Useful Polish Phrases for Everyday Situations (with Videos and Pronunciation)

My short videos with everyday Polish dialogues – at the bakery, in a bar, in Żabka, at ticket control – have been watched millions of times. So I put the most useful ones in one place: the everyday Polish phrases for beginners, travellers and anyone living in Poland – each with an easy pronunciation guide, a short video so you can hear it, and a few tips I give my students. Think of it as survival Polish for real life. Watch the video, then say every phrase out loud: that is how it sticks.

10 common Polish phrases with pronunciation

These are the essential Polish phrases to know before anything else – you will use them everywhere. In the pronunciation column, the CAPITAL letters show the stressed syllable – in Polish it is almost always the second-to-last one.

Want to hear the sounds properly? My guide to the Polish alphabet and pronunciation explains sz, cz, rz, ą, ę and ł step by step, and my list of 50 basic Polish words and phrases gives you the single words behind them.

At the bakery (piekarnia)

Your first taste of ordering food in Poland – and the bakery is the easiest place to practise.

Teacher’s tip: you don’t need the name of every bread. Point and say ten (this one) or ten po prawej / po lewej (the one on the right / on the left). And yes – a plastic bag usually costs extra, so expect the question Torebkę doliczyć? This is also how to order food in Polish anywhere: Poproszę + what you want.

In a café, bar or restaurant: how to order drinks (and the WiFi password)

Teacher’s tip: these are also the most useful Polish restaurant phrases – and the video shows exactly how to order beer in Polish: z beczki (draught) or w butelce (bottled). Dla mnie… (For me…) is the easiest way to order for yourself when you are with friends – each person just says Dla mnie and the drink. And państwo is the polite way to address a group: Coś jeszcze dla państwa?

Ordering ice-cream: cone or cup?

Teacher’s tip: don’t be surprised by Który wafelek? (Which cone?) – many ice-cream shops have a normal cone and fancier ones that cost extra. If you don’t understand a word, Przepraszam, co to znaczy…? is one of the most useful questions you can learn.

In Żabka, the Polish convenience store

The Polish shopping phrases you need at any till – in Żabka, a supermarket or a kiosk.

Teacher’s tip: Żabka is everywhere in Polish cities, and the cashier almost always asks about the app – a simple Nie, nie mam is enough. When the price is something like 39,99 zł and you pay in cash, you may hear Może być bez grosza?: they are asking if they can skip the 1-grosz change.

Ticket control on public transport

Polish travel vocabulary you will hear on trains, trams and buses – and what to answer.

Teacher’s tip: bilet normalny is the full-price ticket and bilet ulgowy the reduced one – which is why inspectors ask for your legitymacja when you have a reduced ticket. Ticket rules differ from city to city and between trains and buses, so check how to buy a ticket before you travel.

Bonus: Fat Thursday doughnuts (pączki)

Teacher’s tip: on tłusty czwartek (Fat Thursday, the last Thursday before Lent) Poles eat pączki everywhere – and the queues are long. Classic fillings are z różą (rose jam) and z dżemem (jam), but you will see many more.

Pan, pani, państwo: why everyone sounds so polite

You may notice that staff never say “you” the casual way. In shops, cafés and on trains they use pan (sir), pani (madam) and państwo (you, to a group): Ma pani bilet?, Coś jeszcze dla państwa? As a beginner you don’t have to use it yourself – Dzień dobry, poproszę and dziękuję are always polite. But understanding it helps you follow what people say to you.

From phrases to real conversations

Phrases get you through the bakery. To understand the answers, ask your own questions and chat with your neighbours, you need the grammar behind them – the cases that change bułka into dwie bułki, and the verbs that change with every person. That is exactly what my A1 course for people living in Poland teaches, step by step and explained in English: everyday situations like these, with exercises after every lesson. Not sure where to start? Take the free Polish level test.