Do you want to travel to Poland? Whether it’s a vacation, short business trip, study abroad program, or you plan to live there long-term, Poland is certainly a beautiful destination. One look at the photos online should be enough to make you book a ticket! Or, maybe you want to book a ticket, but you’re intimidated to learn Polish for your trip. We’ve put together 49+ basic Polish phrases to know and use for your next trip!
There’s nothing to be scared of – all you need to do is put in a little time and effort every day, and you’ll notice a difference in your Polish language skills! Of course, if you want to speak Polish, the best place to be is Poland!
So, keep reading, book your flight, and you’ll be speaking Polish in no time!
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What Is Polish?
Before we dive right into the basic Polish phrases, it would be best if you knew the basic structure of the Polish language.
What Kind Of Language Is Polish?
Polish is a West Slavic language, a subcategory of the Slavic languages. Other West Slavic languages include Czech, Slovak, Kashubian, Upper Sorbian, and Lower Sorbian. If you’re confused about the difference between Czech, Slovak, and Polish, don’t worry, you’re not the only one! Hopefully, all that confusion will be cleared up here.
What Alphabet Does Polish Use?
Polish uses a 32-letter Polish alphabet which is written in Latin script.
The alphabet uses the basic 26-letter Latin alphabet, but there are some exceptions you should keep in mind:
- Don’t always use x, q, v
- 9 additions (ą, ć, ę, ł, ń, ó, ś, ź, ż)
As you can see, if you speak English or another language that also uses the Latin alphabet, learning Polish shouldn’t be that hard! Even if your native language doesn’t use the Latin alphabet, there’s no need to get discouraged because language learning is a journey.
Where Is Polish Spoken?
As you have probably already figured out, Polish is mainly spoken in Poland. Polish people in other countries also use it. If you want to know more about Poland, you can always do additional research, that way, you’re more prepared when you travel there.
In case you were wondering, there are an estimated 50 million people who speak Polish!
Now that you are familiar with the basic structure of the Polish language, let’s learn some basic Polish phrases so that you can begin practicing for your next trip! After all, there are 50 million people out there waiting to talk to you!
49+ Basic Polish Phrases To Learn
There are millions of Polish phrases out there, so we’ll only be covering the most important for you to know.
Introducing Yourself In Basic Polish
| English | Polish | Pronunciation |
| Good evening! | dobry wieczór! | |
| Good morning! | dzień dobry! | |
| Good night! | dobranoc! | |
| How are you today? | jak się dzisiaj miewasz? | |
| How old are you? | ile masz lat? | |
| I am doing fine. | mam się dobrze. | |
| I am not doing well. | nie radzę sobie dobrze. | |
| I am sad. | jestem smutna. | |
| I am from ___. | jestem z ___. | |
| I am __ years old. | mam ___ lat. | |
| It’s so nice to meet you! | tak miło cię poznać! | |
| My name is… | nazywam się… | |
| What’s your name? | jak masz na imię? | |
| Where are you from? | skąd pochodzisz? | |
| See you later! | do zobaczenia później! |
Most Commonly Used Polish Questions
| English | Polish | Pronunciation |
| Are you hungry? | czy jesteś głodny? | |
| Are you thirsty? | jesteś spragniony? | |
| Can I please have the bill? | czy mogę prosić o rachunek? | |
| Can I order now? | czy mogę teraz zamówić? | |
| Do you speak English? | czy mówisz po angielsku? | |
| Do you understand? | czy rozumiesz? | |
| Do you want to go out to dinner? | chcesz wyjść na kolację? | |
| Do you want to hang out? | chcesz gdzieś razem wyjść? | |
| How can I get to…? | jak mogę się dostać do…? | |
| How much does this cost? | ile to kosztuje? | |
| What are you doing? | co ty robisz? | |
| What does that mean? | co to znaczy? | |
| What happened? | co się stało? | |
| What is it? | co to jest? | |
| What is your phone number? | jaki jest twój numer telefonu? | |
| Where are you going? | gdzie idziesz? | |
| Where is the bathroom? | gdzie jest łazienka? |
Saying Sorry In Polish
| English | Polish | Pronunciation |
| Excuse me. | przepraszam. | |
| Can you please speak slower? | czy możesz mówić wolniej? | |
| I am sorry. | przepraszam. | |
| I don’t know. | nie wiem. | |
| I don’t like that. | nie lubię tego. | |
| I don’t understand. | nie rozumiem. | |
| Sorry, I don’t speak Polish. | przepraszam, nie mówię po polsku. |
Basic Polish Dining Phrases
| English | Polish | Pronunciation |
| I am a vegetarian. | jestem wegetarianinem. | |
| I’d like a water. | poproszę wodę. | |
| I’d like to order… | chciałbym złożyć zamówienie… | |
| I love this! | uwielbiam to! | |
| Thank you! | dziękuję ci! | |
| That was an excellent meal! | to był doskonały posiłek! | |
| This tastes delicious! | to smakuje pysznie! | |
| What are the ingredients? | jakie są składniki? | |
| What do you have to eat here? | co musisz tu zjeść? | |
| What’s good to eat here? | co tu dobrze zjeść? |
By now, you should be a master of basic Polish phrases! So, don’t be afraid to go out and practice with others! If you want to learn Polish words or need more support while learning the language, the Ling App is a great resource.
What Is The Ling App?
The Ling App is a language learning app designed to help you learn a language in the most effective way possible. Currently, it has over 5 million downloads and counting!
What Are The Best Features Of The Ling App?
Most importantly, Ling offers lessons in over 60 languages. This means that no matter what language you want to learn, you can most likely find it on Ling. Not only that, the app has lessons for beginners to advanced language learners! If you’re already familiar with a language or you want to continue learning, you can unlock the advanced lessons. Your learning doesn’t have to stop!
Since the app offers lessons for different skill levels, anyone can use it! It’s also available on the App Store, Google Play, and a desktop version. Not to mention, Ling has its own language blog, where you can learn even more about languages and culture. The app is also aesthetically pleasing and runs smoothly.
In addition, Ling uses voice recordings from native speakers, teaches you relevant vocabulary and real phrases to use with locals, and has a chatbot to communicate with in real-time!
If you want to advance your language skills, the Ling App is what you’re looking for!
