biegnie

Biegnie is a Polish verb form meaning "is running." It is the third-person singular present tense of the verb biec, which means to run or move swiftly on foot. The form is used for literal running and can also appear in figurative expressions describing rapid movement or progression.

In present tense, the forms include ja biegnę, ty biegniesz, on/ona biegnie, and oni/one biegną. The phrase czas biegnie is a common idiom meaning "time is passing" or "time flies," illustrating how the word can also express the forward flow of events.

Biegnie is imperfective, describing an ongoing or habitual action rather than a completed event. Its perfective counterpart is pobiec, which describes starting to run or covering a distance as a single completed act. For example, "On pobiegł do domu" translates as "He ran to the house" in the sense of a completed action, whereas "On biegnie do domu" would emphasize the act of running at the present moment.

Etymology and cognates: The root biegn- is shared with related Slavic languages. Cognates include Czech běží, Russian бежит (bezhit), and Ukrainian біжить (bizhit), all signaling the same core idea of moving quickly on foot.

See also: czas biegnie.