Agreed on Saturday in Polish
Two friends texting before the weekend in Polish. 6 phrases that the conversation is made of: «Jaka jest dzisiaj pogoda? Idziemy na targ?» — What is the weather today? Are we going to the market?; «Zimno i deszcz. Na targ nie idziemy dzisiaj.» — Cold and rainy. We are not going to the market today. The conversation is predictable: few lines, and almost all of them repeat from one exchange to the next.
How the whole thing sounds
The situation: two friends texting before the weekend. The conversation is short and predictable — which is exactly what makes it good for a first try: few lines, and almost all of them repeat from one exchange to the next.
- Jaka jest dzisiaj pogoda? Idziemy na targ?What is the weather today? Are we going to the market?
- Zimno i deszcz. Na targ nie idziemy dzisiaj.Cold and rainy. We are not going to the market today.
- To spotkamy się jutro w kawiarni?Then shall we meet tomorrow at the coffeehouse?
- Dobra. Jesteś wolny rano?Fine. Are you free in the morning?
- Tak, wolny. O której?Yes, free. At what time?
- O dziesiątej przed kawiarnią. Nie spóźniaj się!At ten in front of the coffeehouse. Do not be late!
Lines one by one
| Polish | Translation |
|---|---|
| Jaka jest dzisiaj pogoda? Idziemy na targ? | What is the weather today? Are we going to the market? |
| Zimno i deszcz. Na targ nie idziemy dzisiaj. | Cold and rainy. We are not going to the market today. |
| To spotkamy się jutro w kawiarni? | Then shall we meet tomorrow at the coffeehouse? |
| Dobra. Jesteś wolny rano? | Fine. Are you free in the morning? |
| Tak, wolny. O której? | Yes, free. At what time? |
| O dziesiątej przed kawiarnią. Nie spóźniaj się! | At ten in front of the coffeehouse. Do not be late! |
How to prepare for a conversation like this
Memorizing the lines is not enough: the other person will say their own thing, not what is written. What helps more is catching the key words by ear and keeping three rescue phrases ready: “I don't understand”, “repeat, please”, “slower”.
And one more thing phrasebooks do not mention: awkwardness gets in the way more than not knowing the words.
- Fear of making mistakes gets in the way of learning a language, and noticeably so. The link turns up study after study, and together those studies cover almost twenty thousand people.checked many timesTeimouri, Goetze & Plonsky, 2019, Studies in Second Language Acquisition 41(2) · 19,933 participants from 23 countries; correlation with results r = −0.36.
- That fear can be dealt with — the methods have been tested and they work.checked many timesXiong et al., 2024, Journal of Language and Social Psychology · 37 studies, anxiety reduced by −0.61. Of the seven conditions examined, only age turned out to matter.
Frequently asked
How do you start a conversation in Polish in this situation?
“Jaka jest dzisiaj pogoda? Idziemy na targ?” — What is the weather today? Are we going to the market? The first line in such a conversation is almost always the same, and that is the one worth learning: the other person will carry it from there.
What if you did not understand the reply?
Say “I don't understand” and “repeat, please” — both are in the rescue set. Admitting your language is still shaky almost always makes the other person more patient.
Should you memorize the dialogue?
No. It is more useful to catch the key words by ear: the other person will say their own thing, and a memorized line will not always fit their reply.