You can attend an English-taught degree without becoming fluent in Polish overnight. Still, a handful of words will help at shops, stations and student offices. A short daily practice routine works better than memorising long vocabulary lists that never leave your notebook.
Polite phrases you can use immediately
- Dzień dobry means hello or good day, suitable at a shop or university office.
- Dziękuję means thank you.
- Proszę can mean please, here you are or you are welcome, depending on the exchange.
- Przepraszam means excuse me or sorry.
- Nie rozumiem means I do not understand.
- Czy mówi Pan po angielsku means do you speak English when politely addressing a man; use Pani when addressing a woman.
- Czy może Pan mówić wolniej or Czy może Pani mówić wolniej asks the person to speak more slowly.
For an unfamiliar office, a short greeting followed by the English-language question is enough to begin. You do not need to deliver an entire prepared speech before establishing whether you share a language.
Learn to read a city before speaking fluently
Signs carry information you will need from your first day. Wyjście means exit, wejście means entrance, przystanek means a public-transport stop, and dworzec refers to a station. Apteka identifies a pharmacy, while czynne and nieczynne indicate open and closed. When renting accommodation, you may encounter piętro for floor or staircase-level information, and mieszkanie for an apartment. Take photographs of unfamiliar public signs and check their meanings later—but do not photograph people or sensitive information without permission. Familiarity grows quickly when you learn words attached to actual places and tasks rather than only vocabulary lists.
Polish pronunciation has patterns worth learning
The letters can look daunting, especially combinations such as sz, cz, rz and szcz. Yet the spelling system is more regular than it first appears once you learn its main patterns. The letter ł is pronounced roughly like English 'w', while w usually resembles English 'v'. The letters ą and ę represent nasalised sounds whose pronunciation changes in context. Polish often places stress on the penultimate syllable, although there are exceptions. A short pronunciation lesson from a university language centre can save frustration at ticket counters and reception desks. Concentrate first on being understandable and recognising familiar words when you hear them.
Words for university administration
Dziekanat usually refers to the dean's office or faculty student administration. Plan zajęć is your class timetable. Legitymacja studencka is a student ID, while termin can mean a date, deadline or appointment depending on context. Zaliczenie refers to course completion or credit requirements; it is not always a final examination.
Useful questions include:
- Gdzie jest dziekanat? Where is the faculty administration office?
- Gdzie znajdę plan zajęć? Where can I find the class timetable?
- Kiedy mogę odebrać legitymację studencką? When can I collect my student ID?
- Jaki jest termin? What is the date or deadline?
When a date matters, ask for it in writing. Names of offices and procedures differ between institutions, so confirm you are speaking to the right team.
Two short exchanges to practise
At a bakery, say Poproszę jeden chleb, meaning one loaf of bread, please. Then ask Czy można płacić kartą? meaning can I pay by card? Na wynos means to take away; na miejscu means to eat or drink here.
At a ticket office, you can ask Poproszę bilet do Krakowa, meaning a ticket to Kraków, please. Add the travel date and clarify the departure before paying. Normalny is the full fare; ulgowy is a reduced fare, for which you need the correct entitlement and documents.
Useful railway signs are odjazdy for departures, przyjazdy for arrivals, peron for platform and tor for track. A platform and a track can have separate numbers. On a bus or tram, przystanek means stop and kierunek identifies the direction.
Know when translation apps are not enough
Machine translation is valuable for ordinary signs and messages, but it is a poor substitute for verified understanding of a rental agreement, medical instruction or official university decision. For important documents, ask your institution for an English version or qualified support. Keep a personal record of terms that appear repeatedly in your studies and daily life. Translation can miss politeness, legal meaning or cultural context even when every word looks familiar. When dealing with a deadline, tuition payment or residence-related formality, check the relevant official guidance rather than relying on a screenshot translated by an app.
A small weekly practice routine
Choose five expressions you will actually need this week. Read them, listen to a reliable recording and use one in an ordinary exchange. Repeat the same set before adding more. Your university's Polish language course or language centre is a useful place to ask for pronunciation feedback.
Keep Polish spelling in your notes so you can show a phrase when pronunciation fails. Approximate English spellings can help initially, but they do not represent all Polish sounds accurately. If someone switches to English, complete the practical task first; you can practise again in a quieter situation.
For information about organised Polish learning, explore NAWA's Polish language resources.
