Polish Phrasebook Talking Online

Two young women chatting on a bench in front of the Frederic Chopin memorial in Warsaw, Poland.

The Talking Polish Phrasebook

Published: July 2, 2023

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.

Briefly About the Polish Language

Polish is the official language of Poland and is spoken by approximately 40 million people worldwide. There are also large Polish communities in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, and Australia. These communities, especially in large cities, work to maintain their Polish language and cultural traditions, contributing to the global presence of the Polish language.

Polish belongs to the West Slavic branch of the Indo-European language family and is closely related to other Slavic languages like Czech, Slovak, and Ukrainian. Polish has a complex and rich linguistic history influenced by various factors.

In the early medieval period, Old Polish emerged as a distinct language from the various older Slavic tribes inhabiting the region. Polish vocabulary has its roots there but also incorporates loanwords from various sources. Latin, especially during the period of Poland’s cultural and intellectual ties with the Catholic Church, significantly influenced scientific, legal, and religious terminology. Additionally, German, French, English, and Russian loanwords have been absorbed into the Polish lexicon due to historical, political, and cultural interactions.

About Polish Grammar

Polish has a complex grammatical structure, characterized by declension and conjugation. It is a highly inflected language, meaning that words change their forms to indicate case, gender, number, and tense. Nouns have seven cases, and adjectives, pronouns, and numerals agree with the noun they modify. Verbs have complex conjugation patterns, including aspects (perfective and imperfective) and moods (indicative, imperative, conditional, etc.).

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 “you.” However, these can generally be modified by replacing the form of “you” used.

Below, we list all “you” forms in Polish. Note that these are genitive forms – which are the forms that would be most used in the phrases given below:

YouSię/siebie (singular, informal, reflexive)
YouCię/Ciebie (singular, informal)
YouWas (informal, plural)
YouPan (formal, singular, male)(like “Sir”)
YouPani (formal, singular, female)(like “Madam”)
YouPaństwo (formal, plural)

 

Verb Conjugation: Verbs are also conjugated based on number and formality. So, examples below may also need the verb replaced. For instance, “Do you?” can you appear in the following forms:

Do you (speak?)Czy (mówisz) (singular, informal)
Do you (speak?)Czy (mówicie) (informal, plural)
Do you (speak?)Czy mówi (formal, singular, male or female)
Do you (speak?)Czy mówią (formal, plural)

 

Asking Questions: Meanwhile, “Can you” can be said in the following ways: (note that Czy is a word that indicates what will follow will be a question.

Can youCzy możesz? (sing. informal)
Can youCzy możecie (informal, plural)
Can youCzy może (formal, singular, male or female)
Can youCzy mogą (formal, plural)

 

Survival Basics for Speaking Polish

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Hi! Cześć!
*informal, conversational – to greet a friend
Hello!Dzień dobry!
*more formal – to greet a teacher/passer-by
YesTak
NoNie
Good morning!Dzień dobry!
Good afternoon!Dzień dobry!
Good evening!Dobry wieczór!
What’s up?Co u Ciebie?
*informal
How are you?Co słychać u Ciebie?
*informal – more complete version of “Co u Ciebie?” (above)
How are you, (Madam)?Jak się Pani ma?
*formal – only use with a female (see above for discussion of other forms of “you” in Polish).
Good, thanks, and you, (Madam)?Dziękuję, dobrze, a u Pani?
Good bye!Pa!
*infomal, conversational
Good bye!Do widzenia
*formal
See you later!Do zobaczenia
Sorry!Przepraszam
Open/closedOtwarte / zamknięte
Pull/pushCiągnąć / pchać
*as would be written on a door to a building
Small/bigMały / duży
Do you speak English, (Sir)?Czy mówi Pan po angielsku?
*formal, for use only with a male.
(see above for more discussion on the verb and pronoun to use)
I don’t speak English.Nie mówię po angielsku
I only speak a little Polish.Mówię tylko trochę po polsku.
I understand/I don’t understandRozumiem / Nie rozumiem.
Thank you!Dziękuję!
Thank you very much!Dziękuję bardzo!
Very well, thanks!Bardzo dobrze, dziękuję!
Good/bad (adj)dobry/zły (male)
Good/bad (adj)dobra/zła (female)
Well/poor (adv)dobrze/źle
PleaseProszę
*When asking for something politely
You’re welcome!Proszę
*when responding to “Dziękuję’
Excuse me!Przepraszam
A littleTrochę
Could you speak more slowly, Madam?Czy możę Pani mówić 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 może Pan powtórzyć? (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 może Pani to napisać? (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 stolenMój portfel został skradziony.
My passport was stolenMój paszport został skradziony.
My purse was stolenMoja torebka została skradziona.
*Note that in Polish “torebka” is feminine (hence, the use of feminine pronoun, and both “portfel” and “paszport” are masculine).
I need a doctor!Potrzebuję lekarza.
Call the police!Proszę zadzwonić na policję!

 

Introductions in Polish

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What is your name?Jak masz na imię? (informal)
What is your name?Jak ma Pan/Pani na imię? (formal)
Pleased to meet you!Miło mi!
(Poles may also say “bardzo mi miło” to add more emphasis)
It’s mutual (in response to “Miło mi!”, above)Wzajemnie
I am 25 years old.Mam 25 lat.
How old are you?Ile masz lat?
Where are you from?Skąd jesteś?
I am American.Jestem Amerykaninem / Amerykanką
(male, female)
No, I am from Canada.Nie, jestem z Kanady.
She is Australian.Ona jest Australijką
He is Irish.On jest Irlandczykiem.
We are from New Zealand.Jesteśmy z Nowej Zelandii.
They are from Wales.Oni są z Walii.
How do you like Poland?Jak Ci się podoba w Polsce?
I like Poland very much..Bardzo mi się podoba w Polsce.
Have you ever been to Cracow?Czy byłeś / byłaś kiedyś w Krakowie?
(male / female)
I have never been to Warsaw before.Nigdy nie byłem / byłam w Warszawie. (male / female)
This is my second time in Poland.To jest mój pierwszy pobyt w Polsce.
What do you do?Czym się zajmujesz?
I am a student.Jestem studentem / studentką,
(male / female)
I am a teacher.Jestem nauczycielem / nauczyielką.
(male / female)
I am on vacation.Jestem na wakacjach.
I am here on business.Jestem w podróży służbowej.

 

Asking Directions in Polish

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Where are the toilets?Gdzie jest toaleta?
MenMężczyźni
WomenKobiety
Where is the nearest bank?Gdzie jest najbliższy bank?
Where is the nearest post office?Gdzie jest najbliższa poczta?
Where is the nearest train station?Gdzie jest najbliższa dworzec kolejowy? (also, stacja kolejowa)
Where can I find Wi-Fi?Gdzie mogę znaleźć Wi-fi?
Do you know the Wi-Fi password, (Madam?)Czy zna Pani hasło do Wi-fi?
(to a female, formal)
How can I order a taxi?Jak zamówić taksówkę?
Straight ahead!Prosto!
Take a right.Skręć w prawo!
Take a left.Skręć w lewo!
After the stoplightZa tym świetle.
NextNastępny (this and first/last are all male forms)
FirstPierwszy
LastOstatni

 

Shopping

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Counting in Polish

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0Zero
1Jeden
2Dwa
3Trzy
4Cztery
5Pięć
6Sześć
7Siedem
8Osiem
9Dziewięć
10Dziesięć
11Jedynaście
12Dwanaście
13Trzynaście
14Czternaście
15Piętnaście
16Szesnaście
17Siedemnaście
18Osiemnaście
19Dziewiętnaście
20Dwadzieścia
21Dwadzieścia jeden
22Dwadzieścia dwa
30Trzydzieści
40Czterdzieści
50Pięćdziesiąt
60Sześćdziesiąt
70Siedemdziesiąt
80Osiemdziesiąt
90Dziewięćdziesiąt
100Sto
111Sto jedenaście
125Sto dwadzieścia pięć
200Dwieście
300Trzysta
400Czterysta
500Pięćset
600Sześćset
700Siedemset
800Osiemset
900Dziewięćset
1000Tysiąc

 

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About the author

Emma Tkaz

Emma Tkaz

Emma Tkacz graduated from the University of Texas at Austin, where she majored in International Relations and Global Studies with a focus in Security Studies and European Studies. She minored in Russian. Her college experience and family ties in Poland fostered her love for Eastern European culture and, one day, she hopes to live and work in Eastern Europe. In the near future, she plans to attend graduate school and pursue a Master’s in International Studies.

Program attended: Online Internships

View all posts by: Emma Tkaz