niegrzecznie

Niegrzecznie is a Polish adverb meaning “rudely” or “improperly,” used to describe behavior that violates norms of politeness. It modifies verbs to indicate how an action is performed and can refer to both children and adults. It is not typically used to label a person as a whole; for that purpose the related adjective niegrzeczny or a noun such as niegrzeczność is used.

The term is formed from grzeczny (polite, well-behaved) with the negating prefix nie- and the adverbial suffix -nie, yielding niegrzecznie. In effect, it is the negation of the adverb grzecznie, which itself derives from grzeczny. The result expresses the manner of an action as being unpolite or improper.

In use, niegrzecznie describes actions or speech rather than a fixed personal trait. It appears in both informal and semi-formal contexts. Examples: “Zachował się niegrzecznie podczas lekcji” (He behaved rudely during the lesson). “Powiedział to niegrzecznie” (He said that in a rude way). The word commonly appears with verbs of action or communication to convey how something was done.

See also: niegrzeczny, niegrzeczność, uprzejmy.