• Listen

  What it means

  Literally: “to feel like at one’s own home.” This idiom describes the sensation of being completely relaxed, comfortable, and at ease in a place that is not one’s actual home — a friend’s flat, a hotel, a foreign city, or a new workplace. It implies a sense of belonging and ease, as if familiar surroundings have extended their warmth to an unfamiliar setting. Hosts commonly invite guests to feel this way: “Proszę, czuj się jak u siebie w domu” (“Please, make yourself at home”).

  Vocabulary

  • poczuć się — to feel (reflexive, perfective — a single, completed experience)
  • jak — like, as if
  • u siebie — at one's own place (u + genitive of the reflexive pronoun siebie)
  • w domu — at home (w + locative of dom)

  Grammar note

  'Poczuć się' is the perfective reflexive form of 'czuć się' (to feel). The phrase 'u siebie' uses the preposition 'u' with the genitive of the reflexive pronoun 'siebie', meaning 'at one's own place'. The imperfective 'czuć się jak u siebie w domu' describes an ongoing state, while 'poczuć się' marks the moment of settling in.

  Cultural context

  This is a warm, welcoming expression standard in Polish hospitality culture. Hosts say it to put guests at ease, and travellers use it to describe places where they felt unexpectedly comfortable. It maps perfectly to the English phrase 'to feel at home' or 'make yourself at home.'

  Beginner

Noticed a typo, a wrong translation, or anything that doesn't look right? We'd love to fix it — just let us know via the contact page. Thank you!