Learn some common phrases you may hear every day while traveling
Now Playing: Lesson Audio
Unlock Lesson Notes and Transcripts for every single lesson. Sign Up for a Free Lifetime Account and Get 7 Days of Premium Access.
| Beata: All About Polish Lesson 5 - Top 5 Must Know Polish Phrases |
| Nick: Welcome back to PolishPod101, the place to learn and love Polish. In this lesson, we are taking years of experience in the Polish language and boiling it down to a few essential phrases that are a great place to start you adventure in Polish. |
| Beata: Yes, in this lesson we'll introduce you to five phrases that will help you every day. |
| Nick: Yes, words that you'll be really glad you learned. We'll teach you not only the phrases but, more importantly, when and where to use them. |
| Beata: Let's listen to the first phrase. |
| -------------------- |
| Man: "Jak się masz?" |
| Woman: "Dobrze." |
| Beata: Now let’s hear it with the English. |
| Man: "Jak się masz?" |
| Man: "How are you?" |
| Woman: "Dobrze." |
| Woman: "Well." |
| """ |
| "" |
| "" |
| -------------------- |
| Beata: It's a good phrase to use after saying "hello" to someone; however, we would like to stress from the very beginning that the phrase "Jak się masz?" ("How are you?") should be used in informal situations only. |
| Nick: It would be perfectly okay to ask this phrase when speaking to your Polish colleague you've known for some time or when talking with a longtime friend. |
| Beata: Let's listen now to this phrase in a formal setting. |
| --------------------- |
| """" |
| Man: "Jak się pani ma?" |
| Woman: "Dobrze." |
| Beata: Now let’s hear it with the English. |
| Man: "Jak się pani ma?" |
| Man: "How are you, ma'am?" |
| Woman: "Dobrze." |
| Woman: "Well." |
| --------------------- |
| Beata: As you can see, the polite form of address, "pani" ("ma'am"), has been added, which makes this phrase sound very official. If you would like to ask a man in a formal setting about his well-being, exchange the word "pani" ("ma'am") with the word "pan" ("sir"). |
| Nick: So the phrase would be "Jak się pan ma?" ("How are you doing, sir?") Both of these formal phrases would be perfect when speaking to newly introduced co-workers, and... |
| Beata: whenever you meet someone older than you, simply out of respect, you should address them in a formal way. |
| Nick: You will hear all of those phrases a lot when in Poland. However, there's something we would like to tell you beforehand that might save your life on many occasions. |
| Beata: Poles do not treat those phrases as greetings only. If you decide to ask Poles how they are, they will most likely tell you everything about their lives—much more than you wanted to know, anyway. |
| Nick: They will tell you about their health problems, any misfortunes they have experienced, and who knows what else. So if you're brave enough, dive in and ask them the question "Jak się masz?" Hopefully, their monologue won't last forever. |
| Beata: Okay, let's now listen to the second phrase. |
| ------------------ |
| ".""" |
| Man: "Proszę kawę." |
| Woman: "Proszę." |
| Beata: Now let’s hear it with the English. |
| Man: "Proszę kawę." |
| Man: "Please." |
| Woman: "Proszę." |
| Woman: "Here you are." |
| ------------------- |
| Nick: It's definitely one of the most useful phrases that you must know from day one in Poland. |
| Beata: I couldn't agree more. This one is big. You will hear it everywhere all the time. |
| Nick: It has several meanings to it. In our audio, we used two meanings of this phrase…"please" and "here you are." |
| Beata: You can ask for a tangible object by adding "proszę" to the item, here "kawę." For example, "Proszę kawę..." |
| Nick: which means "Coffee, please." It's a pretty easy way to ask for something. |
| Beata: "Proszę piwo." |
| Nick: "Beer, please." No, really. But "proszę" also has the meaning of "here you are." So, for example, you requested your coffee. The waitress brought it for you and said "proszę," which would be the equivalent of "here you are." |
| Beata: Definitely. "Proszę" has many different meanings and it can be used in numerous situations. Always keep it in the front of your mind. Check out the accompanying PDF for more insight. |
| Nick: Okay. On to the next phrase. |
| ---------------- |
| ".""" |
| Man: "Przepraszam." |
| Woman: "Nic się nie stało." |
| Beata: Now let’s hear it with the English. |
| Man: "Przepraszam." |
| Man: "I'm sorry." |
| Woman: "Nic się nie stało." |
| Woman: "Excuse me." |
| ----------------- |
| Beata: It's a good phrase to use, especially if you did something wrong and you need to apologize. |
| Nick: Also, this word could come in handy when trying to make your way through a crowd. |
| Beata: For example, you can use it if you go shopping in Poland. The only word you need to know will be "przepraszam" ("excuse me") at places like farmers' markets or Polish shopping centers with wild masses of people. |
| Nick: You can also use it to get someone's attention... |
| Beata: like to call the waiter over at a restaurant or... |
| Nick: get the attention of a shop clerk or a passerby you want to ask a question. |
| Beata: Again, there are many possible situations where this phrase could be used. "Przepraszam" ("I'm sorry" or "excuse me") is a definite must on your vocabulary list. |
| Nick: Great. Let's listen to the next phrase. |
| ------------------- |
| "" |
| Man: "Pomocy!" |
| Woman: "Pomocy!" |
| Beata: Now let’s hear it with the English. |
| Man: "Pomocy!" |
| Man: "Help." |
| Woman: "Pomocy!" |
| Woman. "Help." |
| -------------------- |
| Nick: Well, we really hope you won't ever have to use this phrase on your trip throughout Poland. |
| Beata: Well, we really do. However, it's always good to know a phrase that can save your skin in dangerous situations. |
| Nick: If you need to get immediate assistance and people's attention, just say "Pomocy" ("Help"). |
| Beata: I would like to say that Poles are quite responsive and they will do what they can to help you as fast as they can. |
| Nick: Remember to use this phrase in emergency situations only. |
| Beata: Let's listen, then, to the last phrase that we have for today. |
| --------------------- |
| "." |
| Man: "Przepraszam, gdzie są toalety?" |
| Woman: "Nie wiem." |
| Beata: Now let’s hear it with the English. |
| Man: "Przepraszam, gdzie są toalety?" |
| Man: "Where are the restrooms?" |
| Woman: "Nie wiem." |
| Woman: "I don't know." |
| ---------------------- |
| Nick: This is a good one. |
| Beata: I'm sure you will have a chance to use this phrase so much. |
| Nick: It's a great phrase to use when someone asks you about directions, for example, or... |
| Beata: someone wants to find out where the restrooms are, like in our little dialogue. |
| Nick: If you don't know the answer to the person's question, simply respond "Nie wiem" ("I don't know") and he or she will go and bother someone else. It's an easy and short phrase to use. |
| Beata: If you would like to explain why you don't know, you can always add the phrase "Nie jestem stąd" ("I'm not from here."). So what do you say, Nick? I think that just about does it! |
| Nick: We've gone over our top five must-know phrases in Polish. Let's recap them before we go. What did we study? |
| Beata: "Jak się masz?" |
| Nick: ("How are you?") informal |
| Beata "Jak się pani ma?" |
| Nick: ("How are you, ma'am?" )formal |
| Beata: "Proszę." |
| Nick: ("Please," "Here you are.") |
| Beata: "Przepraszam." |
| Nick: ("I'm sorry," "Excuse me.") |
| Beata: "Pomocy!" |
| Nick: ("Help!") |
| Beata: "Nie wiem." |
| Nick: ("I don't know.") |
| Beata: Knowing these phrases will take you a long way, so keep them in mind and we'll see you next time! |
Comments
Hide