Spelling traps: magnes and magnez
Mar 03
The words magnes and magnez are pronounced identically, with an [s] at the end. The reason for this – if you care, naturally – is a phenomenon known as devoicing (or, for those of you who would like to enrich their vocabulary with some a little longer words – ubezdźwięcznienie). It affects voiced consonants when they occur right next to an unvoiced consonant or at the end of the word.
Because these two words are homophones, they often get confused in writing, even by native speakers (even though the sheer number of Poles who regularly show an admirable creativity in misspelling and generally abusing their native language is enough to make one’s head spin). You can be better than them, of course, and learn to tell these words apart:
magnes – magnet
Magnes przyciąga metalowe obiekty.
A magnet draws metal objects.
Magnes nie przyciąga kotów, jeśli nie są one z metalu.
A magnet doesn’t draw cats if they aren’t metal.
Kocimiętka to magnes na koty.
Catnip is a magnet for cats.
magnez – magnesium
Magnez to pierwiastek chemiczny.
Magnesium is a chemical element.
Czekolada to bogate i smaczne źródło magnezu.
Chocolate is a rich and tasty source of magnesium.
Czy twój kot ma odpowiednią ilość magnezu w diecie?
Does your cat have an appropriate amount of magnesium in his diet?