Prywatny

Prywatny is a Polish adjective meaning private or personal, indicating possession, use, or scope that is not part of the public sphere. It is used to describe ownership (mienie prywatne), sector or organizations (sektor prywatny, firma prywatna), and information or matters intended for a limited audience (dane prywatne, życie prywatne). The opposite term is publiczny, which refers to things related to the state, government, or the general public.

Usage and contexts

In legal and economic contexts, prywatny distinguishes private property (własność prywatna), private companies, or private sector entities from public or state-owned equivalents (spółki państwowe, sektor publiczny). In social contexts, it denotes the personal realm, as in życie prywatne or sprawy prywatne, where boundaries between public and private life matter. In information and media, prywatny connotes restricted access or confidentiality, as in dane prywatne or konto prywatne used to indicate limited visibility.

Grammar

Prywatny is an inflected adjective. It agrees with gender, number, and case: prywatny (masculine singular), prywatna (feminine singular), prywatne (neuter singular or plural). The plural masculine personal form is prywatni, while other plural forms are prywatne.

Related terms

The noun prywatność denotes privacy, and related phrases include ochrona prywatności (privacy protection) and profil prywatny (private profile). The concept is often contrasted with publiczny to emphasize the distinction between private and public life or information.