Saturday market in Polish
Saturday, a stall with apples and cheese at the market in Polish. 6 phrases that the conversation is made of: «Dzień dobry! Świeże jabłka, proszę bardzo!» — Good day! Fresh apples, please!; «Kilogram jabłek, proszę. Ile płacę?» — A kilogram of apples, please. How much do I owe?
How the whole thing sounds
The situation: saturday, a stall with apples and cheese at the market. First the whole conversation, then each line on its own, with a translation.
- Dzień dobry! Świeże jabłka, proszę bardzo!Good day! Fresh apples, please!
- Kilogram jabłek, proszę. Ile płacę?A kilogram of apples, please. How much do I owe?
- Sześć złotych za kilogram. Za dwa kilogramy jest rabat.Six zloty a kilogram. Two kilograms — a discount.
- Dobra, biorę dwa kilogramy. Ser też jest świeży?Fine, I am taking two kilograms. Is the cheese fresh too?
- Bardzo świeży. Razem jedenaście złotych. Torba będzie?Very fresh. Eleven zloty in total. Will you have a bag?
- Nie, dziękuję, mam torbę. Do widzenia!No, thank you, I have a bag. Goodbye!
Lines one by one
| Polish | Translation |
|---|---|
| Dzień dobry! Świeże jabłka, proszę bardzo! | Good day! Fresh apples, please! |
| Kilogram jabłek, proszę. Ile płacę? | A kilogram of apples, please. How much do I owe? |
| Sześć złotych za kilogram. Za dwa kilogramy jest rabat. | Six zloty a kilogram. Two kilograms — a discount. |
| Dobra, biorę dwa kilogramy. Ser też jest świeży? | Fine, I am taking two kilograms. Is the cheese fresh too? |
| Bardzo świeży. Razem jedenaście złotych. Torba będzie? | Very fresh. Eleven zloty in total. Will you have a bag? |
| Nie, dziękuję, mam torbę. Do widzenia! | No, thank you, I have a bag. Goodbye! |
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?
“Dzień dobry! Świeże jabłka, proszę bardzo!” — Good day! Fresh apples, please! 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.