Polish Greetings & First Phrases
Ten phrases carry a whole first conversation. Polish, like most Slavic languages, splits them into two registers: informal (ty — friends, family, people your age) and formal (pan/pani — strangers, shops, anyone older). Choose the right column and you already sound polite.
If any spelling below looks alarming, take ten minutes with the Polish alphabet lesson first — every phrase here follows those reading rules exactly.
Saying Hello
| Polish | Sounds like | Use it for |
|---|---|---|
| Cześć! | cheshch | Hi! — friends and people your age |
| Dzień dobry! | jen DOB-ry | Good morning / good day — always safe |
| Dobry wieczór! | DOB-ry VYE-choor | Good evening |
| Witam! | VEE-tam | Welcome — as a host, or opening an email |
| Hej! | hey | Hey! — very casual, common among young people |
Dzień dobry is your default. It works at the bakery, at the office, with your landlord, and with your friend's grandmother. When in doubt, dzień dobry.
Dzień dobry! Jak miło pana widzieć!
Good morning! How nice to see you!
Note: pan = formal 'you' for a man; pani for a woman. More on this below.
Please, Thank You, Sorry
| Polish | English | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Proszę | Please / Here you are / You're welcome | One word, three jobs |
| Poproszę | I'd like… please | The magic ordering word: Poproszę kawę |
| Dziękuję | Thank you | Casual short form: dzięki (thanks) |
| Przepraszam | Sorry / Excuse me | Also to get someone's attention |
| Tak / Nie | Yes / No | |
| Nie ma problemu | No problem | You'll hear this constantly |
Proszę (PRO-she) is the hardest-working word in Polish. Hand someone a coffee: proszę. They thank you: proszę. Ask for something politely: proszę. You cannot overuse it.
Poproszę kawę z mlekiem. — Proszę. — Dziękuję!
A coffee with milk, please. — Here you are. — Thank you!
Note: A complete café transaction in six words. Poproszę + the thing you want works everywhere.
Introducing Yourself
| Polish | English | Register |
|---|---|---|
| Jak masz na imię? | What's your (first) name? | informal |
| Jak się pan/pani nazywa? | What's your name? | formal |
| Mam na imię Ola. | My (first) name is Ola. | both |
| Nazywam się Jan Kowalski. | My name is Jan Kowalski. | both, fuller |
| Miło mi! | Nice to meet you! | both |
| Jestem z Anglii. | I'm from England. | both |
The formal "you" in Polish is special: instead of a pronoun, you use pan (sir / Mr) for a man and pani (madam / Ms) for a woman, with the verb in the third person — literally "How does the lady call herself?" It feels old-world because it is; it's also completely normal, everyday Polish. The full picture is in być & personal pronouns.
💬 Meeting someone new
Cześć! Mam na imię Michał. A ty?
Hi! My name is Michał. And you?
Jestem Ola. Miło mi!
I'm Ola. Nice to meet you!
Miło mi! Skąd jesteś?
Nice to meet you! Where are you from?
Z Krakowa. A ty?
From Kraków. And you?
How Are You?
| Polish | English | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Jak się masz? | How are you? | informal |
| Co słychać? | What's new? (lit. what can be heard?) | very common, informal |
| Jak się pan/pani ma? | How are you? | formal |
| Dobrze, dziękuję. | Fine, thanks. | the standard reply |
| Wszystko w porządku. | Everything's in order / all good. | |
| Po staremu. | Same as always. (lit. the old way) | wonderfully Polish |
Saying Goodbye
| Polish | Sounds like | Use it for |
|---|---|---|
| Do widzenia! | do vee-DZEN-ya | Goodbye — formal, always safe |
| Cześć! | cheshch | Bye! — yes, same word as 'hi' |
| Na razie! | na RA-zhe | See you / for now — casual |
| Do zobaczenia! | do zo-ba-CHEN-ya | See you (soon) |
| Dobranoc! | do-BRA-nots | Good night |
| Miłego dnia! | mee-WE-go dnya | Have a nice day! |
Do widzenia! Miłego dnia!
Goodbye! Have a nice day!
Note: Stacking a goodbye and a good wish is natural — shopkeepers do it all day.
Common Mistakes
- Using cześć with strangers. Cześć is for friends. At the shop, the office, or with anyone older — dzień dobry.
- Addressing strangers as ty. Polish politeness runs through pan/pani ("sir/madam") with third-person verbs: Czy pan mówi po angielsku? Jumping to ty is the fastest way to sound rude by accident.
- Answering dziękuję with dziękuję. The reply is proszę or nie ma za co — echoing "thanks" back sounds odd.
- Translating "please" and "here you are" separately. Proszę covers both — plus "come in" and "pardon?". One word, four jobs.
- Giving up on przepraszam. Yes, it's a mouthful (pshe-PRA-sham), but it's both "sorry" and "excuse me" — the single most useful word for getting through a Polish crowd.
What You Can Do Now
You can greet anyone at the right level of politeness, thank, apologise, get a stranger's attention, and say goodbye — the full arc of a first Polish conversation. Next step: say who you are properly with być & personal pronouns — or hear these phrases in a story in the graded reader Kawa z Michałem.