What does bigos mean?
Bigos is a hearty Polish stew regarded as one of Poland's national dishes. It combines sauerkraut and fresh shredded cabbage with an assortment of meats — commonly pork, kielbasa (Polish sausage), bacon, and occasionally wild game such as venison — along with dried mushrooms, onions, bay leaves, and other seasonings, all slow-simmered for hours. Often nicknamed "hunter's stew" (bigos myśliwski), it is prized for its rich, tangy, smoky flavor, and many cooks insist it tastes even better reheated the following day. Recipes vary enormously from household to household, which has made bigos a symbol of Polish home cooking and hospitality. In English, the word functions as an uncountable noun and appears almost entirely in food writing, menus, and travel literature rather than everyday conversation.
nounA traditional Polish stew made of sauerkraut and fresh cabbage slow-cooked with various meats (typically pork, sausage, and sometimes game), mushrooms, and seasonings.
- A Polish stew of sauerkraut, fresh cabbage, and assorted meats, slow-cooked with mushrooms and seasonings.
"On Christmas Eve, her grandmother simmered a pot of fragrant bigos on the back of the stove."
"The restaurant's menu described bigos as 'the national dish of Poland.'"
"After a day of skiing, nothing warmed us like a bowl of hearty bigos."
Standard English usage treats bigos as a mass noun referring to the dish generally; avoid pluralizing it except when referring to distinct varieties or servings, which is uncommon.
"Different regions of Poland prepare their own versions of bigos."
In Poland they say there are as many recipes for bigos as there are cooks — and it supposedly tastes even better reheated the next day.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of bigos
The word bigos entered English directly from Polish, where it names the well-known national stew; English usage dates to the 19th century, when travel and culinary writing introduced Polish cuisine to British and American readers. The ultimate origin of the Polish word itself is uncertain, so any specific earlier root should not be asserted. No widely recognized English cognates exist, since the term is essentially a borrowing tied specifically to this dish.
How bigos is actually used
Bigos is an uncountable noun in English usage; it is rarely pluralized. The word carries no figurative or extended senses in English and appears almost exclusively in culinary contexts. It is sometimes called "hunter's stew," a translation of its Polish nickname bigos myśliwski.
Easily confused with bigos
"Bogus" is an adjective meaning fake or counterfeit, while "bigos" is a noun naming the Polish sauerkraut-and-meat stew.