zawodami

Zawodami is the instrumental plural form of the Polish noun zawód, meaning profession, occupation, or vocation. The base term zawód refers to a line of work or a trade, while zawody is the nominative plural meaning occupations or, in another sense, competitions. The instrumental plural zawodami is used in sentences where the noun is in the instrumental case, typically in relation to verbs or constructions that require this case.

In practice, zawodami appears most commonly in contexts involving the instrumental case and discussions of occupations. It can occur after verbs that govern the instrumental, for example in phrases like zajmować się zawodami, meaning to be engaged with occupations. The form is not frequently used in everyday speech for simple statements about one’s job, where the singular zawodem (or the phrase jestem zawodowy) would be more common; rather, zawodami occurs in grammatical descriptions, lexical examples, or sentences that require a plural instrumental.

A key point of clarification is that the word zawodami can be confused with zawodowy, zawodów, or the plural noun zawody, which can mean occupations or, in a different sense, sports competitions. Context determines the meaning, and the instrumental form zawodami specifically marks the sentence structure rather than the semantic category.

See also zawód, zawody (occupations or competitions), and Polish grammar notes on instrumental case and plural forms.