How to Say Where You're From

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Vocabulary (Review)

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Lesson Transcript

Welcome to Can Do Polish by PolishPod101.com.

In this lesson, you’ll learn how to say where you're from in Polish.

For example, "I'm from Miami." is

Jestem z Miami.

Two passengers, Karolina Kovalsky and Maciej Mazur , are seated next to each other on a plane to Poland.

Before you hear their conversation, let's preview some of its key components.

Skąd.

"from where"

Skąd.

Listen to the conversation, and focus on Karolina’s response.

Note: the speakers in this conversation use formal Polish.

Ready?

Skąd pani jest?

Jestem z Miami.

Once more with the English translation.

Skąd pani jest?

"Where are you from?"

Jestem z Miami.

"I'm from Miami."

Let's break down the conversation.

Do you remember how Maciej Mazur asks,

"Where are you from?"

Skąd pani jest?

First is skąd, meaning "from where." Skąd. Skąd.

Next is pani jest, "you are," in this context. Pani jest.

Let’s start with pani, translating as "you," in this formal context. Pani. Pani.

Note, pani is a formal way to address a female, and it often translates as Mrs.

Next is jest, literally "is," but in this context it translates as "are." Jest. Jest.

Together in this conversation, pani jest literally means "Mrs. is," but translates as "you are" in formal Polish. Pani jest.

Jest is from the verb być, meaning "to be." Być.

All together, Skąd pani jest? Literally, "From where Mrs. is," but it translates as, "Where are you from?" Skąd pani jest?

Remember this question. You’ll hear it again later in this lesson.

Now, let’s take a closer look at the response.

Do you remember how Karolina Kovalsky says,

"I'm from Miami."

Jestem z Miami.

First is Jestem. "I am." Jestem. Jestem.

Note: in this sentence, jestem is a shortened form of ja jestem, "I am." In Polish, ja, "I," is usually omitted, as it’s understood from context.

Jestem is from the verb być, meaning "to be." Być.

After this is Miami, "Miami." Miami. Miami.

All together, Jestem z Miami. "I'm from Miami."

Jestem z Miami.

The pattern is

Jestem z LOCATION.

"I'm from LOCATION."

Jestem z LOCATION.

To use this pattern, simply replace the {LOCATION} placeholder with the name of your hometown.

Note: This pattern requires a proper noun placed in the genitive, and works with the names of cities, villages, towns or countries.

Imagine you’re from Sydney. In Polish, Sydney. Sydney. Sydney.

Note, the genitive form of Sydney is Sydney.

Say

"I'm from Sydney."

Ready?

Jestem z Sydney.

"I'm from Sydney."

Jestem z Sydney.

When talking about where you are from, the pattern Jestem z requires the proper noun of a location, and this location name must be placed in the genitive.

There are some simple rules that will help you create the genitive case based on the ending of the noun.

First, masculine nouns in Polish tend to end in consonants.

To form the genitive for masculine, singular nouns, attach -a or -u.

Kraków, "Cracow" becomes Krakowa.

Londyn, "London" becomes Londynu.

As a rule of thumb for masculine nouns, inanimate nouns or nouns of foreign origin in the genitive often end with -u.

Nowego Jorku, "New York." Nowego Jorku

Biznes, "business" becomes biznesu.

Feminine nouns tend to end in -a.

To form the genitive of feminine, singular nouns, replace the -a ending with a -y.

Warszawa, "Warsaw," becomes Warszawy.

If the noun ends in a -kа, or -ga, replace the last letter with an -i.

Polska, "Poland," becomes Polski.

If the noun ends in -ć or -ź, replace the letter with a -c or -z and attach an -i at the end.

Łódź, "Lodz" becomes Łodzi.

Neuter nouns tend to end in an -o.

To form the genitive of neuter, singular nouns, replace the ending -o with an -a.

Maroko, "Morocco" becomes Maroka.

Note, there is a set of irregular nouns, such as Seattle or Sydney that don't change in the genitive.

Again, the key pattern is

Jestem z LOCATION.

"I'm from LOCATION."

Jestem z LOCATION.

Let's look at some examples.

Listen and repeat or speak along with the native speakers.

Jestem z Miami.

"I'm from Miami."

Jestem z Miami.

Jestem z Suwałk. A ty?

"I'm from Suwalki. And you?"

Jestem z Suwałk. A ty?

Jestem z Seattle. A Pan?

"I'm from Seattle. And you Mr.?"

Jestem z Seattle. A Pan?

Jestem z Londynu. A Pani?

"I'm from London. And you Ms.?"

Jestem z Londynu. A Pani?

Jestem z Polski.

"I'm from Poland."

Jestem z Polski.

Jestem Australijką.

"I'm Australian."

Jestem Australijką.

Did you notice how the last speaker uses a different pattern?

Jestem Australijką. "I'm Australian." Jestem Australijką.

First is Jestem. "I am." Jestem. Jestem.

Next is Australijką, an "Australian," woman. Australijką. Australijką.

Note: Australijką is the instrumental form of the feminine noun Australijka. "Australian." Australijka.

To form the instrumental case for feminine singular nouns ending in -a, replace it with -ą.

Australijka becomes Australijką.

This pattern is

Jestem NATIONALITY.

"I'm NATIONALITY."

To use this pattern, simply replace the {NATIONALITY} placeholder with your nationality.

Note: This pattern requires a noun in the instrumental case, and its gender will depend on the gender of the speaker.

Mia Martin uses Australijką.

Jestem Australijką.

A male speaker from Australia would use Australijczykiem.

Jestem Australijczykiem. "I’m Australian." Jestem Australijczykiem.

Note, Australijczykiem is the instrumental form of the masculine noun Australijczyk.

To form the instrumental case for masculine singular nouns with the ending -g or -k, and –i is added before the instrumental ending –em.

Australijczyk becomes Australijczykiem.

You can use this response to answer the question, Skąd pan/pani jest? Or it's informal form Skąd jesteś?

You should be aware of this pattern, but you won’t need it for this lesson.

Let's review the key vocabulary.

Suwałki.

"Suwalki"

Suwałki.

Z Suwałk.

"From Suwalki."

Z Suwałk.

Seattle.

"Seattle"

Seattle.

Z Seattle.

"From Seattle."

Z Seattle.

Londyn

"London"

Londyn

Z Londynu.

"From London."

Z Londynu.

Polska.

"Poland"

Polska.

Z Polski.

"From Poland."

Z Polski.

A pan?

"And you ?"

A pan?

A pani?

"And you ?"

A pani?

A ty?

"And you?"

A ty?

Let's review.

Respond to the prompts by speaking aloud. Then repeat after the native speaker, focusing on pronunciation.

Ready?

Do you remember how to say "from?"

And how to say "from Miami"?

Z Miami.

Do you remember how Karolina says,

"I'm from Miami."

Jestem z Miami.

Do you remember how to say "from where"?

Skąd.

And do you remember how Maciej Mazur asks,

"Where are you from?"

Literally, "From where Mrs. is?"

Skąd pani jest?

Do you remember how to say "from London."

Z Londynu.

And how to say "from Seattle."

Z Seattle.

Do you remember how to say "from Poland?"

Z Polski.

Let's practice.

Imagine you’re Jack Jones from London, or Londynu in Polish.

Respond to Maciej Mazur ’s question.

Ready?

Skąd jesteś?

Jestem z Londynu.

Listen again and repeat.

Jestem z Londynu.

Let’s try another.

Imagine you're Emma Englot from Seattle, or Seattle in Polish.

Ready?

Skąd pani jest?

Jestem z Seattle.

Listen again and repeat.

Jestem z Seattle.

Let’s try one more.

Imagine you're Alicja Nowak from Poland, or Polska in Polish.

Ready?

Skąd pan jest?

Jestem z Polski.

Listen again and repeat.

Jestem z Polski.

Polish operates with three words for "you:"

ty, "you," informal term;

Pan, "you," formal term to address a male;

Pani, "you," formal term to address a female.

In this lesson, you learned how to say where you're from in Polish. This plays an essential role in the larger skill of introducing yourself. Let’s review.

Do you remember how to say

"And you MR?"

A Pan?

And the Polish pronunciation of Maciej’s name?

Maciej.

Do you remember how Maciej says,

"My name is Maciej Mazur."

Nazywam się Maciej Mazur.

All together, do you remember how Maciej Mazur introduces himself?

Nazywam się Maciej Mazur. A Pani?

Imagine you're Jack Jones, from London.

Do you know how to pronounce "Jack Jones" in Polish?

Jack Jones.

Respond to Maciej Mazur 's self-introduction and follow-up question…

Ready?

Nazywam się Maciej Mazur. A Pan?

Jestem Jack Jones. Miło mi.

Listen again and repeat.

Jestem Jack Jones. Miło mi.

Do you remember how to say "London" in Polish?

Londynu.

Now respond that you’re from London.

Skąd pan jest?

Jestem z Londynu.

Listen again and repeat.

Jestem z Londynu.

Well done! This is the end of this lesson.

In this lesson, you learned how to say where you're from, an essential skill for introducing yourself.

Remember, these Can Do lessons are about learning practical language skills.

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