Warsaw travel guide to restaurants pubs bars apartments shops and hotels in Warsaw Poland

Language

Fun with words


There are a whole range of Polish words which look pretty similar to their English equivalents, so signs such as POLICJA, RESTAURACJA, HOTEL and TAXI are hardly going to tax most travellers, but here are a handful of others that may be useful:

Kawiarnia - Cafe
Herbaciarnia - Tea House
Ksiegarnia - Book Shop
Mieso - Butchery
Nabial - Dairy products
Sklep - Shop
Prasa - Newsagent
Dworzec - Station
Lotnisko - Airport

Click & Listen!

Yes

No

Hello

Goodbye

How are you?

Please

Thank you

How much does this cost?

Do you speak English?

Cheers!

I lost my passport - can you help me?

How much does beer cost?

Two beers please!

Do you have a sister?

Drop by tonight and I'll show you my stamp collection

There's no getting away from it - Polish is a tough language, any early attempts at which will have you sounding like you're whispering, gargling and choking simultaneously. Many Poles, particularly the younger ones, speak a little English, but that's no excuse not to learn at least a few of those tortuous tongue-twisters, so we've included. at the bottom of this page, a brief guide to get you started. For those who wish to get more involved, there are a host of excellent language schools, many of them providing translation services, which may be necessary if you plan to stay any length of time in the city.

The Polish language uses the Latin alphabet as in English, however you will find a few extra letters, (formed from Latin letters but with an additional slash or hook), bringing the total to 32. A few letters you won't find are: q, v, and x. The only exception to this rule are direct translations from other languages (e.g. "fax') and, of course, slang and marketing-language.

We've recently added our new audio pronunciation guide (right) to help with those tricky Polish pronunciations! If you've got some good ideas on how to make our language section better, let us know!

a few words...



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Polish language tips

"Learn Polish its really difficult if you´re spanish speaker cause the sounds are very different in the two languages. But its so funny learn Polish everydoby helps you!"

Sandra
Mexico
Apr.18.2008
rates this page
3/5

"Polish is easy if your travel buddy is fluent. Otherwise, pay attention and be prepared to get for some concerned looks and lots of laughs. Polish people are the best!"

Logger Dave
Canada
Mar.28.2008
rates this page
5/5

"How do you say I own that beautiful picture in Polish?"

Angiee
United States
Mar.25.2008
rates this page
3/5

"Does anyone know how to say "Train station?""

David
United States
Mar.21.2008
rates this page
3/5

"mieszkajac w Polsce do 24 roku zycia nigdy nie myslalam o jezyku polskim jako trudnym. Obecnie od 20 lat mieszkam w Kanadzie i kiedy pomagam corce i synowi odrabiac lekcje z j.polskiego to dopiero teraz dostrzegam to ze jednak nie jest on taki latwy ale... jak ktos bardzo chce to moze sie go nauczyc choc z poczatku moze to brzemiec smiesznie. "

Krystyna
Canada
Mar.01.2008
rates this page
3/5

"My grandfather always said Polish is very simple to learn. It is so easy, he said, even babies learn it!!!! :)"

Jaroslaw
United States
Feb.05.2008
rates this page
2/5

"Hi, I am polish girl, and If somebody want to learn polish I will be happy to help him. You can write mail to me (aubergine@o2.pl) or on skype aubergine-monique, I'll be happy :) Good luck!!"

Monika
Poland
Feb.04.2008
rates this page
3/5

"hi I need some help. i want to learn how to speack polish because my great grand father[iggy]died and he was polish.thanks bye-bye"

rebecca
United States
Dec.12.2007
rates this page
5/5

"Come to Krakow!! Krakow is most beautiful place in the Word. "

Michael
Poland
Dec.11.2007
rates this page
5/5

"You can say "prosze bardzo" (same as "please"), or if it's more casual, "nie ma sprawy", which means "no problem"."

Dagny
Poland
Nov.12.2007
rates this page
3/5

"How do you say "You're welcome" in Polish? I've been trying to find it, and I can't seem to find it anywhere..."

Megan
United States
Nov.11.2007
rates this page
3/5

"Para los viajeros de habla hispana, Polonia es le pais Europeo que mas estudia espanol en las escuelas, la gente aprecia mas un "hola" que un "hello".La gente es amable, sincera y ayuda siempre, mucha diferencia que con los gringos o alemanes, en Polonia si hay GENTE"

antonio
Mexico
Oct.19.2007
rates this page
5/5

"El sitio debe incluir más frases en el polaco para beneficiar más el viajero. Quizás más frases que sólo los saludos. En cualquier caso, la información es muy informativa y la lengua: muy difícil pero ˇmuy linda! Gracias por la ayuda. "

Benja
Argentina
Oct.09.2007
rates this page
3/5

"thanx Ania:)"

maria
Greece
Aug.23.2007
rates this page
3/5

"In September it should still be warm-ish, though that's one month in which the weather can vary drastically in the span of a few days (or even a few hours). I would recommend jeans or slacks, and plenty of clothes that could be layered, like t-shirt plus sweater plus jacket - that way you're prepared for everything. And definitely bring a scarf and an umbrella!"

Ania
Poland
Aug.23.2007
rates this page
3/5

"It't is nice to meet you = spieprzaj frajerze"

pn
United States
Aug.22.2007
rates this page
3/5

"going to Warsaw in mid September....any ideas what kind of clothes i will need?:)"

maria
Greece
Aug.22.2007
rates this page
4/5

"Polish is a super easy language, if you have a Polish mother ! :) "

Magda
Egypt
Aug.07.2007
rates this page
3/5

"To Alexa, Hi there, You asked how to say in Polish: Welcome to your big adventure"! You could say: Zapraszam Cie na duza (or: wielka)przygode. Hope that was helpful:-) Regards "

Ania
Poland
Aug.04.2007
rates this page
4/5

"I have an exchange student coming from Poland. Can anyone tell me the words (and proper spelling) for "Welcome to your big adventure!" Any help is greatly appreciated. I can easily find that welcome = bywaj, big = duży, and adventure = zaryzykować on the internet but not sure about stringing the words together to make a sentence or whether these are the most appropriate words to use. Thanks! Alexa"

Alexa H.
United States
Jun.16.2007
rates this page
5/5

"Pokój Wam! Wypowiedź słowna jest podobnie jak rysunek tylko przybliżonym obrazem rzeczywistości i dlatego warto abyśmy zamiast spierać się co znaczą słowa starali się dązyć do zrozumienia wypowiedzi. Radości z życia w każdym miejscu i czasie życzy wszystkim mieszkańcom Ziemi: syneloi."

Grzegorz
Poland
May.08.2007
rates this page
3/5

"sa va fut de unguri ce sinteti"

sefu
Romania
Apr.27.2007
rates this page
3/5

"very nice language. easy to be laerned if you know an other slavian language!"

fotis
Greece
Apr.22.2007
rates this page
4/5

"i really want to learn how to speak polish"

richard
United States
Apr.11.2007
rates this page
3/5

"how are you=jak sie masz i like you = lubie cie i dont understand =nie rozumiem this website is a great way to learn polish pa pa"

Beata
Poland
Mar.02.2007
rates this page
5/5

"kocham cie=I love you!"

Alexander
Greece
Feb.21.2007
rates this page
3/5