trzy

Trzy is the Polish word for the cardinal number three. It is used to count objects, indicate quantities, and form expressions that involve the number three.

Pronunciation and etymology: Trzy is pronounced roughly as tʂɨ in standard Polish. The word derives from Proto-Slavic *tri and has cognates in several Slavic languages, such as Czech tři, Russian tri, and Ukrainian try.

Usage and grammar: In Polish, numerals like trzy precede the noun they modify, and the noun can change form according to case and number. For example, phrases such as trzy dni and trzy osoby illustrate trzy used with different nouns. The related ordinal form is trzeci, meaning “third.” While trzy primarily serves as a cardinal numeral, it also appears in idiomatic expressions and time-related phrases such as trzy razy (three times).

Cultural and linguistic context: As with other numerals in Polish, trzy interacts with the language’s inflection system. It is one of the basic numerals taught early in Polish language studies and appears frequently in everyday speech, literature, and mathematics when describing quantities or ordering items.

See also: Polish numbers, ordinal numbers in Polish, Proto-Slavic numerals.