dobry vs miły
Polish word comparison
Listen to dobry
Listen to miły
| dobry | miły |
|---|---|
DO-bry adjective | MEE-wih adjective |
| good; having positive qualities, satisfactory, or kind | pleasant, nice, friendly |
How they differ
Miły focuses on pleasantness or friendliness of behavior and social manners, while dobry when applied to a person often means morally good or generally good; miły lacks the moral depth and instead emphasizes being agreeable or kind in interaction.
When to use each
When to use dobry: Prefer dobry to describe someone's moral character (e.g., a good, kind person) or to give a general positive evaluation.
When to use miły: Use miły to describe someone who is pleasant, polite or friendly in behaviour, but not necessarily morally admirable.
Side-by-side examples
- On jest dobrym człowiekiem.
(He is a good person.) - On jest miły.
(He is nice/pleasant.)
Register & nuance: Miły is neutral and very common in everyday speech; it is less formal and less morally weighty than dobry.