Polish Language Basics

Alphabet and Pronunciation

• The Polish alphabet is based on the Latin alphabet with additional letters: ą, ć, ę, ł, ń, ó, ś, ź, ż
• Letters q, v, and x are not native to Polish, but are used in foreign words
• Polish pronunciation is generally phonetic, with each letter having a distinct sound

Basic Phrases

• Hello: Cześć (CHESH-tch)
• Goodbye: Żegnaj (ZHEG-nay)
• Thank you: Dziękuję (JEN-koo-yeh)
• Yes: Tak (TAHK)
• No: Nie (NYEH)
• Excuse me: Przepraszam (SHEH-prah-shahm)
• Sorry: Przepraszam (SHEH-prah-shahm)

Grammar Basics

• Polish has seven cases: nominative, genitive, dative, accusative, instrumental, locative, and vocative
• Verbs conjugate according to tense, mood, and person
• Polish has no article, but uses demonstrative pronouns to indicate grammatical function

Introductions and Basic Questions

• What is your name?: Jak masz na imię? (YAHK MAHSH NAH ee-MYEH)
• My name is [name]: Nazywam się [name] (NAH-zee-vahm shay [name])
• Where are you from?: Skąd jesteś? (SKOOND YEH-steh)
• I am from [place]: Jestem z [place] (YEH-stehm z [place])

Numbers and Counting

• 1: jeden (YEH-den)
• 2: dwa (DVAH)
• 3: trzy (TZREE)
• 4: cztery (CHTEH-ree)
• 5: pięć (PYEN-tch)
• 6: sześć (SHEH-stch)
• 7: siedem (SHEH-dem)
• 8: osiem (OH-see-em)
• 9: dziewięć (JZHEH-vee-entch)
• 10: dziesięć (JZHEH-see-entch)

Food and Drink

• Water: woda (VOH-dah)
• Bread: chleb (KLEHB)
• Meat: mięso (MYEN-soh)
• Fruit: owoce (OH-voh-tseh)
• Coffee: kawa (KAH-vah)
• Tea: herbata (HER-bah-tah)
• Beer: piwo (PEE-voh)