Darmowa

Darmowa is a Polish adjective meaning free of charge or gratis, used to describe feminine nouns. It is the feminine form of darmowy, which corresponds to masculine nouns, while darmowe is used with neuter nouns or in the plural. The word is common in everyday speech, marketing, and service descriptions, for example darmowa dostawa (free delivery) or darmowa wersja (free version).

Etymology and related forms

Darmowa originates from darmo, a historic term meaning free or without payment, found in phrases such as za darmo (for free) and na darmo (in vain). The adjective forms align with Polish gender and number: darmowy (masculine), darmowa (feminine), darmowe (neuter or plural). Adverbs expressing free-of-charge status are za darmo, while na darmo means “in vain” and is not used to denote cost.

Usage notes

Darmowa is typically used in promotional, commercial, and service contexts to indicate no cost. It may describe various feminine nouns such as usługa (service), aplikacja (application), dostawa (delivery), or wersja (version). In contrast, darmowy is used with masculine nouns (np. darmowy program), and darmowe with neuter nouns or in plural (np. darmowe oprogramowanie). The phrase za darmo is common for stating that something is provided without payment, whereas na darmo has a different meaning, meaning “in vain” or “for nothing” in a non-cost context.

See also

Free software and services in Polish contexts often use darmowa or darmowy to denote cost-free offerings; the distinction between gratis (loanword) and darmowy can appear in marketing language.