pokrywaj

Pokrywaj is the second person singular imperative form of the Polish imperfective verb pokrywać, meaning to cover, coat, or overlay. As an imperative, it is used to give a direct instruction to one person to perform the action of covering something, for example with paint, foil, or another material. The corresponding second person plural form is pokrywajcie, used when addressing more than one person. The imperfective verb pokrywać contrasts with its perfective counterpart pokryć, whose imperatives are pokryj (2sg) and pokryjcie (2pl).

Pokrywaj is built from the root kry- (from kryć, to hide or cover) with the prefix po-, which in Polish often conveys a sense of covering or over a surface. The form appears in instruction manuals, craft guides, and construction contexts, where a repeated or ongoing action of covering is described. It can express both routine tasks and specific commands in direct speech. The imperfective aspect emphasizes the process of covering rather than its completion, which is typical in imperative instructions that recommend starting or maintaining an action.

Examples include: Pokrywaj powierzchnię warstwą farby. Pokrywaj karton folią zabezpieczającą przed kurzem. In practical use, speakers choose pokrywaj when instructing someone to begin or continue the action of covering, with the perfective pokryj used for a definite, completed covering.

See also: pokryć, kryć.