Czyj

Czyj is a Polish interrogative possessive determiner meaning "whose." It is used to ask about ownership and accompanies a noun, agreeing with its gender and number. In everyday Polish, forms include masculine singular czyj, feminine singular czyja, and neuter singular czyje; the form czyje is also used with plural nouns. It appears in questions such as "Czyj to samochód?" (Whose car is that?), "Czyja to torba?" (Whose bag is that?), and "Czyje to mieszkanie?" (Whose apartment is this?). For plural nouns, one can ask "Czyje to książki?" or "Czyje to rzeczy?".

Etymology: Czyj is derived from the interrogative particle czy combined with a possessive notion; it belongs to a small class of Polish interrogative adjectives used to denote possession, alongside forms like jaki and który. It is common in modern Polish and widely taught in grammar resources.

Usage notes: In formal registers or stylistically varied contexts, speakers may rephrase to avoid ambiguity, e.g., "Czyj to jest samochód?" or "Kto jest właścicielem tego?" while still using czyj in direct questions.