A meeting on Thursday in Polish
A phone call between two colleagues on Monday morning in Polish. 8 phrases that the conversation is made of: «Dzień dobry, dzwonię w sprawie jutrzejszego spotkania.» — Good day, I am calling about tomorrow's meeting; «Tak, słucham. Mam chwilkę.» — Yes, I am listening. I have a minute.
How the whole thing sounds
The situation: a phone call between two colleagues on Monday morning. First the whole conversation, then each line on its own, with a translation.
- Dzień dobry, dzwonię w sprawie jutrzejszego spotkania.Good day, I am calling about tomorrow's meeting.
- Tak, słucham. Mam chwilkę.Yes, I am listening. I have a minute.
- Czy moglibyśmy przełożyć spotkanie na środę?Could we reschedule the meeting to Wednesday?
- Rzecz w tym, że w środę jestem w drodze.The thing is, on Wednesday I am travelling.
- Czy pasuje panu czwartek po południu?Does Thursday afternoon suit you?
- Może być, ale nie wcześniej niż o piątej. Wcześniej mam wykład.That is possible, but not earlier than five. Before that I have a lecture.
- Świetnie. Wyznaczamy godzinę i miejsce.Excellent. We set the time and the place.
- O wpół do szóstego u nas. Przypomnij mi w środę.At half past five at ours. Remind me on Wednesday.
Lines one by one
| Polish | Translation |
|---|---|
| Dzień dobry, dzwonię w sprawie jutrzejszego spotkania. | Good day, I am calling about tomorrow's meeting. |
| Tak, słucham. Mam chwilkę. | Yes, I am listening. I have a minute. |
| Czy moglibyśmy przełożyć spotkanie na środę? | Could we reschedule the meeting to Wednesday? |
| Rzecz w tym, że w środę jestem w drodze. | The thing is, on Wednesday I am travelling. |
| Czy pasuje panu czwartek po południu? | Does Thursday afternoon suit you? |
| Może być, ale nie wcześniej niż o piątej. Wcześniej mam wykład. | That is possible, but not earlier than five. Before that I have a lecture. |
| Świetnie. Wyznaczamy godzinę i miejsce. | Excellent. We set the time and the place. |
| O wpół do szóstego u nas. Przypomnij mi w środę. | At half past five at ours. Remind me on Wednesday. |
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, dzwonię w sprawie jutrzejszego spotkania.” — Good day, I am calling about tomorrow's meeting. 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.