An order for the week in Polish
At a café they count how much food to order for the week in Polish. 8 phrases that the conversation is made of: «Ile kawy zamówimy, jeśli zapasy prawie dobiegają końca?» — How much coffee shall we order, if the stock is almost running out?; «W tym tygodniu poszło o jedną trzecią więcej niż zwykle.» — This week a third more than usual was used.
How the whole thing sounds
The situation: at a café they count how much food to order for the week. First the whole conversation, then each line on its own, with a translation.
- Ile kawy zamówimy, jeśli zapasy prawie dobiegają końca?How much coffee shall we order, if the stock is almost running out?
- W tym tygodniu poszło o jedną trzecią więcej niż zwykle.This week a third more than usual was used.
- Wtedy weźmy podwójną ilość, z zapasem.Then we will take double the amount, with a margin.
- Mleko sprzedają na sztuki, nie hurtowo.Milk is sold by the unit, not wholesale.
- Oblicz, ile litrów idzie na dzień.Count how many litres are used per day.
- Na oko piętnaście, z dokładnością do litra nie wiem.Roughly fifteen; to the exact litre I do not know.
- Łączna liczba będzie większa.The total number will be higher.
- Dobrze, zamówienie podzielimy po równo na dni.All right, we will divide the order equally by days.
Lines one by one
| Polish | Translation |
|---|---|
| Ile kawy zamówimy, jeśli zapasy prawie dobiegają końca? | How much coffee shall we order, if the stock is almost running out? |
| W tym tygodniu poszło o jedną trzecią więcej niż zwykle. | This week a third more than usual was used. |
| Wtedy weźmy podwójną ilość, z zapasem. | Then we will take double the amount, with a margin. |
| Mleko sprzedają na sztuki, nie hurtowo. | Milk is sold by the unit, not wholesale. |
| Oblicz, ile litrów idzie na dzień. | Count how many litres are used per day. |
| Na oko piętnaście, z dokładnością do litra nie wiem. | Roughly fifteen; to the exact litre I do not know. |
| Łączna liczba będzie większa. | The total number will be higher. |
| Dobrze, zamówienie podzielimy po równo na dni. | All right, we will divide the order equally by days. |
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?
“Ile kawy zamówimy, jeśli zapasy prawie dobiegają końca?” — How much coffee shall we order, if the stock is almost running out? 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.