The Talking Phrasebook Series presents useful phrases and words in side-by-side translation and with audio files specifically geared to help students work on listening skills and pronunciation. Each entry below, divided by category, features an English word or phrase in the left column and its Polish translation in the right.
In the center column for each row is a play button. The recorded file will feature first English, then the Polish in three versions: one slow, one with each syllable broken out, and a last version that will be spoken as it might be overheard in a conversation between native speakers.
About Polish Grammar
Gender: Polish is a highly gendered language with multiple pronouns based on number, gender, and level of formality. Most of the examples in this resource give one (clearly marked) example of a phrase using a specific form of โyou.โ However, these can generally be modified by replacing the form of โyouโ used.
Below, we list all โyouโ forms in Polish. Note that these are genitive forms โ which are the forms that would be most used in the phrases given below:
| You | Siฤ/siebie (singular, informal, reflexive) |
| You | Ciฤ/Ciebie (singular, informal) |
| You | Was (informal, plural) |
| You | Pan (formal, singular, male)(like โSirโ) |
| You | Pani (formal, singular, female)(like โMadamโ) |
| You | Paลstwo (formal, plural) |
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Verb Conjugation: Verbs are also conjugated based on number and formality. So, examples below may also need the verb replaced. For instance, โDo you?โ can you appear in the following forms:
| Do you (speak?) | Czy (mรณwisz) (singular, informal) |
| Do you (speak?) | Czy (mรณwicie) (informal, plural) |
| Do you (speak?) | Czy mรณwi (formal, singular, male or female) |
| Do you (speak?) | Czy mรณwiฤ (formal, plural) |
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Asking Questions: Meanwhile, โCan youโ can be said in the following ways: (note that Czy is a word that indicates what will follow will be a question.
| Can you | Czy moลผesz? (sing. informal) |
| Can you | Czy moลผecie (informal, plural) |
| Can you | Czy moลผe (formal, singular, male or female) |
| Can you | Czy mogฤ (formal, plural) |
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Survival Basics for Speaking Polish
| Hi! | Czeลฤ! *informal, conversational โ to greet a friend |
|
| Hello! | Dzieล dobry! *more formal โ to greet a teacher/passer-by |
|
| Yes | Tak | |
| No | Nie | |
| Good morning! | Dzieล dobry! | |
| Good afternoon! | Dzieล dobry! | |
| Good evening! | Dobry wieczรณr! | |
| Whatโs up? | Co u Ciebie? *informal |
|
| How are you? | Co sลychaฤ u Ciebie? *informal โ more complete version of โCo u Ciebie?โ (above) |
|
| How are you, (Madam)? | Jak siฤ Pani ma? *formal โ only use with a female (see above for discussion of other forms of โyouโ in Polish). |
|
| Good, thanks, and you, (Madam)? | Dziฤkujฤ,ย dobrze, a u Pani? | |
| Good bye! | Pa! *infomal, conversational |
|
| Good bye! | Do widzenia *formal |
|
| See you later! | Do zobaczenia | |
| Sorry! | Przepraszam | |
| Open/closed | Otwarte / zamkniฤte | |
| Pull/push | Ciฤ
gnฤ
ฤ / pchaฤ *as would be written on a door to a building |
|
| Small/big | Maลy / duลผy | |
| Do you speak English, (Sir)? | Czy mรณwi Pan po angielsku? *formal, for use only with a male. (see above for more discussion on the verb and pronoun to use) |
|
| I donโt speak English. | Nie mรณwiฤ po angielsku | |
| I only speak a little Polish. | Mรณwiฤ tylko trochฤ po polsku. | |
| I understand/I donโt understand | Rozumiem / Nie rozumiem. | |
| Thank you! | Dziฤkujฤ! | |
| Thank you very much! | Dziฤkujฤ bardzo! | |
| Very well, thanks! | Bardzo dobrze, dziฤkujฤ! | |
| Good/bad (adj) | dobry/zลy (male) | |
| Good/bad (adj) | dobra/zลa (female) | |
| Well/poor (adv) | dobrze/ลบle | |
| Please | Proszฤ *When asking for something politely |
|
| Youโre welcome! | Proszฤ *when responding to โDziฤkujฤโ |
|
| Excuse me! | Przepraszam | |
| A little | Trochฤ | |
| Could you speak more slowly, Madam? | Czy moลผฤ Pani mรณwiฤ wolniej? *formal, for use only with a female. (see above for more discussion on the verb and pronoun to use) |
|
| Could you repeat, please, Sir? | Czy moลผe Pan powtรณrzyฤ? (sing. to Sir, formal) *formal, for use only with a male. (see above for more discussion on the verb and pronoun to use) |
|
| Could you write that down, Madam? | Czy moลผe Pani to napisaฤ? (sing. to Madam, formal) *formal, for use only with a female. (see above for more discussion on the verb and pronoun to use) |
|
| My wallet was stolen | Mรณj portfel zostaล skradziony. | |
| My passport was stolen | Mรณj paszport zostaล skradziony. | |
| My purse was stolen | Moja torebka zostaลa skradziona. *Note that in Polish โtorebkaโ is feminine (hence, the use of feminine pronoun, and both โportfelโ and โpaszportโ are masculine). |
|
| I need a doctor! | Potrzebujฤย lekarza. | |
| Call the police! | Proszฤ zadzwoniฤ na policjฤ! |
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Introductions in Polish
| What is your name? | Jak masz na imiฤ? (informal) | |
| What is your name? | Jak ma Pan/Pani na imiฤ? (formal) | |
| Pleased to meet you! | Miลo mi! (Poles may also say โbardzo mi miลoโ to add more emphasis) |
|
| Itโs mutual (in response to โMiลo mi!โ, above) | Wzajemnie | |
| I am 25 years old. | Mam 25 lat. | |
| How old are you? | Ile masz lat? | |
| Where are you from? | Skฤ d jesteล? | |
| I am American. | Jestem Amerykaninem / Amerykankฤ
(male, female) |
|
| No, I am from Canada. | Nie, jestem z Kanady. | |
| She is Australian. | Ona jest Australijkฤ | |
| He is Irish. | On jest Irlandczykiem. | |
| We are from New Zealand. | Jesteลmy z Nowej Zelandii. | |
| They are from Wales. | Oni sฤ z Walii. | |
| How do you like Poland? | Jak Ci siฤ podoba w Polsce? | |
| I like Poland very much.. | Bardzo mi siฤย podoba w Polsce. | |
| Have you ever been to Cracow? | Czy byลeล / byลaล kiedyล w Krakowie? (male / female) |
|
| I have never been to Warsaw before. | Nigdy nie byลem / byลam w Warszawie. (male / female) | |
| This is my second time in Poland. | To jest mรณj pierwszy pobyt w Polsce. | |
| What do you do? | Czym siฤ zajmujesz? | |
| I am a student. | Jestem studentem / studentkฤ
, (male / female) |
|
| I am a teacher. | Jestem nauczycielem / nauczyielkฤ
. (male / female) |
|
| I am on vacation. | Jestem na wakacjach. | |
| I am here on business. | Jestem w podrรณลผy sลuลผbowej. |
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Asking Directions in Polish
| Where are the toilets? | Gdzie jest toaleta? | |
| Men | Mฤลผczyลบni | |
| Women | Kobiety | |
| Where is the nearest bank? | Gdzie jest najbliลผszy bank? | |
| Where is the nearest post office? | Gdzie jest najbliลผsza poczta? | |
| Where is the nearest train station? | Gdzie jest najbliลผsza dworzec kolejowy? (also, stacja kolejowa) | |
| Where can I find Wi-Fi? | Gdzie mogฤ znaleลบฤ Wi-fi? | |
| Do you know the Wi-Fi password, (Madam?) | Czy zna Pani hasลo do Wi-fi? (to a female, formal) |
|
| How can I order a taxi? | Jak zamรณwiฤ taksรณwkฤ? | |
| Straight ahead! | Prosto! | |
| Take a right. | Skrฤฤ w prawo! | |
| Take a left. | Skrฤฤ w lewo! | |
| After the stoplight | Za tym ลwietle. | |
| Next | Nastฤpny (this and first/last are all male forms) | |
| First | Pierwszy | |
| Last | Ostatni |
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Shopping
| How much does that cost? | Ile to kosztuje? | |
| The menu, please! | Menu, proszฤ? | |
| Iโd like a beer, please | Piwo, proszฤ. | |
| Iโd like the bill, please. | Proszฤ o rachunek. | |
| Do you accept credit cards? | Czy akceptujecie karty kredytowe? |
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Counting in Polish
| 0 | Zero | |
| 1 | Jeden | |
| 2 | Dwa | |
| 3 | Trzy | |
| 4 | Cztery | |
| 5 | Piฤฤ | |
| 6 | Szeลฤ | |
| 7 | Siedem | |
| 8 | Osiem | |
| 9 | Dziewiฤฤ | |
| 10 | Dziesiฤฤ | |
| 11 | Jedynaลcie | |
| 12 | Dwanaลcie | |
| 13 | Trzynaลcie | |
| 14 | Czternaลcie | |
| 15 | Piฤtnaลcie | |
| 16 | Szesnaลcie | |
| 17 | Siedemnaลcie | |
| 18 | Osiemnaลcie | |
| 19 | Dziewiฤtnaลcie | |
| 20 | Dwadzieลcia | |
| 21 | Dwadzieลcia jeden | |
| 22 | Dwadzieลcia dwa | |
| 30 | Trzydzieลci | |
| 40 | Czterdzieลci | |
| 50 | Piฤฤdziesiฤ t | |
| 60 | Szeลฤdziesiฤ t | |
| 70 | Siedemdziesiฤ t | |
| 80 | Osiemdziesiฤ t | |
| 90 | Dziewiฤฤdziesiฤ t | |
| 100 | Sto | |
| 111 | Sto jedenaลcie | |
| 125 | Sto dwadzieลcia piฤฤ | |
| 200 | Dwieลcie | |
| 300 | Trzysta | |
| 400 | Czterysta | |
| 500 | Piฤฤset | |
| 600 | Szeลฤset | |
| 700 | Siedemset | |
| 800 | Osiemset | |
| 900 | Dziewiฤฤset | |
| 1000 | Tysiฤ c |
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