Czowiekiem

Człowiekiem is the instrumental singular form of the Polish noun człowiek, which means a man or a human being. It is used in contexts that require the instrumental case, most often after prepositions and certain verbs, and as a predicative complement with adjectives or verbs of becoming.

Morphology and usage: Człowiek is a masculine animate noun. Its instrumental singular form człowiekiem is used after prepositions that govern the instrumental, for example rozmawiałem z człowiekiem (I spoke with a man). It also appears in constructions with verbs that take instrumental complements, such as stać się człowiekiem (to become a man/human being) or uczynić z kogoś człowieka (to make someone into a man). In predicative phrases with adjectives or verbs like być, człowiekiem often appears as the instrumental complement, as in był dobrym człowiekiem or jest dobrym człowiekiem.

Etymology and cognates: The Polish człowiek derives from the Proto-Slavic root čьlověkъ, related to cognates in other Slavic languages such as Russian chelovek, Czech člověk, and Serbo-Croatian čovjek, all meaning “man” or “human being.” The instrumental form człowiekiem shares this common origin and reflects the historical treatment of nouns in the Slavic instrumental case.

Notes: The spelling with the diacritic ł is essential in correct Polish orthography. The instrumental singular człowiekiem should not be confused with the nominative człowiek or with plural forms such as człowiekami in the instrumental plural. The form is a basic building block for describing people in many grammatical constructions and idiomatic expressions in Polish.