Polish Numbers 1–1,000: Prices, Dates, Your Age and Phone Numbers

Numbers are everywhere in Poland. At the till in Żabka. On the bus timetable. When someone reads you their phone number – fast.

And they are the first thing that makes beginners panic. The cashier says dwanaście pięćdziesiąt, and you just hold out your card and hope.

Good news: Polish numbers follow clear patterns. Learn ten words and three endings, and you can say any number up to 1,000. In this guide, I will show you the numbers, then how to use them for prices, your age, phone numbers and dates.

Polish numbers 1–10

Start here. Say them out loud – ten times today, ten times tomorrow.

Teacher’s tip: sześć (6) is the hardest one. Two different “sh” sounds in one short word. Don’t worry about perfect – Poles will understand you.

Polish numbers 11–19: the -naście pattern

All the teens end in -naście (NA-shcheh). That ending is always stressed.

Polish numbers 20–100: tens and how to combine them

Two endings: -dzieści for 20, 30 and 40, and -dziesiąt for 50 to 90.

To make 21, 35 or 99, just put the two numbers next to each other – like in English:

• 21 = dwadzieścia jeden
• 35 = trzydzieści pięć
• 99 = dziewięćdziesiąt dziewięć

Polish numbers 100–1,000 (and a million)

Big numbers work the same way: 245 = dwieście czterdzieści pięć. And notice tysiąc, tysiące, tysięcy – three forms again. You will see this pattern in the next section, with money.

Prices in Polish: złoty, złote or złotych?

This is where Polish surprises everyone. The word for the currency changes with the number:

The small coins are grosze – 100 groszy make 1 złoty. And in real life, Poles keep it short. A price of 12.50 zł is just dwanaście pięćdziesiąt – twelve fifty.

How to say your age in Polish

In Polish, you don’t “are” 30 – you “have” 30 years: Mam trzydzieści lat. And the word for “years” changes, just like złoty:

Teacher’s tip: asking a Polish grandma her age? Be polite: Ile pani ma lat? – or better, don’t ask at all. Same as everywhere.

Phone numbers in Polish

A Polish mobile number has nine digits. Poles usually split it into three groups of three – and many read each group as one number:

600 123 456 → sześćset, sto dwadzieścia trzy, czterysta pięćdziesiąt sześć.

Too fast? Ask for the digits one by one. Nobody will mind.

Dates in Polish: “first”, “second”, “third”

For dates, Polish uses “first, second, third” – like English. Here are the ones you need most:

Two everyday sentences:

• Którego dzisiaj jest? (ktoo-REH-go JEE-shy yest) – What’s the date today?
• Dzisiaj jest ósmy listopada. (JEE-shy yest OOS-mih lee-sto-PA-da) – Today is the 8th of November.

The most famous date in Poland? Dwudziesty czwarty grudnia – the 24th of December, Christmas Eve. Here is how Poles celebrate Wigilia.

How to remember Polish numbers

1. Learn 1–10 firstEverything else is built from them.
2. Learn the three endings-naście (11–19), -dzieści (20–40), -dziesiąt (50–90).
3. Say prices out loudIn the shop, read every price tag in Polish – in your head.
4. Count anythingStairs, push-ups, the seconds at a red light.
5. Use them in real sentencesA number alone is easy. Poproszę dwa bilety – two tickets, please – is real Polish.

Numbers are one lesson. Real life in Polish is the next step – ordering at the counter, paying, small talk with the cashier. That is exactly what my beginner course (A1) starts with: short video lessons, explained in English, step by step.

Not sure of your level? Take the free Polish level test. And for the first words beyond numbers, see the basic Polish words every beginner should know. Powodzenia! – good luck!