Thinking of booking a trip to Poland? To help your travels go smoother, we’ve put together a list of 70+ basic Polish words for you to learn and practice! The first step is to learn the Polish language. After that, with some practice, you should be able to speak basic Polish phrases in no time!
But, before we dive into the basic words, it’s important to know a little background information on the language you’re planning to learn. Knowing some details will make learning the Polish language easier, more understandable, and more fun!
So, let’s get started with a short introduction to the Polish language!
Everything You Need To Know About Polish
Before you start learning and speaking Polish, you should have some idea of the language itself. For example, you should know where it is spoken, the number of speakers globally, and what makes up its alphabet. These are just a few of the questions you should answer before getting started, but you can always do more research if you’re interested! Nowadays, with smartphones and the internet, it’s easy to get all our questions answered.
Most importantly, we don’t have to travel while carrying heavy translation dictionaries anymore! All we have to do is download an app or read our Polish blog, and we can have all the language learning right at our fingertips!
Now, let’s get to answering those questions!
What Is Polish?
Polish is considered a West Slavic language, which is a subpart of the Slavic languages. Other West Slavic languages include Czech, Slovak, Kashubian, Upper Sorbian, and Lower Sorbian.
Polish is also of the Lechitic group, which is another language subgroup consisting of Polish along with similar dialects in the surrounding area.
Polish uses a 32-letter Polish alphabet which is written in Latin script. The alphabet uses the basic 26-letter Latin alphabet with the following exceptions:
- Don’t always use x, q, v
- 9 additions (ą, ć, ę, ł, ń, ó, ś, ź, ż)
Since the Polish alphabet is similar to English and other languages that use the Latin alphabet, native English speakers might find learning Polish easier!
Now that you know some basic information about the background of Polish and its structure, we can go on to talk about its speakers!
Where Is Polish Spoken?
Polish is mainly spoken in Poland. But, it’s still used among people of Polish descent in other countries.
Interestingly, it’s the 6th most spoken language of the European Union, which has 24 official languages.
How Many People Speak Polish Globally?
It’s estimated that there are over 50 million Polish speakers around the world! So, if you’re planning on traveling to Poland or its neighboring countries, we’re sure that you’ll be able to find people to talk to!
Now that we’ve briefly gone over the Polish language, we can move on to the 70+ basic Polish words you need to know for your trip! If you want to learn more about Poland, feel free to keep researching!
70+ Basic Polish Words To Learn Now
70+ basic Polish words might sound scary, but there’s no need to be scared to learn Polish!
To make it easier, we’ve divided the basic words you need to know into the following 8 categories:
- Basic Conversation
- Single Words
- Numbers
- Saying Sorry
- Common Questions
- Transportation
- Emergency
- Going Out To Eat
We’ve also divided each category into three parts: the English word, the Polish word, and the Polish pronunciation! With the pronunciation option, you can be confident that you’re pronouncing each word correctly!
If you’re only interested in learning about greetings, then you can easily skip to that section. If you’re more interested in learning about the numbers, then you can scroll to that section.
It’s up to you how you want to learn! However, we recommend reading all the categories so that you can learn and practice more Polish phrases for your trip!
Basic Conversation Words In Polish
How are you? I’m fine, and you? is a very basic English sentence that you’ll find in textbooks or taught by English teachers. With Polish, you can even find similar words and phrases that must be learned once you’ve met a Polish acquaintance. Don’t forget to introduce yourself in Polish!
| English | Polish | Sound |
| Good morning! | dzień dobry! | |
| Hi! | cześć! | |
| How are you? | jak się masz? | |
| I am good. | jestem dobry. | |
| What is your name? | jak masz na imię? | |
| My name is… | nazywam się… | |
| Where are you from? | skąd jesteś? | |
| Nice to meet you! | miło mi cię poznać! | |
| See you later! | do zobaczenia później! | |
| See you tomorrow! | do zobaczenia jutro! | |
| Good day! | dobry dzień! | |
| Bless you! | na zdrowie! | |
| Good evening! | dobry wieczór! | |
| Good night! | dobranoc! | |
| Good bye! | do widzenia! | |
| Thank you! | dziękuję ci! | |
| You’re welcome! | nie ma za co! |
Single Words To Know In Polish
| English | Polish | Sound |
| Me | ja | |
| You | ty | |
| She | ona | |
| He | on | |
| They | oni | |
| We | my | |
| Our | nasz | |
| Us | nas | |
| It | to | |
| Yes | tak | |
| No | nie | |
| Maybe | może | |
| Like | lubić | |
| Don’t Like | nie lubię | |
| Money | pieniądze | |
| Price | cena | |
| Wait | czekać | |
| Translate | tłumaczyć | |
| Smile | uśmiechać się |
Numbers In Polish
| English | Polish | Sound |
| One | jeden | |
| Two | dwa | |
| Three | trzy | |
| Four | cztery | |
| Five | pięć | |
| Six | sześć | |
| Seven | siedem | |
| Eight | osiem | |
| Nine | dziewięć | |
| Ten | dziesięć |
Saying Sorry In Polish
It’s important to be polite no matter which country you are in. Show respect and memorize some of these apologies in Polish to avoid misunderstandings.
| English | Polish | Sound |
| Excuse me. | przepraszam. | |
| I’m sorry. | przykro mi. | |
| No problem. | bez problemu. | |
| I don’t know. | nie wiem. | |
| I understand. | rozumiem. | |
| I don’t understand. | nie rozumiem. | |
| I do not speak Polish. | nie mówię po polsku. | |
| No thank you. | nie, dziękuję. |
Common Questions To Ask In Polish
Question words in Polish are great conversation starters. Don’t get too caught up asking questions, you should also know how to answer them!
| English | Polish | Sound |
| Where is…? | gdzie jest…? | |
| What time is it? | która godzina? | |
| What is this? | co to jest? | |
| How much is it? | ile to kosztuje? | |
| What do you want to eat? | co chcesz zjeść? | |
| Do you like it? | czy lubisz to? | |
| Do you have…? | czy masz…? | |
| Where is the bathroom? | gdzie jest łazienka? |
Polish Transportation Vocabulary
Ready, set, go! Let’s dive into the Polish transportation vocabulary through these words and phrases:
| English | Polish | Sound |
| I want to go to… | chcę iść do… | |
| Airport | lotnisko | |
| Taxi | taksówka | |
| Car | samochód | |
| One ticket | jeden bilet | |
| Bus stop | przystanek autobusowy | |
| Hotel | hotel | |
| Go straight | idź prosto | |
| Turn left | skręć w lewo | |
| Turn right | skręć w prawo |
Emergency Vocabulary In Polish
| English | Polish | Sound |
| Call an ambulance! | zadzwonić po karetkę! | |
| Help! | wsparcie! | |
| I need to see a doctor. | potrzebuje zobaczyć się z lekarzem. | |
| Where is the hospital? | gdzie jest szpital? | |
| Please take me to the hospital! | proszę zabierz mnie do szpitala! | |
| I’m in pain. | jestem w bólu. | |
| I’m lost. | zgubiłem się. |
Polish Words For Going Out To Eat
| English | Polish | Sound |
| I would like to order… | chciałbym zamówić… | |
| I am hungry. | jestem głodny. | |
| I am thirsty. | chce mi się pić. | |
| I am a vegetarian. | jestem wegetarianinem. | |
| Allergic | uczulony | |
| Delicious | pyszne | |
| Water | woda | |
| Vodka | wódka | |
| Let’s eat! | jedzmy! | |
| Cheers! | dzięki! | |
| Can I please have the bill? | czy mogę prosić o rachunek? |
Want To Keep Learning? Use The Ling App!
Whether you speak English or another language, if you want to keep learning Polish words and phrases, you should use the the Ling app!
Ling is an awesome language learning tool, whether you use it on your mobile phone or desktop. It has user-friendly features, including native speakers to listen to, an interactive chatbot, and fun lessons to learn from! Learn a new language today with Ling! Download it now on the Play Store or App Store.
