Rearranging the room in Polish
Two people move the furniture around the room and argue about what goes where in Polish. 8 phrases that the conversation is made of: «Przestawiamy szafę do drugiej ściany, tam do okna.» — Let us move the wardrobe to the other wall, over there by the window; «Najpierw postaw pudła na podłodze i odsuń się trochę.» — First put the boxes on the floor and move aside a little.
How the whole thing sounds
The situation: two people move the furniture around the room and argue about what goes where. First the whole conversation, then each line on its own, with a translation.
- Przestawiamy szafę do drugiej ściany, tam do okna.Let us move the wardrobe to the other wall, over there by the window.
- Najpierw postaw pudła na podłodze i odsuń się trochę.First put the boxes on the floor and move aside a little.
- Teraz przesuń ją trochę w lewo, tuż przy ścianie.Now shift it a little to the left, close against the wall.
- Uważaj, żeby jej nie upuścić, półki są kruche.Careful, do not drop it — the shelves are fragile.
- Obraz powiesimy na górze, nad kanapą?Shall we hang the picture up top, above the sofa?
- Lepiej z boku, żeby pokój był bardziej przestronny.Better on the side, so the room is more spacious.
- Resztę rzeczy rozłożymy w szufladach, każdą osobno.We will sort the rest of the things into drawers, each one separately.
- Potem zrobimy przerwę.Then we will take a break.
Lines one by one
| Polish | Translation |
|---|---|
| Przestawiamy szafę do drugiej ściany, tam do okna. | Let us move the wardrobe to the other wall, over there by the window. |
| Najpierw postaw pudła na podłodze i odsuń się trochę. | First put the boxes on the floor and move aside a little. |
| Teraz przesuń ją trochę w lewo, tuż przy ścianie. | Now shift it a little to the left, close against the wall. |
| Uważaj, żeby jej nie upuścić, półki są kruche. | Careful, do not drop it — the shelves are fragile. |
| Obraz powiesimy na górze, nad kanapą? | Shall we hang the picture up top, above the sofa? |
| Lepiej z boku, żeby pokój był bardziej przestronny. | Better on the side, so the room is more spacious. |
| Resztę rzeczy rozłożymy w szufladach, każdą osobno. | We will sort the rest of the things into drawers, each one separately. |
| Potem zrobimy przerwę. | Then we will take a break. |
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?
“Przestawiamy szafę do drugiej ściany, tam do okna.” — Let us move the wardrobe to the other wall, over there by the window. 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.