Pokoju

Pokoju is the genitive singular form of the Polish noun pokój, which has two primary meanings in modern Polish: a room (an interior space within a building) and peace (a state of calm or the absence of war). The context determines which sense is intended, but the word remains the same in form in this case.

The form pokoju is used wherever the noun pokój appears in the genitive case. This occurs after certain prepositions, in constructions with numerals, or in expressions that express time, possession, or quantity. In the sense of a room, pokoju appears in phrases such as bez pokoju (without a room) or w czasie pokoju (in peacetime), where the genitive marks the dependent relationship. In the sense of peace, czas pokoju means “the time of peace” or “a period of peace.” The plural genitive of pokój is pokoi, as in dwóch pokoi (two rooms).

The word also features in common compound nouns describing rooms, such as pokój gościnny (guest room) or pokój dzienny (living room), with case endings aligned to the syntactic role in a sentence. Etymologically, pokój derives from older Polish and Proto-Slavic roots associated with rest and calm, a link that underpins both primary meanings.