samodzielna

Samodzielna is the feminine singular form of the Polish adjective samodzielny, meaning independent, autonomous, or self-reliant. It describes a subject that can act without external help, make decisions, or manage tasks on its own. The base form samodzielny has corresponding gender and number forms: masculine singular samodzielny, neuter samodzielne, feminine singular samodzielna, and plural samodzielni (masculine personal) or samodzielne (non-personal).

The word is used to characterize abilities, states, or qualities. It can describe people, actions, or processes, for example samodzielna praca (independent work), samodzielna decyzja (an autonomous decision), or samodzielna osoba (an autonomous person). In grammar, samodzielna functions as an attributive adjective and agrees with the noun it modifies in gender, number, and case.

Related noun and adverb forms are commonly used: samodzielność (independence, self-reliance) and samodzielnie (independently). In practical contexts, samodzielna often appears in education, employment, and social policy discussions where individual initiative, responsibility, or capability is relevant. The term is closely related to, but distinct from, other Polish descriptors such as niezależny (independent in a broader sense) or autonomous, which may carry different nuances regarding external control or institutional independence.