In this post, you will learn how to say ‘how are you?’ in Polish. You’ll also learn common responses so you can respond if you’re asked this question. This can be really useful if you’re speaking with someone from Poland or if you’re travelling there.
Polish is a West Slavic language spoken primarily in Poland. There are just over 50 million Polish speakers worldwide. Whilst the majority of these speakers live in Poland, it is also spoken by Polish minorities in other countries.
Table of Contents
How To Say ‘How Are You?’ In Polish
There are a few different ways to ask ‘how are you?’. Here are the most common:
In informal situations, such as with friends, you can say:
| English | Polish | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
| How’s it going? | Jak tam? | Yak tam |
| How’s it going? | Jak leci? | Yak let-chi |
| What’s up? | Co słychać? | Soh swey-hatch |
| How’s everything? | Co tam? | Soh tam |
If you want to sound more formal, for example if you have a business meeting, then try this instead:
| English | Polish | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
| How are you? | Jak się pan miewa? | Yak sheh pan mee-ewa |
You will often see the phrase ‘jak się masz?’ (pronounced ‘yak sheh mash’) as the literal translation of ‘how are you?’. Whilst this is a translation of ‘how are you?’ in Polish, this phrase is not often used in conversation so I’d avoid using this one as it will sound stiff and unnatural. The most common are ‘Jak tam?’ and ‘Jak leci?’.
Check out the below video to hear the pronunciation of these phrases by a native speaker:
Related Reading: Honest Polish Duolingo Review – Is it Worth it?
How To Respond To ‘How Are You?’ In Polish
There are many different ways that you can reply to this question. Below are the most common responses to this question. I’ve also included how to say ‘thank you’ as it’s polite to thank someone if they ask how you are.
| English | Polish | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
| Thank you | Dziękuję | Djen-koo-yeh |
| Fine/good | Dobrze | Dob-zhuh |
| Very well | Bardzo dobrze | Bard-zoh dob-zhuh |
| Alright/okay | W porządku | F poor-zhant-koo |
| Great | Świetnie | Shvee-et-nee-eh |
| So-so | Tak sobie | Tak sob-ee-eh |
| Bad | Kiepsko | Kee-ep-skoh |
| I’m tired/sleepy | Jestem śpiący | Yestem shpee-auwn-seh |
| I’m sick | Jestem chory | Yestem hoh-rey |
Check out the below video to hear the pronunciation of these responses:
It’s also useful to know how to say ‘and you?’ or ‘what about you?’ to find out how someone else is if they ask you.
| English | Polish | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
| And you? (formal) | A pan? | A pan |
| And you? (informal) | A ty? | A tee |
Example Conversation:
Person 1: Jak tam? (How are you?)
Person 2: Dobrze, dziękuję. A ty? (Good, thank you. And you?)
Person 1: Bardzo dobrze (Very well)
Thanks for reading this post.
You should now know how to say ‘how are you?’ in Polish and you should also be able to respond if you’re asked!
You can’t go wrong with these simple phrases.
Why not also learn the names of the different countries in Polish too! This vocabulary can be very useful.
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