przekraczaj

Przekraczaj is the second-person singular present-imperative form of the Polish imperfective verb przekraczać, meaning to cross or to exceed. As an imperative, it is used to give direct instruction or exhortation to someone to perform the action, often with a sense of repetition or generality due to the imperfective aspect. The corresponding plural form is przekraczajcie, and the negative forms are nie przekraczaj (singular) and nie przekraczajcie (plural).

Przekraczanie is the noun form denoting the act of crossing or overstepping, while przekroczenie refers to the completion or actual crossing/exceeding of a boundary. Etymologically, przekraczać comes from the prefix prze- attached to the root related to krocz-/kroczyć (to step, to walk), conveying the sense of moving beyond something.

In usage, przekraczaj is more common in direct address within informal or motivational contexts, where someone is urged to go beyond limits or to cross a boundary. In everyday signage or formal instructions, other constructions are more typical, since imperative forms can carry a strong or emphatic tone. The imperfective aspect emphasizes the process or habit of crossing, rather than a single completed act, which is more the domain of the perfective przekroczyć (with imperative forms przekrocz and przekroczcie).

Examples:

- Przekraczaj granice swoich możliwości.

- Przekraczaj ulicę na tym przejściu dla pieszych.