The way to the bus station in Polish
A visitor stops a passer-by at a crossroads in the centre in Polish. 8 phrases that the conversation is made of: «Przepraszam, czy mogę zapytać?» — Excuse me, may I ask you something?; «Oczywiście, proszę. Słucham.» — Of course, please. I am listening.
How the whole thing sounds
The situation: a visitor stops a passer-by at a crossroads in the centre. First the whole conversation, then each line on its own, with a translation.
- Przepraszam, czy mogę zapytać?Excuse me, may I ask you something?
- Oczywiście, proszę. Słucham.Of course, please. I am listening.
- Jak dojdę do dworca autobusowego?How do I get to the bus station?
- Prosto do końca ulicy, potem przez ulicę.Straight to the end of the street, then across the road.
- A potem? Czy to daleko stąd?And then? Is it far from here?
- Pieszo jakieś dziesięć minut, przy światłach w lewo.On foot about ten minutes, at the lights to the left.
- Proszę pokazać na mapie, gdzie jesteśmy.Please show on the map where we are.
- Tu jesteśmy, a dworzec jest z tyłu tego parku.We are here, and the station is behind this park.
Lines one by one
| Polish | Translation |
|---|---|
| Przepraszam, czy mogę zapytać? | Excuse me, may I ask you something? |
| Oczywiście, proszę. Słucham. | Of course, please. I am listening. |
| Jak dojdę do dworca autobusowego? | How do I get to the bus station? |
| Prosto do końca ulicy, potem przez ulicę. | Straight to the end of the street, then across the road. |
| A potem? Czy to daleko stąd? | And then? Is it far from here? |
| Pieszo jakieś dziesięć minut, przy światłach w lewo. | On foot about ten minutes, at the lights to the left. |
| Proszę pokazać na mapie, gdzie jesteśmy. | Please show on the map where we are. |
| Tu jesteśmy, a dworzec jest z tyłu tego parku. | We are here, and the station is behind this park. |
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?
“Przepraszam, czy mogę zapytać?” — Excuse me, may I ask you something? 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.