Spell it out, please in Polish
A state office window, a visitor caught only half of what was said in Polish. 8 phrases that the conversation is made of: «Przepraszam, nie dosłyszałem. Co pan powiedział?» — Excuse me, I did not catch it. What did you say?; «Wniosek musi być złożony do końca miesiąca.» — The application must be submitted by the end of the month.
How the whole thing sounds
The situation: a state office window, a visitor caught only half of what was said. First the whole conversation, then each line on its own, with a translation.
- Przepraszam, nie dosłyszałem. Co pan powiedział?Excuse me, I did not catch it. What did you say?
- Wniosek musi być złożony do końca miesiąca.The application must be submitted by the end of the month.
- Czy dobrze rozumiem, do trzydziestego?Do I understand correctly — by the thirtieth?
- Tak jest. Potrzebne jest też zaświadczenie o pracy.That is right. A work certificate is also needed.
- Jak się to nazywa po polsku?What is it called in Polish?
- Zaświadczenie o pracy. Mam przeliterować?A work certificate. Shall I spell it out?
- Proszę przeliterować. Zapiszę sobie.Spell it out, please. I will write it down.
- Powoli, litera po literze. Jasne teraz?Slowly, letter by letter. Is it clear now?
Lines one by one
| Polish | Translation |
|---|---|
| Przepraszam, nie dosłyszałem. Co pan powiedział? | Excuse me, I did not catch it. What did you say? |
| Wniosek musi być złożony do końca miesiąca. | The application must be submitted by the end of the month. |
| Czy dobrze rozumiem, do trzydziestego? | Do I understand correctly — by the thirtieth? |
| Tak jest. Potrzebne jest też zaświadczenie o pracy. | That is right. A work certificate is also needed. |
| Jak się to nazywa po polsku? | What is it called in Polish? |
| Zaświadczenie o pracy. Mam przeliterować? | A work certificate. Shall I spell it out? |
| Proszę przeliterować. Zapiszę sobie. | Spell it out, please. I will write it down. |
| Powoli, litera po literze. Jasne teraz? | Slowly, letter by letter. Is it clear now? |
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, nie dosłyszałem. Co pan powiedział?” — Excuse me, I did not catch it. What did you say? 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.