Polish for talking with your parent's carer
When a live-in carer from Poland moves in with your mum or dad, a translation app covers the basics. A few sentences in Polish say much more: that she is welcome, how the day runs, which tablets are due when and what to do in an emergency. Every phrase comes with an English-friendly pronunciation and the polite form Pani.
Pronunciation in six rules
Polish looks harder than it is: almost every letter group has exactly one pronunciation. With these six rules you can even read out the medication list in Polish.
sz, cz, rz and ż
sz is the sh in ‘shop’, cz the ch in ‘church’: proszę = ‘PROH-sheh’, czy = ‘chih’. rz and ż sound the same, like the s in ‘measure’: może = ‘MOH-zheh’. After p, t, k and at the end of a word they turn into ‘sh’: przed = ‘pshet’, lekarz (doctor) = ‘LEH-kahsh’.
ś, ć, ź and dź
The soft partners of sh, ch, zh and j, said with spread lips and the tongue raised, as if smiling. Before a vowel they are spelt si, ci, zi, dzi: siebie = ‘SHEH-byeh’, dzień (day) = ‘jehn’, dzieci (children) = ‘JEH-chee’.
ł and w
ł is the w in ‘water’: spała (she slept) = ‘SPAH-wah’. w is a v, and next to p, t, k, s or sz it becomes an f: wtorek (Tuesday) = ‘FTOH-rehk’. A plain l is the clear l in ‘let’.
ą and ę
ą is a nasal o, ę a nasal e, a little like French ‘bon’ and ‘vin’. Before a consonant they sound like ‘on’ and ‘en’: sąsiadka (neighbour) = ‘son-SHAHT-kah’, dziękuję (thank you) = ‘jehn-KOO-yeh’. At the end of a word ę is almost a plain ‘eh’: proszę = ‘PROH-sheh’.
j, y, c and ch
j is the y in ‘yes’, y the short i in ‘sit’, i an ‘ee’, and ó sounds just like u, ‘oo’: pokój (room) = ‘POH-kooy’. c is ‘ts’ as in ‘cats’, ch and h are the ch in Scottish ‘loch’.
Stress
Polish almost always stresses the second-to-last syllable: opiekunka (carer) = ‘oh-pyeh-KOON-kah’, dziękujemy = ‘jehn-koo-YEH-mih’. An i before another vowel only softens the sound before it and is not a syllable of its own: nie = ‘nyeh’.
In the transcriptions below the stressed syllable is in CAPITALS, syllables are joined with hyphens and ‘·’ separates sentences. ‘zh’ is the s in ‘measure’, ‘kh’ the ch in Scottish ‘loch’, ‘ih’ the short i in ‘sit’ and ‘r’ a single tap of the tongue. Read ‘ah, eh, ee, oh, oo’ as short, pure vowels. Soft and hard sh sounds are written the same here; the speech recognition in LingoTrip listens more closely.
A warm welcome
- Dzień dobry! Serdecznie witamy.JEHN DOB-rih · sehr-DEHCH-nyeh vee-TAH-mihHello! A warm welcome.
- Jak minęła podróż?yahk mee-NEH-wah POH-drooshHow was your journey?
- Mam na imię Anna, jestem córką.mahm nah EE-myeh AHN-nah, YEHS-tehm TSOOR-konMy name is Anna, I'm the daughter. (Son: jestem synem)
- Jak mam się do Pani zwracać?yahk mahm sheh doh PAH-nee ZVRAH-tsahchWhat would you like me to call you?
- Proszę się czuć jak u siebie.PROH-sheh sheh chooch yahk oo SHEH-byehPlease make yourself at home.
The house and the daily routine
- To jest Pani pokój.toh yehst PAH-nee POH-kooyThis is your room.
- Hasło do internetu jest na lodówce.KHAH-swoh doh een-tehr-NEH-too yehst nah loh-DOOF-tsehThe Wi-Fi password is on the fridge.
- Mama wstaje około ósmej.MAH-mah FSTAH-yeh oh-KOH-woh OOS-mehyMum gets up at about eight.
- Po obiedzie mama zawsze odpoczywa.poh oh-BYEH-jeh MAH-mah ZAHF-sheh ot-poh-CHIH-vahMum always has a rest after lunch.
- Klucz zapasowy jest u sąsiadki.klooch zah-pah-SOH-vih yehst oo son-SHAHT-keeThe spare key is with the neighbour.
Medicines and meals
- Mama bierze te tabletki rano i wieczorem.MAH-mah BYEH-zheh teh tah-BLEHT-kee RAH-noh ee vyeh-CHOH-rehmMum takes these tablets in the morning and in the evening.
- Tę tabletkę mama bierze przed jedzeniem.teh tah-BLEHT-keh MAH-mah BYEH-zheh pshet yeh-DZEH-nyehmMum takes this tablet before eating.
- Czy mama wzięła już leki?chih MAH-mah VZHEH-wah yoosh LEH-keeHas Mum taken her medicines yet?
- Mama ma cukrzycę i nie może jeść słodyczy.MAH-mah mah tsoo-KSHIH-tseh ee nyeh MOH-zheh yehshch swoh-DIH-chihMum has diabetes and mustn't eat sweets.
- Proszę pilnować, żeby mama dużo piła.PROH-sheh peel-NOH-vahch, ZHEH-bih MAH-mah DOO-zhoh PEE-wahPlease make sure Mum drinks plenty.
GP appointments and how Mum is
- W czwartek o dziesiątej mama ma wizytę u lekarza.f CHFAHR-tehk oh jeh-SHON-tehy MAH-mah mah vee-ZIH-teh oo leh-KAH-zhahMum has a doctor's appointment on Thursday at ten.
- Czy może Pani pojechać z mamą?chih MOH-zheh PAH-nee poh-YEH-khahch z MAH-monCould you go with Mum?
- Proszę zapisać, co powiedział lekarz.PROH-sheh zah-PEE-sahch, tsoh poh-VYEH-jahw LEH-kahshPlease write down what the doctor said.
- Jak się dzisiaj czuje mama?yahk sheh JEE-shahy CHOO-yeh MAH-mahHow is Mum feeling today?
- Czy mama dobrze spała?chih MAH-mah DOB-zheh SPAH-wahDid Mum sleep well? (Dad: Czy tata dobrze spał?)
- Czy mama coś zjadła?chih MAH-mah tsosh ZYAHD-wahHas Mum eaten anything? (Dad: Czy tata coś zjadł?)
For your dad, say tata instead of mama. In the past tense the verb then loses its -a: mama spała, but tata spał. Z mamą (with Mum) becomes z tatą.
In an emergency
- Proszę natychmiast dzwonić pod numer 112.PROH-sheh nah-TIKH-myahst DZVOH-neech pot NOO-mehr stoh dvah-NAHSH-chehPlease call 112 straight away.
- Mama upadła.MAH-mah oo-PAHD-wahMum has had a fall. (Dad: Tata upadł.)
- Mama źle się czuje.MAH-mah zhleh sheh CHOO-yehMum isn't feeling well.
- Karetka już jedzie.kah-REHT-kah yoosh YEH-jehThe ambulance is on its way.
- Proszę dzwonić do mnie o każdej porze.PROH-sheh DZVOH-neech doh mnyeh oh KAHZH-dehy POH-zhehCall me any time, day or night.
In the UK call 999 or 112: both reach the same emergency services, and 112 is the number she knows from Poland. For urgent medical help that is not an emergency, call NHS 111. An ambulance is karetka.
Thanks, small talk and handover
- Bardzo dziękujemy za Pani pomoc.BAHR-dzoh jehn-koo-YEH-mih zah PAH-nee POH-motsThank you so much for your help.
- Ma Pani dzieci?mah PAH-nee JEH-cheeDo you have children?
- Skąd Pani pochodzi?skont PAH-nee poh-KHOH-jeeWhere are you from?
- Kiedy przyjeżdża następna opiekunka?KYEH-dih pshih-YEHZH-jah nah-STEHMP-nah oh-pyeh-KOON-kahWhen does the next carer arrive?
- Proszę przekazać wszystko następnej opiekunce.PROH-sheh psheh-KAH-zahch FSHIST-koh nah-STEHMP-nehy oh-pyeh-KOON-tsehPlease pass everything on to the next carer.
- Szczęśliwej podróży i do zobaczenia!shchehn-SHLEE-vehy poh-DROO-zhih ee doh zoh-bah-CHEH-nyahSafe journey, and see you soon!
Good to know
Pani instead of ‘you’
To be polite, you address a woman as Pani and a man as Pan, with the verb in the third person: Czy napije się Pani kawy?, literally ‘Will the lady have a coffee?’. Warm but still respectful is Pani with her first name in its address form: Pani Ewo, Pani Kasiu. In letters and messages Pani is written with a capital P.
Obiad is the main meal
In Poland the hot meal of the day, obiad, is eaten at lunchtime or in the early afternoon, often with soup first, and supper is lighter. Many carers like to cook Polish food. Agree early on what Mum may and likes to eat, and what the carer would like to have in the house.
Key details on the fridge
Put up a note in English and Polish: 999 or 112, NHS 111, your number, the GP surgery, the home address and the medication list. In an emergency she has to be able to read the address out on the phone.
A notebook for the handover
Live-in carers usually rotate every few weeks. A handover notebook (zeszyt) with the daily routine, medicines, shopping list and anything unusual saves the next carer a lot of questions and Mum a lot of unsettled days.
A course for exactly your family's care
A phrasebook can only guess what your days look like. In LingoTrip you tell it: Mum is 86, has diabetes and is unsteady on her feet, and a new live-in carer from Opole arrives in three weeks. LingoTrip builds a course around exactly those conversations, from the medication routine to the handover, with audio, speech recognition and spaced review until she arrives.
Coming soon to the App Store and Google PlayFAQ
How do I address the carer politely?
With Pani and the verb in the third person, as in the phrases above. After a few days Pani with her first name often feels right. In Poland first-name terms are usually offered rather than simply assumed: Mówmy sobie po imieniu, Let's use first names.
The carer speaks English, so why learn Polish?
Many carers speak some English, but often only the basics. With medicines, GP appointments and emergencies it helps when the important things are also said and written down in Polish. And a welcome in her own language makes the first day easier for everyone.
Does this page replace an interpreter at the doctor's?
No. The phrases help with everyday life and arrangements at home. Anything the GP prescribes should be written down, ideally on the medication list. In an emergency, always call 999 or 112 straight away.
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