swój

Swój is a Polish possessive determiner and pronoun meaning “one’s own.” It is used to express ownership that refers to the subject of the clause, and it is distinct from other possessives like mój (my), twój (your), czyj (whose). The word agrees with the noun it modifies in gender, number, and case, while the owner is understood to be the subject of the sentence.

In practice, swój marks possession by the subject rather than by a third party. For example: Jan przyniósł swój parasol, meaning that the parasol belongs to Jan. The same pattern applies when the owner is the subject in more complex sentences. When there are two potential owners in a sentence, swój helps to signal which one is meant, but ambiguity can still arise; in such cases Polish often uses a full possessive like jego, jej, ich (his, her, their) to specify ownership.

Swój can also appear without an explicit noun of possession, especially in phrases that emphasize manner or manner of ownership, such as po swojemu, meaning “in one’s own way.” This usage forms part of a broader set of fixed expressions.

Its relationship to other possessives is notable: swój refers to the subject and is often contrasted with własny, which can carry a more general sense of “one’s own” without the reflexive emphasis on the subject. Swój is generally preferred in contexts where the possession is inherently tied to the speaker or the surrounding discourse, while a non-reflexive form (jego/jej) may be clearer when another person is the possessor or when clarity is required.

Etymology traces swój to Proto-Slavic roots, related to cognates in other Slavic languages, such as Russian svoj and Czech svůj.