Polish
Your Expressions in Krakow
Under
normal circumstances, as a tourist you don’t need any knowledge of
the Polish language in Krakow.
Basic English seems ubiquitous these days in all places frequented by
travelers and most of the locals know at least a bit of English while
some speak it fluently. Also, one can meet Krakow residents with a
command of German or Russian or French.
On
the other hand, mastering a few useful expressions in Polish may help
you to smooth things over while in Krakow, whether you want to ask a
stranger for directions, do the shopping, make friends, or whatever.
And an effort at speaking their mother tongue, even a clumsy one, will
almost certainly win you sympathy of the locals. Finally, you’ll be
rewarded with satisfaction at having got a touch of one of the
world’s three most difficult languages (the other two being Chinese
and Hungarian).
Polish
phrase book, useful Polish words and phrases.
Following
is a catalogue of English expressions alongside their popular Polish
equivalents in both phonetic transcription and original spelling as
much as it was possible using letters of the English alphabet and the
English standard pronunciation. We’ve chosen to transliterate
characters unique to the Polish alphabet because they produce
illegible strings of signs unless you have the Polish letters
installed on your computer. And it’s good to remember that almost
always the penultimate syllable is stressed in Polish words.
Polite
phrases
Please
– prosze pronounced ‘prosheh’.
Thank
you – dziekuje pronounced ‘dsyenkooyeh’.
I’m
sorry – przepraszam pronounced ‘pshehpraasham’.
Excuse
me – przepraszam pronounced ‘pshehpraasham’.
Good
morning – dzien dobry pronounced ‘dsyeni dobry’.
Good afternoon – dzien dobry pronounced ‘dsyeni dobry’.
Good
evening – dobry wieczor pronounced ‘dobry vyechoor”,
Good
night – dobranoc pronounced ‘dobra notz’.
Hi
– czesc pronounced ‘cheshch’.
Bye
– czesc pronounced ‘cheshch’.See you – do
widzenia pronounced ‘doh vidsenya’.
Yes
– tak pronounced ‘tahk’.
No
– nie pronounced ‘nye’.
Dining
out in Krakow.
Restaurant
– restauracja pronounced ‘restaauratzya’.
Table
for two / four – stolik dla dwoch / czterech osob pronounced
‘stolick dlah dvookh / chterekh osoob’.
Waiter
/ waitress – kelner / kelnerka pronounced ‘klener /
kelnerka’.
Dinner
– obiad pronounced ‘obyad’ in daytime, kolacja pronounced
‘kolatsya’ in the evening.
Menu
– menu pronounced ‘menyi’.
Wine
– wino pronounced ‘vhinoh’.
Wine
list – karta win pronounced ‘karta vin’.
Second
helping – druga porcja pronounced ‘druka portzya’.
Vegetarian
dish – danie wegetarianskie pronounced ‘danye
vegetaryanskyeh’.
Can
we have the bill please? – prosze o rachunek pronounced ‘proshe
o rakhooneck’.
Staying
in a hotel in Krakow.
Single
/ double room – pokoj jednoosobowy / dwuosobowy pronounced
‘pokooy yedno-osobovy / dvoo-osobovy’.
Bathroom
– lazienka pronounced ‘uazienka’.
Check-in
/ checkout – zameldowanie / wymeldowanie pronounced ‘zameldovanye
/ wymeldovanye.
Reception
desk – recepcja pronounced ‘rehtzeptzya’.
Bellboy
– boy hotelowy pronounced ‘boy khotelovy’.
Manager
– kierownik pronounced ‘kyerovnik’.
Key
– klucz pronounced ‘klootch’.
Shopping
in Krakow.
Price
– cena pronounced ‘tzenah’.
Do
you accept credit cards? – czy moge zaplacic karta?
pronounced ‘tchi mokeh zaplatsits kartom?’.
How
much for this? – ile to kosztuje? pronounced ‘ileh toh
koshtooye?’.
To
wrap – zapakowac pronounced ‘zapakovatz’.
Could
you gift-wrap it for me? – prosze zapakowac na prezent
pronounced ‘prosheh zapakovatz nah prezent’.
I
need a bigger size – potrzebuje wiekszy rozmiar pronounced ‘potchebooyeh
vyenkshee rozmyar’,
I
need a smaller size – potrzebuje mniejszy rozmiar pronounced ‘potchebooyeh
mnyeyshee rozmyar’,
Do
you have other colors? – czy macie inne kolory? Pronounced ‘tchi
matsye inneh kolory?’
Note:
Please see Polish words for various stores at our page about shops
in Krakow.
Travel
to and from Krakow.
Airport
– lotnisko pronounced ‘lotnyiskoh’.
Flight
– lot pronounced ‘lot’.
Train
– pociag pronounced ‘pohtsionk’.
Train
station – dworzec kolejowy pronounced ‘dvozhetz koleyovy’.
Bus
– autobus pronounced ‘autoboos’.
Bus
station – dworzec autobusowy pronounced ‘dvozhetz
autoboosovy’.
Ticket
office – kasa biletowa pronounced ‘kasa beeletova’.
One
ticket to (Krakow) – bilet do (Krakowa) pronounced ‘beelet
doh (Krakova)’.
Booking
– rezerwacja pronounced ‘rezervatzya’.
Return
ticket – bilet powrotny pronounced ‘beelet povrotny’.
Sleeping
car – wagon sypialny pronounced ‘vakon sipialny’.
First
/ second class – pierwsza / druga klasa pronounced ‘pyervsha
/ druka klasa’.
Nonsmoking
car – wagon dla niepalacych pronounced ‘vakon dlah
nyepalontsikh’.
Timetable
– rozklad jazdy pronounced ‘rozquad yazdy’.
Asking
for directions
Street
– ulica (common abbreviation ul.) pronounced ‘ulitsa’.
Square
– plac (common abbreviation pl.) pronounced ‘platz’.
How
can I get to... – jak moge dojsc do... pronounced ‘yak
mokeh doyshch doh...’
Bus
/ tram stop – przystanek autobusowy / tramwajowy pronounced
‘pshistanek autoboosovy / tramvayovy’.
Right
/ left – prawo/lewo pronounced ‘pravo / levo’.
Nightlife
in Krakow
Cheers!
- na zdrowie! pronounced ‘nah zdrovyeh!’.
One
beer please – jedno piwo prosze pronounced ‘yedno peevoh
prosheh’.
Can
I smoke here? – czy mozna tu palic? pronounced ‘tchi
mohzhnah too paleetz?’.
May
I sit here? – czy moge tu usiasc? pronounced ‘tchi moke
too usiyonshch?’
May
I buy you a drink?
– czy moge postawic ci drinka? pronounced ‘tchi moke
postavich tsi drinka?’.
My
name is Andy - mam na imie Andy pronounced ‘mam nah
eemyeh Andy’.
Shall
we dance? – zatanczymy?
? pronounced ‘zatanichimi?’
Let’s
go to my place – chodzmy do mnie pronounced ‘khochmi doh
mnye’.
Some
other useful expressions in Polish.
Where
are the toilets? – gdzie jest toaleta? pronounced ‘gdsie
yest toaleta?’
I
don't speak Polish – nie mowie po polsku pronounced ‘nye
moovyeh poh polskoo’.
Please
write it down – prosze to napisac pronounced ‘prosheh
toh napeesach’.
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