# spać vs sypiać



## Encolpius

Good morning ladies & gentlemen, I knew the verb spać but not the verb sypiać. What is the difference between spać and the maybe rarely used sypiać? Is sypić an archaic, formal, regional verb? Thank you in advance & have a productive day. Enco from Prague


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## ornityna

_Sypiać _denotes a regular, habitual behavior, while _spać _is more of a singular event. However, you may be right that people tend to abandon _sypiać _and use _spać _with some time marker instead. For example, _sypiam w samochodzie vs. śpię w samochodzie vs. często śpię w samochodzie._ The first wants to say "I regularly sleep in the car," the second "I sleep in the car these days" OR "I am sleeping in the car," and the third is simply "I often sleep in the car." A similar example, s_ypiam dobrze vs. śpię dobrze, _is basically the same - _sypiam _sounds more archaic.
Another thing is that _sypiać _can be used to say that you sleep with someone (meaning sex) on a regular basis. _Spać, _not so much. If you say _śpię z nią często _it rather sounds like you actually _sleep _with her often, nothing more. On the contrary, _sypiam z nią często _means sexual relations.


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## Encolpius

Thanks ornityna, very clear and detailed explanation!


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## zaffy

Sypia z wieloma kobietami - sexual meaning

Ostatnio nie sypiam dobrze. - regular activity, though most people will say 'nie śpię'


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## Encolpius

By the way, are both spać and sypiać imperfective verbs?


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## Piotr_WRF

Yes, they are; _sypiać_ is a frequentative on top.


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## Henares

I think there are no such clear-cut differences as ornityno presented. Depending on the context they may mean opposite things. 
I wouldn’t say that “Ostatnio nie sypiam dobrze” is a regular activity.


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## Piotr_WRF

Wether you call it regular, habitual, reoccurring or iterative, it certainly isn't a one-off action.


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## Henares

That’s right, but definitely it’s not regular in the sense of present simple.


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## Włoskipolak 72

*sypiać
1. *«mieć zwyczaj spania gdzieś lub o określonej porze»
*2. *«miewać z kimś stosunki seksualne»


sypiać - definicja, synonimy, przykłady użycia


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