Wysoki

Wysoki is a Polish adjective meaning tall or high. It describes height in people, animals, objects, or the level or degree of something, as in wysoki budynek (a tall building) or wysoki poziom (a high level).

Etymology: The word derives from Proto-Slavic *vysokъ and is cognate with Russian vysokiy, Czech vysoký, and related Slavic forms, all conveying the idea of height or elevation.

Grammatical notes: As with most Polish adjectives, wysoki agrees with the gender, number, and case of the noun it modifies. Examples in nominative singular include masculine wysoki (ten wysoki mężczyzna), feminine wysoka (ta wysoka kobieta), and neuter wysokie (to wysokie okno). In plural, the forms change according to the noun’s gender and declension; commonly seen are wysokie or wysocy depending on the noun.

Comparative and superlative forms are wyższy (higher) and najwyższy (the highest). The adverb form is wysoko, meaning high or highly.

Usage and other notes: Wysoki is widely used in everyday speech, journalism, and literature to describe physical height as well as figurative levels of quality or intensity. It can also appear as a surname in Polish, and, less commonly, in toponymy or fixed expressions.

See also: wysoko.