Polish · Difficult words

How to pronounce szczęśliwy in Polish

szczęśliwy

Happy

shchehwsh-LEE-vuh/ʂt͡ʂɛw̃ɕˈli.vɘ/

Standard Polish · Choose 1.00× to hear the original pace.

szczęśliwy is pronounced /ʂt͡ʂɛw̃ɕˈli.vɘ/ in Polish. In szczęśliwy: Raise the middle of the tongue close to the hard palate. The symbols /ɕ, ʑ/ and their affricates are the softer Polish hushing sounds. Listen to the word on its own, then compare it with the example sentence.

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Find the sounds in szczęśliwy

Read szczęśliwy in these IPA segments: ʂt͡ʂɛw̃ɕ · ˈli · vɘ. Dots and stress marks identify the boundaries shown in the reference; these symbols are not English spelling. The mark /ˈ/ comes immediately before the main stressed syllable. Give that syllable a little more prominence without swallowing the others.

  1. 1.Soft hushing consonants

    In szczęśliwy: Raise the middle of the tongue close to the hard palate. The symbols /ɕ, ʑ/ and their affricates are the softer Polish hushing sounds.

    Watch out: Keep these distinct from the harder sz/ż/cz/dż series.

  2. 2.Hard hushing consonants

    In szczęśliwy: Keep the tongue tip slightly farther back for the sounds /ʂ, ʐ/ and their affricates.

    Watch out: Do not collapse the hard and soft Polish consonant series into one English sh sound.

  3. 3.The ł sound /w/

    In szczęśliwy: Round the lips briefly for a w-like glide and connect it to the following sound.

    Watch out: Modern Polish ł is normally not an English l.

Hear it in context

Jestem szczęśliwy z wyniku.

I am happy with the result.

Listen once, say it aloud, then replay at 1.00×. Keep the word connected to the surrounding sentence rather than giving every syllable equal weight.

Pronunciation and variety

szczęśliwy is presented using Standard Polish. Regional accents and connected speech can change details. The isolated word and the example let you compare the dictionary form with a short spoken context.

The English-style respelling is approximate. Use the IPA and recording together for vowel quality and consonants that do not have an exact English equivalent.

Meaning and everyday use

Questions about szczęśliwy

How do you pronounce szczęśliwy?

szczęśliwy is pronounced /ʂt͡ʂɛw̃ɕˈli.vɘ/ in Polish. In szczęśliwy: Raise the middle of the tongue close to the hard palate. The symbols /ɕ, ʑ/ and their affricates are the softer Polish hushing sounds. Listen to the word on its own, then compare it with the example sentence.

What should I listen for first?

In szczęśliwy: Raise the middle of the tongue close to the hard palate. The symbols /ɕ, ʑ/ and their affricates are the softer Polish hushing sounds. Start at 0.75×, then return to 1.00× to hear the natural rhythm.

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