Returning a jacket in Polish
A till in the shopping mall, Saturday after lunch in Polish. 6 phrases that the conversation is made of: «Dzień dobry, chcę zwrócić tę kurtkę.» — Good day, I want to return this jacket; «Czy ma pani paragon? Bez niego nie ma zwrotu.» — Do you have the receipt? Without it there is no return.
How the whole thing sounds
The situation: a till in the shopping mall, Saturday after lunch. First the whole conversation, then each line on its own, with a translation.
- Dzień dobry, chcę zwrócić tę kurtkę.Good day, I want to return this jacket.
- Czy ma pani paragon? Bez niego nie ma zwrotu.Do you have the receipt? Without it there is no return.
- Paragon zachowałam. Rozmiar mi nie pasuje.I kept the receipt. The size does not fit me.
- Czy chce pani wymienić na inny rozmiar?Do you want to exchange it for a different size?
- Nie, chcę wymienić na inny kolor. Ta jest za ciemna.No, I want to exchange it for a different color. This one is too dark.
- Na stanie jest jeszcze czerwona. Zapakować na prezent?There is still a red one in stock. Shall I wrap it as a present?
Lines one by one
| Polish | Translation |
|---|---|
| Dzień dobry, chcę zwrócić tę kurtkę. | Good day, I want to return this jacket. |
| Czy ma pani paragon? Bez niego nie ma zwrotu. | Do you have the receipt? Without it there is no return. |
| Paragon zachowałam. Rozmiar mi nie pasuje. | I kept the receipt. The size does not fit me. |
| Czy chce pani wymienić na inny rozmiar? | Do you want to exchange it for a different size? |
| Nie, chcę wymienić na inny kolor. Ta jest za ciemna. | No, I want to exchange it for a different color. This one is too dark. |
| Na stanie jest jeszcze czerwona. Zapakować na prezent? | There is still a red one in stock. Shall I wrap it as a present? |
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, chcę zwrócić tę kurtkę.” — Good day, I want to return this jacket. 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.