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The most useful Polish phrases for travel fit on one page: a polite hello, please and thank you, how to order, how to ask for the price and how to get help. Poles in cities often speak English, but opening with a few words of Polish changes the tone of every conversation. Below are 40 phrases grouped by situation, each with a pronunciation you can read out loud.
Why a few Polish travel phrases are worth learning
In Kraków's Old Town or central Warsaw you can get by in English, especially with people under forty. Step into a small bakery, a milk bar, a regional train or a pharmacy outside the centre and that changes quickly. Even where English works, a polite Polish greeting is noticed. Poles know their language has a reputation for being hard, so a tourist who tries is usually met with a smile and a lot of patience.
You do not need grammar for this. Travel situations repeat themselves: you greet someone, ask for something, ask how much it costs, say thank you and leave. If you can say those five things in Polish, you have covered most of your interactions. The phrases below are chosen for exactly that, with a pronunciation written for English speakers. Capital letters show the stressed syllable, which in Polish is almost always the second to last. Start with the basic Polish phrases with pronunciation if you have only ten minutes.
- Learn the greeting and thank you first: you will use them dozens of times a day
- Say each phrase out loud a few times before your trip, not just read it
- When someone answers too fast, ask them to speak more slowly
Practise the phrases out loud before you land. Reading Przepraszam is easy, saying it under pressure at a ticket office is not.
Greetings and polite basics in Polish
Dzień dobry (JEN DOH-brih) means good morning or good afternoon and is the polite hello for the whole day until evening. Poles say it when they walk into a shop, a lift or a waiting room, often to strangers. After about six in the evening switch to Dobry wieczór (DOH-brih VYEH-choor). Cześć (cheshch) is the informal hi you use with friends and people your age, not with a pharmacist or a hotel receptionist.
To leave, say Do widzenia (doh vee-DZEH-nyah), the polite goodbye. Shop staff will say it to you as you go out, and it is good manners to say it back. Thank you is Dziękuję (jen-KOO-yeh), please is Proszę (PROH-sheh), and sorry or excuse me is Przepraszam (psheh-PRAH-shahm). Proszę is a busy word: it also means here you are, when someone hands you something, and you are welcome, as an answer to a thank you.
Two more phrases save you in any conversation. Nie rozumiem (nyeh roh-ZOO-myem) means I don't understand, and Proszę mówić wolniej (PROH-sheh MOO-veech VOHL-nyey) means please speak more slowly. If you would rather switch languages, ask Czy mówi Pan po angielsku? to a man or Czy mówi Pani po angielsku? to a woman. Pan and Pani are the polite forms of you, and using them sounds respectful rather than stiff.
- Dzień dobry – hello (formal, daytime)
- Dziękuję – thank you
- Przepraszam – sorry, excuse me
- Nie rozumiem – I don't understand
How to learn these travel phrases in a week
- Start with five phrasesDzień dobry, Dziękuję, Przepraszam, Poproszę and Ile to kosztuje? cover most situations.
- Listen to a native speakerHear each phrase several times, slowly at first, then at normal speed.
- Say them out loudRepeat each phrase until you can say it without looking at the text.
- Add one situation per dayCafé on day two, transport on day three, small talk and emergencies after that.
- Review before the tripGo through all phrases once more the day before you travel.
Polish phrases for cafés, restaurants and shops
The magic word for ordering is Poproszę (poh-PROH-sheh), which means I would like or I will have. Put the thing you want after it: Poproszę kawę (a coffee, please), Poproszę wodę (water, please), Poproszę rachunek (the bill, please). You will often hear Co podać? (tsoh POH-dahch), what can I get you, from the person behind the counter. Answering with Poproszę plus a noun is perfectly natural Polish.
To ask the price, say Ile to kosztuje? (EE-leh toh kosh-TOO-yeh), how much does it cost. In a shop you can point and ask Ile kosztuje to? with the same meaning. When paying, you might hear Kartą czy gotówką? (KAR-tom chih goh-TOOF-kom), card or cash. Answer Kartą for card, which works almost everywhere, or Gotówką for cash. In small kiosks and markets cash is still handy.
Before eating, Poles wish each other Smacznego (smahch-NEH-goh), enjoy your meal, and waiters often say it as they put the plate down. When you leave a restaurant, Dziękuję, do widzenia is a friendly way to end. If you need the toilet, ask Gdzie jest toaleta? (gjeh yest toh-ah-LEH-tah). Public toilets are sometimes marked with symbols rather than words: a circle for women and a triangle for men.
- Poproszę kawę z mlekiem – a coffee with milk, please
- Ile to kosztuje? – how much is it?
- Poproszę rachunek – the bill, please
- Smacznego! – enjoy your meal
Getting around: trams, trains and taxis
On public transport the key word is bilet (BEE-let), ticket. In most cities you buy it from a machine or an app, and machines usually have an English option. At a station ticket office you can say Poproszę bilet do Krakowa (a ticket to Kraków, please) and add normalny for a full-price ticket. Ulgowy means reduced, which is only for people entitled to a discount, so do not ask for it by accident.
To ask the way, start with Przepraszam, gdzie jest… (excuse me, where is…) and add the place: dworzec (DVOH-zhets), the station, przystanek (pshih-STAH-nek), the stop, or simply the name of a street or sight. Useful answers to recognise are prosto (straight on), w lewo (to the left) and w prawo (to the right). If the directions are long, Może Pan powtórzyć? asks the person to repeat it.
Taxis in Polish cities are usually ordered through an app, so you rarely need to give directions out loud. If you take a taxi from a rank, show the address on your phone and say Do tego adresu, proszę, to this address, please. At the end, Dziękuję, do widzenia works just as well for a driver as for a shop assistant.
- Bilet normalny – full-price ticket
- Gdzie jest przystanek? – where is the stop?
- Prosto, w lewo, w prawo – straight, left, right
Small talk that makes Poles smile
A few phrases go beyond survival and start a real moment of contact. Miło mi (MEE-woh mee) means nice to meet you and is a natural reply when someone tells you their name. Mówię trochę po polsku (MOO-vyeh TROH-heh poh POHL-skoo) means I speak a little Polish, and it often makes people slow down and help you. Jestem tu pierwszy raz means I am here for the first time, which is a great conversation opener in a bar or a guesthouse.
When someone wishes you something, answer Nawzajem (nahv-ZAH-yem), likewise or you too. It works after Smacznego, after Miłego dnia (have a nice day) and after Wesołych Świąt at Christmas. If you are invited to a toast, the word is Na zdrowie! (nah ZDROH-vyeh). The same phrase is said when someone sneezes, so do not be surprised to hear it in a tram.
- Miło mi – nice to meet you
- Mówię trochę po polsku – I speak a little Polish
- Nawzajem – you too
Emergency Polish phrases to keep on your phone
The European emergency number 112 works in Poland, and operators can often switch to English. Still, it helps to know a few words. Pomocy! (poh-MOH-tsih) means help. Proszę wezwać karetkę means please call an ambulance, and Potrzebuję lekarza means I need a doctor. Zgubiłem paszport (said by a man) or Zgubiłam paszport (said by a woman) means I have lost my passport.
For smaller problems, a pharmacy is called apteka (ahp-TEH-kah) and you will find one on almost every main street. You can say Boli mnie głowa for a headache or Boli mnie brzuch for a stomach ache. Pharmacists in cities often speak some English, but starting in Polish and then showing a word on your phone is a reliable combination.
- 112 – emergency number in Poland and the EU
- Pomocy! – help!
- Gdzie jest apteka? – where is the pharmacy?
Questions about Polish phrases for travel
Do people in Poland speak English?
In big cities many people, especially younger ones, speak good English. In smaller towns, markets, regional trains and with older people it is less common, so a few Polish phrases are genuinely useful.
What is the most important Polish phrase for tourists?
Dzień dobry, the polite hello. Saying it when you walk into a shop or café sets a friendly tone, and Poles notice when a visitor makes the effort.
How do you say cheers in Polish?
Na zdrowie, pronounced nah ZDROH-vyeh. It literally means to health and is also what people say when someone sneezes.
Is Polish pronunciation hard for English speakers?
A few sounds are new, such as sz, cz, rz and the nasal ą and ę, but the spelling is consistent. Once you know how a letter combination sounds, it always sounds the same.