At the GP appointment in Polish
A family doctor's office, a morning appointment in Polish. 6 phrases that the conversation is made of: «Dzień dobry. Od trzech dni mam gorączkę i boli mnie gardło.» — Good day. For three days I have had a fever and a sore throat; «Gdzie jeszcze boli? Kicha pan?» — Where else does it hurt? Do you sneeze?
How the whole thing sounds
The situation: a family doctor's office, a morning appointment. First the whole conversation, then each line on its own, with a translation.
- Dzień dobry. Od trzech dni mam gorączkę i boli mnie gardło.Good day. For three days I have had a fever and a sore throat.
- Gdzie jeszcze boli? Kicha pan?Where else does it hurt? Do you sneeze?
- W nocy mam dreszcze i słabość.At night I have chills and weakness.
- Pokaże pan gardło. Jest czerwone. To angina.Show me your throat. It is red. It is strep throat.
- Czy to zaraźliwe? W domu małe dziecko.Is it contagious? There is a small child at home.
- Trochę tak. Dostaje pan zwolnienie na trzy dni i leczenie.A little. You get sick leave for three days and treatment.
Lines one by one
| Polish | Translation |
|---|---|
| Dzień dobry. Od trzech dni mam gorączkę i boli mnie gardło. | Good day. For three days I have had a fever and a sore throat. |
| Gdzie jeszcze boli? Kicha pan? | Where else does it hurt? Do you sneeze? |
| W nocy mam dreszcze i słabość. | At night I have chills and weakness. |
| Pokaże pan gardło. Jest czerwone. To angina. | Show me your throat. It is red. It is strep throat. |
| Czy to zaraźliwe? W domu małe dziecko. | Is it contagious? There is a small child at home. |
| Trochę tak. Dostaje pan zwolnienie na trzy dni i leczenie. | A little. You get sick leave for three days and treatment. |
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. Od trzech dni mam gorączkę i boli mnie gardło.” — Good day. For three days I have had a fever and a sore throat. 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.