Rental at the airport in Polish
A car rental desk at the airport, early morning in Polish. 6 phrases that the conversation is made of: «Dzień dobry, chcielibyśmy wypożyczyć samochód na trzy dni.» — Good day, we would like to rent a car for three days; «Proszę prawo jazdy. Kierowca musi mieć dwadzieścia jeden lat.» — Driving licence, please. The driver must be twenty-one.
How the whole thing sounds
The situation: a car rental desk at the airport, early morning. First the whole conversation, then each line on its own, with a translation.
- Dzień dobry, chcielibyśmy wypożyczyć samochód na trzy dni.Good day, we would like to rent a car for three days.
- Proszę prawo jazdy. Kierowca musi mieć dwadzieścia jeden lat.Driving licence, please. The driver must be twenty-one.
- Oboje mamy trzydzieści. Czy ubezpieczenie samochodu jest wliczone w cenę?We are both thirty. And is the car insurance included in the price?
- Podstawowe tak, pełne to dopłata piętnaście euro na dzień.The basic one — yes; full coverage is an extra fifteen euros a day.
- Bierzemy pełne. Gdzie jest koło zapasowe?We are taking the full one. Where is the spare tyre?
- W bagażniku, pod podłogą. Samochód oddają państwo z pełnym bakiem.In the boot, under the floor. You return the car with a full tank.
Lines one by one
| Polish | Translation |
|---|---|
| Dzień dobry, chcielibyśmy wypożyczyć samochód na trzy dni. | Good day, we would like to rent a car for three days. |
| Proszę prawo jazdy. Kierowca musi mieć dwadzieścia jeden lat. | Driving licence, please. The driver must be twenty-one. |
| Oboje mamy trzydzieści. Czy ubezpieczenie samochodu jest wliczone w cenę? | We are both thirty. And is the car insurance included in the price? |
| Podstawowe tak, pełne to dopłata piętnaście euro na dzień. | The basic one — yes; full coverage is an extra fifteen euros a day. |
| Bierzemy pełne. Gdzie jest koło zapasowe? | We are taking the full one. Where is the spare tyre? |
| W bagażniku, pod podłogą. Samochód oddają państwo z pełnym bakiem. | In the boot, under the floor. You return the car with a full tank. |
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, chcielibyśmy wypożyczyć samochód na trzy dni.” — Good day, we would like to rent a car for three days. 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.