Which letters count as vowels in Polish?

The Polish vowel letters are a, ą, e, ę, o, ó, u, y, plus i. Each marks one syllable nucleus, so the syllable count of a word is essentially the number of these vowels it contains, with one adjustment for the softening i.

Do ą and ę each count as one syllable?

Yes. Although ą and ę are nasal vowels that can sound like a vowel plus a nasal consonant, each is a single vowel letter and forms exactly one syllable, so pięć counts as one syllable and pieniądze as three.

Why does the i in miasto not add a syllable?

When i sits between a consonant and another vowel, it usually marks palatalisation of that consonant rather than being a vowel itself. So miasto is mia-sto (two syllables): the i softens the m and the a is the nucleus. The tool skips a softening i but still counts i when it is a real vowel.

Does ó differ from u for counting?

No. ó and u are pronounced the same /u/ and both count as one syllable nucleus. ó is included as a distinct vowel letter so words spelt with it, like Kraków, are counted correctly.

No. The counter scans your text in the browser by matching vowel letters and never contacts a server. Your Polish text stays entirely on your device.

Polish Syllable Counter

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The Polish Syllable Counter measures syllables by counting vowel nuclei. As in most languages, each Polish syllable is built around one vowel sound, so the syllable count of a word is the number of its vowels — with one careful adjustment for the letter i.

How it works

The counter treats a, ą, e, ę, o, ó, u, y as full vowels, each adding one syllable. The nasal vowels ą and ę count once each. The letter i is handled specially: when it falls between a consonant and another vowel it acts as a softening marker (palatalising the consonant) and does not form its own syllable, as in miasto = mia-sto. In every other position — standing alone, word-initial before a vowel, or before a consonant — i is counted as a true vowel nucleus.

Tips and example

pięć has one vowel, ę, so one syllable.
miasto counts as two: the i softens the m, and a and o are the nuclei.
Kraków counts a and ó for two syllables — ó is a vowel even though it sounds like u.
For poetry, paste one line at a time and compare per-line totals to verify the intended syllabic meter, which is central to traditional Polish verse.