tutaj

Tutaj is a Polish adverb meaning here. It denotes a location that is close to the speaker or to the point under discussion and is commonly used to point out something in the immediate vicinity. In everyday Polish, tutaj can appear at the beginning of a clause or after a verb, as in "Tutaj jest mój dom" or "Patrz tutaj" (look here). It is also used to emphasize a present location in phrases such as "Tutaj mamy nowy plan" or "Tutaj zaczyna się historia."

Etymology and related forms are not always stated in detail in standard references, but tutaj is generally viewed as a development from the base word tu, with an intensifying or demonstrative nuance attached. It is part of a family of Slavic expressions for “here,” and is cognate with Russian тут (tut) and Czech tady (here), among others. The form reflects a tendency in many Slavic languages to create distinct adverbs of location that stress proximity.

Usage notes include that, while tu also means here, tutaj often conveys a more precise or pointed reference and tends to appear at the start of a sentence or clause to introduce something located nearby. Both tu and tutaj are common in speech and writing, with tutaj sometimes serving to foreground the location or to direct attention. In idiomatic expressions, tutaj can pair with other words to form emphatic or rhetorical phrases such as "tutaj i teraz" (here and now).