A not-so-simple offer in Polish
A kitchen, evening, talking about a new job offer in Polish. 6 phrases that the conversation is made of: «Mam dwie opcje i obie są trudne.» — I have two options, and both are hard; «To dobrze, że masz wybór. Opowiedz od początku.» — It is good that you have a choice. Tell me from the start.
How the whole thing sounds
The situation: a kitchen, evening, talking about a new job offer. First the whole conversation, then each line on its own, with a translation.
- Mam dwie opcje i obie są trudne.I have two options, and both are hard.
- To dobrze, że masz wybór. Opowiedz od początku.It is good that you have a choice. Tell me from the start.
- Nowa praca w innym mieście. Będę musiał wyjechać.A new job in another city. I would have to move.
- To zależy. Co jest dla ciebie najważniejsze?It depends. What is the main thing for you?
- Czas z rodziną. A praca zajmie mi cały dzień.Time with the family. And the job will take up my whole day.
- To koniecznie porozmawiaj z żoną wieczorem.Then be sure to talk to your wife in the evening.
Lines one by one
| Polish | Translation |
|---|---|
| Mam dwie opcje i obie są trudne. | I have two options, and both are hard. |
| To dobrze, że masz wybór. Opowiedz od początku. | It is good that you have a choice. Tell me from the start. |
| Nowa praca w innym mieście. Będę musiał wyjechać. | A new job in another city. I would have to move. |
| To zależy. Co jest dla ciebie najważniejsze? | It depends. What is the main thing for you? |
| Czas z rodziną. A praca zajmie mi cały dzień. | Time with the family. And the job will take up my whole day. |
| To koniecznie porozmawiaj z żoną wieczorem. | Then be sure to talk to your wife in the evening. |
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?
“Mam dwie opcje i obie są trudne.” — I have two options, and both are hard. 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.