Asking the way in Polish
18 words in Polish on the topic “asking the way”: gdzie jest? — where is?, tutaj — here, tam — there, w prawo — to the right.
18 words on the topic
- gdzie jest?where is?Gdzie is "where", dokąd is "where to" — and Polish keeps them apart as strictly as English keeps "where" and "whither": gdzie idziesz? is simply wrong.
- tutajhereIn speech it shrinks to tu: Tu mieszkam — "this is where I live".
- tamthereThe partner of tutaj. Direction is a separate word: tam idę — "I am going over there". Place and direction get different words.
- w prawoto the rightLiterally "into [the] right". Place and direction are kept strictly apart: po prawej — "on the right", w prawo — "to the right".
- w lewoto the leftThe partner of w prawo: w lewo — to the left, po lewej — on the left. One letter decides half the street signs.
- prostostraight aheadLooks like the word for "simple" and means "straight". The stress sits on the first syllable — the one word in the phrase where it moves.
- bliskocloseSaid the way it looks. The place after it takes the of-form: blisko dworca — "close to the station". Very close is całkiem blisko.
- dalekofarSaid the way it looks. Czy to daleko? is the traveler's first question, and the answer nie, blisko is the best one going.
- jak dojść dohow to get to (on foot)Literally "how to walk up to": on foot it is dojść, and do puts the place into its of-form — do dworca. In a car you would ask about dojechać.
- dotrzećto get toTo reach a destination, usually with effort: dotrzeć do domu, but dotrzeć na lotnisko. In the past: dotarliśmy późno.
- po drugiej stronieon the other sideStrona is "side"; after po both words change their ending, the way they do after w and na: po drugiej stronie ulicy.
- w dwóch krokachtwo steps awayLiterally "in two steps": dwa you know, krok is "a step". From where exactly — od plus the of-form: w dwóch krokach od placu.
- za zakrętemaround the bendZakręt is "the bend"; za zakrętem answers "where" — the thing is already behind the bend. Za zakręt, without the -em, would be movement round it.
- na lewo odon the left ofOd is "from", and the thing after it takes the of-form: na lewo od banku, na lewo od mnie. Na lewo on its own is simply "to the left".
- na prawo odon the right ofThe partner of na lewo od, with the same of-form after od. Prawo you know as "law" — the same word at work for the right-hand side.
- na środkuin the middle ofPośrodku is the bookish brother; na środku is the same job done with the familiar środek. The middle of what — the of-form: na środku pokoju.
- następny zakrętnext bendBoth words you know; together they are the navigator's line before every turn. After w for a direction they keep their dictionary look: skręcać w następny zakręt.
- po drodzeon the wayDroga you know; po drodze is both "on the way" and "no detour needed": to po drodze — "it is on my route". After po the road changes its tail: drodze.
How it sounds in a sentence
A word list is a blank. Conversation is made of sentences, and these are the ones the words fit into most often.
- Gdzie jest dworzec?Where is the station?
- Tutaj jest bardzo spokojnieIt is very quiet here
- Tam na rogu jest aptekaThe pharmacy is there, on the corner
- Na światłach skręć w prawoAt the traffic lights turn right
- Pierwsza ulica w lewoThe first street to the left
- Proszę iść prosto do placuPlease go straight to the square
What is worth knowing about these words
gdzie jest? — where is? Gdzie is "where", dokąd is "where to" — and Polish keeps them apart as strictly as English keeps "where" and "whither": gdzie idziesz? is simply wrong.
tutaj — here. In speech it shrinks to tu: Tu mieszkam — "this is where I live".
tam — there. The partner of tutaj. Direction is a separate word: tam idę — "I am going over there". Place and direction get different words.
w prawo — to the right. Literally "into [the] right". Place and direction are kept strictly apart: po prawej — "on the right", w prawo — "to the right".
Test yourself
Recalling a spelling from meaning is harder than recognizing a familiar word — and therefore more useful.
- How do you say “where is?” in Polish?
Gdzie is "where", dokąd is "where to" — and Polish keeps them apart as strictly as English keeps "where" and "whither": gdzie idziesz? is simply wrong.
- How do you say “far” in Polish?
Said the way it looks. Czy to daleko? is the traveler's first question, and the answer nie, blisko is the best one going.
- How do you say “on the right of” in Polish?
The partner of na lewo od, with the same of-form after od. Prawo you know as "law" — the same word at work for the right-hand side.
- How do you say “to the right” in Polish?
Literally "into [the] right". Place and direction are kept strictly apart: po prawej — "on the right", w prawo — "to the right".
- How do you say “on the other side” in Polish?
Strona is "side"; after po both words change their ending, the way they do after w and na: po drugiej stronie ulicy.
How to learn the set instead of just reading it
Right, left, straight on, how far. You ask the way rarely — and always at the moment when there is no time to work it out.
A list is read in a minute and forgotten in a day. What works: hide the translation, try to recall, get it wrong — and come back to the same words tomorrow.
- Recalling beats re-reading. Covering the translation and trying to remember it does more than reading it ten more times.checked many timesAdesope, Trevisan & Sundararajan, 2017, Review of Educational Research 87(3) · 188 experiments, 272 comparisons. g = 0.61; against plain re-reading 0.51, against passive review 0.93.
- Study spread over days wins not only in experiments but in ordinary classrooms, with real students.checked many timesMawson & Kang, 2025, Behavioral Sciences 15(6):771 · 22 studies, d = 0.54 (confidence interval 0.31–0.77). The authors warn that individual studies disagree widely.
Frequently asked
How do you say “where is?” in Polish?
«gdzie jest?» Gdzie is "where", dokąd is "where to" — and Polish keeps them apart as strictly as English keeps "where" and "whither": gdzie idziesz? is simply wrong. It is one of 18 words in the set “asking the way” — the rest are in the table above.
How many direction words do you need to start?
The whole set on this page is 18 words, but there is no need to start with all of it: the words you will need in the next few days are enough. Take them a few at a time — five to seven new ones per session.