Giving Advice in Polish: Powinieneś, Warto, Lepiej

Advice is a social art, and Polish gives you a whole toolkit — from the gentle warto to the pointed musisz. At its center sits powinien, one of the strangest and most useful verbs in the language.

powinien — the Should Verb

powinien conjugates like a past tense but means the present: I should, you should. It also tracks gender, like the past it impersonates:

warto — It's Worth It

warto + infinitive — subjectless, effortless: Warto zobaczyć Kraków (Kraków is worth seeing). Warto spróbować — worth a try. The negative verdict: Nie warto.

Advising Someone

Radzę ci + infinitive — I advise you to… (dative ci from Chapter 3): Radzę ci odpocząć. Lepiej + imperative/infinitive — better (do X): Lepiej weź parasol. And the aspect dance from Aspect II: Zadzwoń do niej! (do call her) vs Nie dzwoń! (don't).

musisz vs powinieneś

musisz — you must (no choice); powinieneś — you should (my counsel); nie musisz — you don't have to. The polite line between an order and a tip runs exactly here.

Common Mistakes

• powinien frozen. It conjugates and genders: powinnaś (you, f), powinniśmy (we).
• warto + noun. warto wants an infinitive: warto zobaczyć, not *warto Kraków.
• musisz for suggestions. Musisz spróbować pierogi is friendly hyperbole — but at the office, powinieneś keeps the peace.

What You Can Do Now

You can recommend, warn, and counsel — dosed precisely from “worth a look” to “go now” — and hear the difference when Poles dose it back at you.