If you’d like to say “thank you” in Polish, you have some options. The standard is “dziękuję”. The more informal “thanks” is “dzięki._”. For “thank you very much,” use “bardzo dziękuję” or “dziękuję bardzo”. And when you’re responding with a “you’re welcome,” use either “proszę” or “nie ma za co“—both are quite common.
One of the greatest aspects of the Polish language is that it is widely-spoken in a standard fashion, without much variance in dialect. Its status within Poland itself cements the country as the most linguistically homogeneous in all of Europe. Well over 90% of Poland’s citizens speak Polish as their native/first language and, while there are several major regional dialects, most Polish speakers can quite easily understand one another.
Polish also derives a large amount of its vocabulary directly from Latin, so familiarity with Latin roots will make the language somewhat easier to digest for beginners. There is also overlap between Polish and Hungarian, Czech, French, and Turkish words. However, because the language is highly inflected and has a distinct subject-verb-object word order, it may feel a bit more challenging to learn for English speakers.
Rosetta Stone’s Dynamic Immersion® methodology teaches you the language, not just the words. What makes it effective is that we prepare you to use your new language in your everyday life. So it’s not just about the features, but what you’re able to do because of them. It helps you get ready to handle situations with confidence.
Learning Polish
Before you can run, you have to walk. Learning Polish definitely follows this adage. Language learning should begin with an understanding of Polish basics and sounds. Polish is not a tonal language, and pronunciation remains mostly consistent with words that usually place stress upon the second syllable.
Polish is also a Slavic language, which is an entirely different branch of the Indo-European language tree. This means that the language’s roots are far from the Germanic origins of English, so—with the exception of modern words—there isn’t much crossover between English and Polish vocabulary, grammar, and pronunciation. While this may make Polish a challenge for beginners, it can also be a refreshingly clean slate for language learners, uncluttered by misleading false cognates.
While the Polish alphabet is based on Latin script, the language is more closely related to Czech, Slovak, and Russian. Some borrowed English words that may sound familiar in Polish, but the language also includes additional letters that aren’t in the Latin alphabet, formed with diacritics to guide pronunciation. Today, Polish is the second most widely-spoken Slavic language and unites the Polish people, from the steps of Warsaw’s gothic cathedrals to the streets of the historic city of Kraków.
With just a few exceptions, Polish is also phonetic, meaning that most words are pronounced with sounds that reflect the way that they are spelled. For instance, once you understand how to pronounce the digraph cz in words like cześć (hello/goodbye) or klucz (a key), Polish words will no longer feel like a stew of confusing consonants. As you focus on pronouncing individual letter sounds from the Polish alphabet as well as blends, or digraphs, you’ll begin to feel confident speaking Polish out loud.
Learning proper Polish pronunciation depends on receiving immediate feedback on your pronunciation efforts. Rosetta Stone helps you nail the pronunciation with our TruAccent™ speech-recognition engine. Our patented technology compares your voice to native and non-native speakers in real-time—so you get immediate feedback for the most accurate pronunciation. It’s also adjustable, which allows you to get it right. TruAccent is a powerful tool for helping you learn and speak the Polish language. Once you have acquired the Polish basics that make up the building blocks, you can move on to learning the longer phrases that make up the backbone of everyday conversations. Rosetta Stone’s brief and bite-sized, 10-minute lessons are built to help you do just that. The language lessons will guide you towards speaking Polish with comfort and confidence.
Try Our Award-Winning App
Surround yourself with Polish whenever, wherever with the Rosetta Stone app .
Download a unit and knock it out on the train or a flight. Select a 5-10 minute lesson and sneak it in while you wait in line or for your ride to show up.
The best part? You don’t have to choose between app or desktop. Both come with your subscription and sync, so you can switch between devices seamlessly.
