Dowiadczenie

Dowiadczenie is a term encountered in some Polish texts, but it is not listed as a standard word in Polish dictionaries. In normative Polish, it is generally treated as a nonstandard form, a typographical error, or a rarely attested dialectal variant rather than a recognized lexical item.

The etymology and meaning of dowiadczenie are unclear. It may be a misspelling of doświadczenie, meaning experience, or an attempted derivation from the verb dowiedzieć się (to find out) with nominalization. Because the form does not appear in major dictionaries and has no agreed-upon definition, its precise sense is uncertain and context-dependent.

Usage and editorial guidance suggest correcting dowiadczenie to a standard term when possible. If the intended meaning is experience, the correct form is doświadczenie. If the intended meaning is the act of becoming informed, Polish writers generally express this idea with dowiedzieć się, dowiadywanie się, or zdobienie informacji rather than with a noun such as dowiadczenie. In formal writing, it is advisable to avoid the form altogether and rely on established expressions.

Related terms include doświadczenie, which covers experience in various domains (personal, professional, or situational), and dowiedzieć się, which denotes the act of learning or discovering information. The form dowiadczenie is not recognized as a standard entry in contemporary Polish lexicography and should be treated as nonstandard or erroneous in most contexts.