All voicedobstruents/b, d, ɡ, v, z, ʐ, ʑ, dʐ, dʑ/ are devoiced (so /d/ becomes /t/, etc.) at the ends of words and in clusters ending in any unvoiced obstruents /p, t, k, f, s, x, ʂ, ɕ, tʂ, tɕ/. The voiceless obstruents are voiced (/x/ becoming [ɣ], etc.) in clusters ending in any voiced obstruent except /v/, and /ʐ/ (when spelled with ⟨rz⟩), which are themselves devoiced in this case.
↑ 1.01.11.21.18.104.22.168The letter ⟨i⟩, when followed by a vowel, represents a pronunciation like a ⟨j⟩ or a "soft" pronunciation of the preceding consonant (so pies is pronounced as if it were spelt ⟨pjes⟩). It has the same effect as an acute accent on an alvoelar consonants (⟨s⟩, ⟨z⟩, ⟨c⟩, ⟨dz⟩, ⟨n⟩). Thus, się, cios and niania are pronounced as if they were spelled ⟨śę⟩, ⟨ćos⟩, ⟨ńańa⟩. A following ⟨i⟩ also softens consonants if it is pronounced as a vowel. Thus, zima, ci and dzisiaj are pronounced as if if they were spelled ⟨źima⟩, ⟨ći⟩, ⟨dźiśaj⟩.
↑ 3.03.13.23.33.43.5 Polish makes contrasts between retroflex and alveolo-palatal consonants, both of which sound similar to the English postalveolars /ʃ ʒ tʃ dʒ/ The retroflex sounds are pronounced "hard" with the front of the tongue raised, and the alveolo-palatal sounds are "soft" with the middle of the tongue raised, adding a bit of an "ee" sound to them.
^ The letters ą and ę are used to represent /ɔw̃/ and /ɛw̃/ before /s, z, ʂ, ʐ, x/, and, in case of ą, word-finally.