Polish Language Basics

Poland’s native language is Polish, one of the Slavic group of languages. English, however, is relatively widely spoken by younger people. Of other European languages German is probably the next most common.

Here are few basic words and phrases, with a simplified pronunciation guide. Underlined syllables are emphasized; the letters "zh" imply a pronunciation similar to the "s" in "pleasure". The letter "r" is always pronounced strongly – almost rolled in a way similar to Scots.

English	Polish	Pronunciation guide
Good day/hello	dzien dobry	jen dob-rih
Hi/hello	czesc	chesh-tch
Goodbye	do widzenia	dovid-zenya
Good evening	dobry wieczor	dob-rih vyetch-or
Goodnight	dobranoc	do-branots
Yes	tak	tak
No	nie	nyeah
Please	prosze	prosh-eh
You’re welcome	prosze bardzo	prosh-eh bard-zoh
Thank you	dziekuje	jen koo-yeah
How much?	ile	eel-eh
I don’t understand	nie rozumiem	nyeah roh-zoom-yem
Cheers!	na zdrowie!	naz drov-ya
Can I have the bill/check?	rachunek poprosze	ra hoo-nek poh prosh-eh
Beer	piwo	peeve-oh
Water	woda	vod-ah
Vodka	wódka	vood-ka
Wine	wino	vee-noh
May I…?	mozna?	mozh-nah?
Good	dobrze	dob-zhuh
Bad	zle	zhleh
So-so	tak sobie	tak sob-yeah
Excuse me	przepraszam	pshuh-prash-am
I don’t speak Polish	nie mowie po polsku	nyeah moov-yeah poh pole-skoo