A wedding invitation in Polish
Two friends in the street, one invites the other to his sister's wedding in Polish. 8 phrases that the conversation is made of: «Siostra bierze ślub w czerwcu, jesteście oboje zaproszeni.» — My sister is getting married in June, you are both invited; «Gratuluję! A kiedy były zaręczyny?» — Congratulations! And when was the engagement?
How the whole thing sounds
The situation: two friends in the street, one invites the other to his sister's wedding. First the whole conversation, then each line on its own, with a translation.
- Siostra bierze ślub w czerwcu, jesteście oboje zaproszeni.My sister is getting married in June, you are both invited.
- Gratuluję! A kiedy były zaręczyny?Congratulations! And when was the engagement?
- Wiosną. Obrączki wybierali razem.In spring. They chose the wedding rings together.
- Co mam przynieść, bukiet czy prezent?What should I bring, a bouquet or a present?
- U nas w zwyczaju są pieniądze na prezent, w kopercie.Our custom is money as a present, in an envelope.
- Dobrze. A jak mam być ubrany?Fine. And how should I dress?
- Uroczyście. Po kolacji będzie przemówienie, potem taniec.Festive. After dinner there will be a speech, then dancing.
- Dobrze, napiszę życzenia młodym.All right, I will write wishes for the young couple.
Lines one by one
| Polish | Translation |
|---|---|
| Siostra bierze ślub w czerwcu, jesteście oboje zaproszeni. | My sister is getting married in June, you are both invited. |
| Gratuluję! A kiedy były zaręczyny? | Congratulations! And when was the engagement? |
| Wiosną. Obrączki wybierali razem. | In spring. They chose the wedding rings together. |
| Co mam przynieść, bukiet czy prezent? | What should I bring, a bouquet or a present? |
| U nas w zwyczaju są pieniądze na prezent, w kopercie. | Our custom is money as a present, in an envelope. |
| Dobrze. A jak mam być ubrany? | Fine. And how should I dress? |
| Uroczyście. Po kolacji będzie przemówienie, potem taniec. | Festive. After dinner there will be a speech, then dancing. |
| Dobrze, napiszę życzenia młodym. | All right, I will write wishes for the young couple. |
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?
“Siostra bierze ślub w czerwcu, jesteście oboje zaproszeni.” — My sister is getting married in June, you are both invited. 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.