Advice about moving in Polish
Two friends at a café, one has been offered a job in another city in Polish. 8 phrases that the conversation is made of: «Zaproponowali mi pracę w Krakowie.» — I have been offered a job in Kraków; «Na twoim miejscu sprawdziłbym wszystko dwa razy.» — In your place I would check everything twice.
How the whole thing sounds
The situation: two friends at a café, one has been offered a job in another city. First the whole conversation, then each line on its own, with a translation.
- Zaproponowali mi pracę w Krakowie.I have been offered a job in Kraków.
- Na twoim miejscu sprawdziłbym wszystko dwa razy.In your place I would check everything twice.
- Pensja jest lepsza, ale przeprowadzka kosztuje.The salary is better, but the move costs money.
- Gdybyś został tutaj, miałbyś mniej stresu.If you stayed here, you would have less stress.
- Najprawdopodobniej przyjmę, warto spróbować.Most likely I will agree — it is worth trying.
- Nawet jeśli nie wyjdzie, możesz wrócić.Even if it does not work out, you will be able to come back.
- Szczerze mówiąc, czuję strach.To be honest, I feel fear.
- Masz czas do piątku. W każdym razie cię popieram.You have time until Friday. In any case, I support you.
Lines one by one
| Polish | Translation |
|---|---|
| Zaproponowali mi pracę w Krakowie. | I have been offered a job in Kraków. |
| Na twoim miejscu sprawdziłbym wszystko dwa razy. | In your place I would check everything twice. |
| Pensja jest lepsza, ale przeprowadzka kosztuje. | The salary is better, but the move costs money. |
| Gdybyś został tutaj, miałbyś mniej stresu. | If you stayed here, you would have less stress. |
| Najprawdopodobniej przyjmę, warto spróbować. | Most likely I will agree — it is worth trying. |
| Nawet jeśli nie wyjdzie, możesz wrócić. | Even if it does not work out, you will be able to come back. |
| Szczerze mówiąc, czuję strach. | To be honest, I feel fear. |
| Masz czas do piątku. W każdym razie cię popieram. | You have time until Friday. In any case, I support you. |
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?
“Zaproponowali mi pracę w Krakowie.” — I have been offered a job in Kraków. 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.