zasypat

zasypat (pl. "zasypać") is a transitive verb in Polish that literally means "to bury" or "to cover with a layer of material, most commonly earth or sand." In its most concrete sense it describes the act of filling a hole, trench, or grave with soil or other filling material until it is level with or above the surrounding surface. The verb can also be used figuratively to indicate filling a space, person, or situation with something, e.g., a room with furniture or a job with responsibilities.

The word derives from the root *sypać* ("to pour, to sprinkle") combined with a prefix *za-* that often conveys completion or thoroughness. The infinitive form is *zasypać*, with a perfective aspect. Its past tense forms include *zasypałem* (I buried) and *zasypane* (buried). The reflexive form *zasypiać się* is rarely used on its own but appears in expressions such as *zasypiać się w łóżku* (“to napping in bed”).

Common contexts include funeral rites, landscaping, construction, and reclamation projects. In burial practices, a casket or coffin is placed in a grave and the surrounding hole is filled back with earth, creating a mound or tamping it down. This practice is performed by funeral homes, cemetery caretakers, or sometimes by relatives themselves. In civil engineering, the phrase is used when bulkheads, embankments, or roadbeds are restored to their original level after excavation.

The verb also appears in idiomatic usage. For example, *zasypiać się* can mean to become sleepier, as in *zasypliłem się w kuluarach*. Another idiom, *zasypiać kogoś kawą*, means to recruit or occupy someone’s time with coffee. These figurative uses underscore the idea of covering or filling.

Synonyms include *zamykać*, * Pokrywać* (cover), * Zakrywać* (envelop), while its antonym is *wyciągać* (to dig out). The concept of *zasypanie* extends to environmental contexts, such as the *zasypanie stawu* (filling a pond) to create land or modify ecological habitats.

Though the primary sense is concrete, the verb is flexible enough to accommodate both literal and metaphorical meanings within Polish literature, everyday speech, and technical documents. It thereby remains an integral part of everyday vocabulary when describing the act of covering, filling, or burying objects and spaces.