napotkany

Napotkany is a Polish past passive participle derived from the verb napotkać, meaning to encounter or come across. It functions as an adjective describing something or someone that has been encountered. The form agrees with the gender and number of the noun it modifies: napotkany chłopiec, napotkana kobieta, napotkane miejsce; in the plural napotkani mężczyźni, napotkane kobiety, napotkane miejsca.

In usage, napotkany often conveys that the encounter occurred unexpectedly or by chance, and it frequently appears in written or formal styles. It can be used attributively, as in napotkany przechodzień, or predicatively, in constructions such as ten człowiek był napotkany podczas podróży. The meaning overlaps with spotkany (met) but napotkany carries a nuance of encountering something encountered rather than simply meeting someone, with an emphasis on the act of coming upon unexpectedly.

Common examples illustrate its function: napotkany przypadek, napotkane na drodze miejsce, napotkany znajomy. The word also contrasts with the related participle spotkany, which is more neutral or general about meeting someone. In modern Polish, napotkany appears mainly in descriptive or narrative passages and less in everyday speech, where spotkany or napotkać-inflected forms may be more common.

See also: spotkać, napotkać, Polish grammar, participles.