Polish is a Western Slavic language. It is spoken mainly in Poland, but also in parts of Lithuania, Belarus and the Ukraine, as well as among large immigrant communities outside Europe.
Nowadays you can get by with English in Poland, especially in big cities, but learning some basic Polish phrases will make things easier for you when travelling in the country. And as everybody appreciates a foreigner having a go at their language, you might find doors opening for you that otherwise would have remained shut.
Pronunciation
Polish spelling might seem a bit tricky at first, but there is no need to fall into despair. These instructions should get you started.
The examples in pronunciation refer to Standard British English.
Vowels
a - as in 'father'
ą - a nasal sound, as in the French word 'bon'
e - as in 'let'
ę - a nasal sound, something like the 'en' in the French word 'bien'
i - like the 'i' in 'sanity'
o - as in 'not'
ó - like 'ooh'
u - like 'ooh'
y - like the 'i' at the beginning of 'it'; a sound between the Polish 'i' and the German 'ü'
Consonants
| b - as in English | ń - like the 'ñ' in 'el niño' |
| c - like the 'ts' in 'cats' | p - as in English |
| cz - like the 'ch' in 'church' | r - a rolled 'r' |
| ć, ci - like 'cz', but softer and narrower | s - like the 's' in 'mouse' |
| d - as in English | sz - like the 'sh' in 'show' |
| g - as in 'garden' | ś, si - like 'sz', but softer and narrower |
| h, ch - as in 'holy', but slightly stronger | w - like the 'v' in 'village' |
| j - like the 'y' in 'yolk' | z - like the 's' in 'bees' |
| k - as in English | rz, ż - like the 's' in 'treasure'1 |
| l - as in English | ź, zi - like 'rz', but softer and narrower |
| ł - like the 'w' in 'sparrow' | dż, drz - like the 'j' in 'joy' |
| m - as in English | dź, dzi - like 'dż', but softer and narrower |
| n - as in English | |
Phrases
Reading these you should remember that in Polish the main stress of a word is always on the second-to-last syllable.
Everyday Phrases
| Hello | Witam (formal) / Cześć (informal) |
| Good morning/day | Dzien dobry |
| Good evening | Dobry wieczór |
| Excuse me / I'm sorry | Przepraszam2 |
| Please | Proszę |
| Thank you | Dziękuję3 |
| You're welcome | Proszę bardzo |
| Are you Polish? | Czy Pan4 jest polakiem? (masculine)
Czy Pani jest polką (feminine)? |
| Do you speak English? | Czy Pan/Pani mówi po angielsku? |
| Could you speak more slowly, please | Czy Pan mógłby wolniej mówić (m)?
Czy Pani mogłaby wolniej mówić (f)? |
| I don't understand | Nie rozumiem |
| Yes | Tak |
| No | Nie |
| Open | Otwarte/Czynne |
| Closed | Zamknięte |
| Goodbye | Do widzenia |
| Good night | Dobranoc |
Introductions
| My name is... | Nazywam się... |
| Mr. | Pan/a |
| Ms. | Pani |
| What is your name? | Jakie jest Pana/Pani imię i nazwizko? |
| I'm from... | Jestem... |
| ...Great Britain | ...z Wielkiej Britanii |
| ...the United States | ...z Ameryki |
| ...Germany | ...z Niemiec |
| ...France | ...z Francji |
| ...Spain | ...z Hiszpanii |
| ...Italy | ...z Włoch5 |
| ...Australia | ...z Australii |
| ...Canada | ...z Kanady |
| ...Sweden | ...z Szwecji6 |
| ...Ireland | ...z Irlandii |
Making Conversation
| What is your profession? | Jaki jest Pana/Pani zawód? |
| I am... | Jestem... |
| ...a student | ...studentem (masculine)
studentką (feminine) |
| ...a teacher | ...nauczycielem (m)7
nauczycielką (f)8 |
| ...a journalist | ...dziennikarzem (m)9
...dziennikarką (f) |
| ...a doctor | ...lekarzem (m)
...lekarką (f) |
| ...an engineer | ...inżynierem (m)
...inżynier (f) |
| ...a secretary | sekretarzem (m)
...sekretarką (f) |
| Do you like... | Czy Pan/Pani lubi... |
| ...music? | ...muzykę? |
| ...reading? | ...czytać? |
| ...partying? | ...się bawić? |
| ...dancing? | ...tańczyć? |
| ...sports? | ...sporty? |
| ...The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy? | ...Przewodnik autostopowicza po galaktyce? |
Questions
| Where is (the nearest) ... | Gdzie jest (najbliższy)... |
| ...hotel? | ...hotel? |
| ...store? | ...sklep? |
| ...restaurant? | ...restauracja? |
| ...railway station? | ...stacja kolejowa? |
| ...bus station? | ...stacja autobusowa? |
| ...airport? | ...lotnisko? |
| ...taxi stand? | ...przystanek taksówek?10 |
| ...hospital? | ...szpital?11 |
| ...police station? | ...komisariat policji? |
| ...bookstore? | ...księgarnia?12 |
| ...record store? | ...sklep z płytami? |
| ...good café/club? | ...dobra kawiarnia/dobry klub? |
| How much does this cost? | Ile to kosztuje? |
| What is this/that? | Co to jest? |
| Where is this/that? | Gdzie to jest? |
| what | co |
| where | gdzie |
| how | jak |
| when | kiedy |
| where to | dokąd |
| why | dlaczego |
Dining
| A meal | Posiłek |
| Breakfast | Śniadanie |
| Lunch | Lunch |
| Dinner | Obiad |
| Supper | Kolacja |
| To eat | Jeść |
| To drink | Pić |
| To pay | Zapłacić13 |
| I'd like to have... | Proszę... |
| ...coffee | ...kawę |
| ...tea | ...herbatę |
| ...water | ...wodę |
| ...lemonade | ...lemoniadę |
| ...beer | ...piwo |
| ...wine | ...wino |
| ...menu | ...kartę dań |
Qualifiers
| good | dobra |
| bad | zły14 |
| well | dobrze |
| badly | źle |
| beautiful | piękny |
| ugly | brzydki |
| old | stary |
| new | nowy |
| earlier | wcześniej15 |
| later | później |
| near | blisko |
| far | daleko |
Emergencies
| Help! | Pomocy! |
| Look out! | Uwaga! |
| Stop! | Stop! |
| Police! | Policja! |
| Ambulance! | Karetka! |
| I'm lost | Zabłądziłem (m)16
Zabłądziłam (f) |
Numbers
| one | jeden |
| two | dwa |
| three | trzy |
| four | cztery |
| five | pięć |
| six | sześć |
| seven | siedem |
| eight | osiem |
| nine | dziewięć17 |
| ten | dziesięć18 |
| twenty | dwadzieścia19 |
| thirty | trzydzieści20 |
| forty | czterdzieści21 |
| forty-two | czterdzieści dwa |
| fifty | pięćdziesiąt22 |
| hundred | sto |
The Final Touch
| I adore Poland. | Uwielbiam Polskę. |
Related Links
1 Except after the consonants 'p', 't', 'k' and at the end of words, when pronounced as 'sz'.
2 Roughly phonetically "p'she'pra'sh'am" (where the ' shows the beginning and end of a sound in unclear places, and bold the stressed syllable.
3 "Ji'e'ng'kuye".
4 You should stick to the polite forms Pan/Pani until you are clearly given permission to be more informal.
5 "Vwo'h".
6 "Sh've'ts'i".
7 "Nau'ch'i'chi'elem".
8 "Nau'ch'i'chi'elk'ong".
9 "Jennika'rz'em".
10 "P'sh'istanek taksuvek".
11 "Sh'pital".
12 "K'sh'ie'ng'garnia".
13 "Zapwa'ch'i'ch".
14 "Zwi".
15 "f'ch'e'sh'niey".
16 "Zab'w'on'j'i'w'em".
17 "Ji'evi'en'ch".
18 "Ji'e'shi'en'ch".
19 "Dva'ji'e'sh'ch'a".
20 "T'sh'i'ji'e'sh'ch'i".
21 "Ch'ter'ji'e'sh'ch'i".
22 "Pi'en'ch'ji'sh'on't".
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