — Do you like cooking?
• Lubimy podróżować. — We like travelling.

English distinguishes “I like reading” and “I like to read,” sometimes with a slight difference in emphasis. Polish normally uses the same lubić + infinitive construction for both.

2. Podobać się: finding someone or something appealing

The dictionary form podobać się includes się. Do not drop it. The construction has a different viewpoint from lubić:

liked thing or person + podobać się + person in the dative

The dative case marks the recipient or experiencer—here, the person “to whom” something is pleasing. The most useful unstressed dative pronouns are:

Person experiencing the liking	Short dative form	Example
to me	mi	Podoba mi się.
to you (singular, informal)	ci	Podoba ci się?
to him / it	mu	Podoba mu się.
to her	jej	Podoba jej się.
to us	nam	Podoba nam się.
to you (plural)	wam	Podoba wam się?
to them	im	Podoba im się.

The verb agrees with the thing that is liked, not with the person who likes it. In the present tense, use podoba się for one thing and podobają się for more than one:

• Podoba mi się ta piosenka. — I like this song.
• Podobają mi się te piosenki. — I like these songs.
• Podoba nam się Warszawa. — We like Warsaw.
• Podobają nam się te miasta. — We like these cities.

This singular–plural contrast matters even when English uses the same verb form. A useful check is to ask, “What is doing the appealing?” If the answer is plural, use podobają się.

The usual neutral word order places the short dative pronoun near the verb: Podoba mi się ten obraz. Polish word order is flexible, however, and the liked item may come first: Ten obraz mi się podoba. Both can mean “I like this painting”; the second more clearly makes the painting the topic.

3. Choosing between lubić and podobać się

Use lubić for established preferences, repeated enjoyment, and activities. Use podobać się for something’s appearance, sound, style, design, or the positive impression it creates.

Meaning you want	Natural Polish choice
I generally like coffee.	Lubię kawę.
I enjoy swimming.	Lubię pływać.
I like this dress (its look/style).	Podoba mi się ta sukienka.
I like the new apartment (positive impression).	Podoba mi się nowe mieszkanie.

With people, the difference can be important. Lubię Anię usually means “I like Ania” as a person. Podoba mi się Ania often suggests that Ania appeals to the speaker, potentially including physical or romantic attraction. Context still matters, but lubić is safer when you simply mean that someone is pleasant or likable.

4. Kochać: loving a person or thing

Kochać uses the same basic sentence pattern as lubić: the person who loves is the subject, and the loved person or thing is the direct object in the accusative.

Person	Present form
ja	kocham
ty	kochasz
on / ona / ono	kocha
my	kochamy
wy	kochacie
oni / one	kochają

Use it naturally for close personal love: Kocham cię (“I love you”), Kochamy nasze dzieci (“We love our children”). It can also express strong enthusiasm: Kocham góry (“I love the mountains”). Because it is stronger than lubić, it may sound deliberately enthusiastic when applied to everyday products or activities.

5. Negation

Put nie directly before the verb:

• Nie lubię deszczu. — I do not like rain.
• Ten film mi się nie podoba. — I do not like this film.
• Nie kocham go. — I do not love him.

After a negated verb with a direct object, Polish normally uses the genitive case (a form often expressing “of” or absence) instead of the accusative. Compare Lubię kawę with Nie lubię kawy. This change applies to lubić and kochać because they take direct objects. With podobać się, the liked thing remains the grammatical subject, so it does not switch to the genitive merely because the sentence is negative: Nie podoba mi się ta kawa.

Examples in Context

Polish	English	Note
Lubię czytać.	I like reading.	lubić + infinitive
Lubimy polską kuchnię.	We like Polish cuisine.	Accusative feminine phrase
Czy lubisz tańczyć?	Do you like dancing?	A yes/no question
Ona lubi stare filmy.	She likes old films.	General preference
Nie lubię deszczu.	I do not like rain.	Genitive after negation
Podoba mi się Kraków.	I like Krakow.	Literally, Krakow appeals to me
Podoba ci się ta restauracja?	Do you like this restaurant?	Singular liked item
Bardzo podoba nam się ten pomysł.	We really like this idea.	bardzo strengthens the reaction
Podobają mi się te buty.	I like these shoes.	Plural podobają się
Ta muzyka mu się nie podoba.	He does not like this music.	mu = to him
Lubię Olę, ale podoba mi się Marta.	I like Ola, but I am attracted to Marta.	Possible contrast with people
Kocham cię.	I love you.	Strong personal feeling
Kochamy nasze miasto.	We love our city.	kochać + accusative
Oni kochają podróżować.	They love travelling.	Strong enthusiasm for an activity

Common Mistakes

Copying English word order with podobać się

• Wrong: Ja podobam Kraków.
• Right: Podoba mi się Kraków.
• Why: Krakow is the grammatical subject—the thing that appeals—and mi identifies the person experiencing the reaction. Się is part of the verb.

Using singular podoba for plural things

• Wrong: Podoba mi się te buty.
• Right: Podobają mi się te buty.
• Why: Te buty (“these shoes”) is plural, so the verb must also be plural: podobają się.

Leaving the noun in its dictionary form after lubić

• Wrong: Lubię polska kuchnia.
• Right: Lubię polską kuchnię.
• Why: The direct object takes the accusative. Both the adjective and noun change in this feminine phrase.

Forgetting the case change after negation

• Wrong: Nie lubię kawę.
• Right: Nie lubię kawy.
• Why: A direct object normally changes from accusative to genitive after a negated Polish verb.

Dropping się

• Wrong: Podoba mi ten film.
• Right: Podoba mi się ten film.
• Why: The verb is podobać się, not simply podobać, in this meaning.

Using podobać się for every kind of liking

• Less natural for a regular hobby: Podoba mi się czytać.
• Natural: Lubię czytać.
• Why: Use lubić + infinitive for activities you enjoy. Podobać się normally presents a person or thing as appealing; it does not serve as the standard pattern before an infinitive.

Usage Notes

Bardzo (“very much”) works with all three verbs, but the result has different strength: Bardzo lubię tę książkę means “I like this book very much,” while Bardzo podoba mi się ta książka focuses more on the positive impression the book makes. Bardzo kocham moją rodzinę expresses deep affection.

In a question, Lubisz ten film? often asks about someone’s general opinion or established taste. Podoba ci się ten film? naturally asks for their reaction to the film. In many everyday situations either can be translated as “Do you like this film?”, so pay attention to the viewpoint rather than searching for a rigid one-to-one English equivalent.

The short dative forms mi and ci are neutral when they are not strongly emphasized. For contrast or emphasis, Polish uses longer forms such as mnie and tobie: Mnie się podoba, ale tobie nie (“I like it, but you don’t”). Avoid beginning a neutral sentence with unstressed mi: Mi się podoba is heard colloquially, but careful neutral Polish prefers Mnie się podoba or Podoba mi się.

Beyond the Basics / Advanced Use

You do not need to master these details at A1, but they explain forms you will encounter later.

In the past tense, podobać się still agrees with the liked thing, including its grammatical gender (the noun class reflected in certain word endings) and number:

• Podobał mi się film. — I liked the film. (film is masculine singular)
• Podobała mi się książka. — I liked the book. (książka is feminine singular)
• Podobało mi się miasto. — I liked the city. (miasto is neuter singular)
• Podobały mi się książki. — I liked the books. (non-masculine-personal plural)

A completed change of opinion is often expressed with the perfective partner spodobać się, meaning “to come to like” or “to make a favorable impression”: Film od razu mi się spodobał (“I liked the film immediately / The film won me over right away”). By contrast, podobać się describes an ongoing state or impression. This aspect distinction belongs to later study.

For more precise shades of preference, Polish also uses woleć (“to prefer”), uwielbiać (“to adore”), and nie znosić (“cannot stand”). A useful scale is roughly: nie znoszę → nie lubię → lubię → bardzo lubię / uwielbiam → kocham. This is not a fixed mathematical scale: the most natural choice depends on the person, object, and tone.

Practice Tips

1. Build pairs from daily life. Write five noun sentences and five activity sentences: Lubię herbatę, Lubię gotować. Say each negative version too, changing the object where necessary: Nie lubię herbaty.
2. Reverse the English viewpoint. For every English sentence such as “I like this song,” first think “This song appeals to me,” then produce Podoba mi się ta piosenka. Practise plural pairs: Podoba mi się obraz / Podobają mi się obrazy.
3. Sort your preferences into three groups. Use lubię for regular likes, podoba mi się for appealing impressions, and kocham only for strong feelings. Personal examples are easier to remember than disconnected vocabulary.

Related Concepts

• Prerequisite: Conjugation II (-ę, -isz/-ysz) — provides the present-tense pattern used by lubić.