Lesson 2

Now that you’ve familiarized yourself with the Polish alphabet, basic greetings, and numbers up to 20, it’s time to take the next step: introducing yourself in Polish! This lesson will help you build simple yet essential sentences to talk about yourself confidently. Don’t worry if you make mistakes—learning a language is all about practice!

Step 1: Introducing Yourself – The Basics

When meeting someone for the first time, you’ll want to say who you are, how old you are, and where you live. Here are some simple sentences to start with:

• Mam 25 lat. – I am 25 years old.
• Mieszkam w Warszawie. – I live in Warsaw.
• Jestem studentem / studentką. – I am a student. (male/female)
• Pracuję jako inżynier. – I work as an engineer.

📌 Practice Tip: Stand in front of a mirror and introduce yourself out loud. Try saying different ages and cities to get comfortable with the structure.

Step 2: Countries and Nationalities

Being able to say where you’re from is crucial in everyday conversations. In Polish, country names and nationalities change based on gender.

Examples:

• Polska – Polak (m) / Polka (f) – Poland – Polish person
• Niemcy – Niemiec (m) / Niemka (f) – Germany – German person
• Francja – Francuz (m) / Francuzka (f) – France – French person
• Anglia – Anglik (m) / Angielka (f) – England – English person

📝 Sentence Examples:

• Jestem z Polski. Jestem Polakiem / Polką. – I am from Poland. I am Polish.
• On jest z Niemiec. Jest Niemcem. – He is from Germany. He is German.
• Ona jest z Francji. Jest Francuzką. – She is from France. She is French.

📌 Practice Tip: Write a few sentences about your own nationality and try saying them aloud.

Step 3: Numbers 21-1000

Now that you know numbers up to 20, let’s move on to larger numbers. Here are key numbers to memorize:

• 21-29 → dwadzieścia jeden, dwadzieścia dwa, dwadzieścia trzy…
• 30, 40, 50… → trzydzieści, czterdzieści, pięćdziesiąt…
• 100, 200, 300… → sto, dwieście, trzysta…
• 1000 → tysiąc

📝 Sentence Examples:

• Mam 32 lata. – I am 32 years old.
• Mieszkam w domu numer 75. – I live in house number 75.

📌 Practice Tip: Try counting aloud from 21 to 100. Write down your age and phone number in Polish.

Step 4: Basic Sentence Structure (SVO)

Polish follows a Subject-Verb-Object (SVO) word order, similar to English. However, Polish has flexible word order due to its case system.

📝 Examples:

• Ja mam kota. – I have a cat. (Subject – Verb – Object)
• Ty masz książkę. – You have a book.

📌 Practice Tip: Make a few sentences using this structure. Start with simple ones like “I have a car” (Mam samochód) or “You have a friend” (Masz przyjaciela).

Step 5: Key Verbs – “Być” (To Be) and “Mieć” (To Have)

Two essential verbs in Polish are być (to be) and mieć (to have). These will help you form basic sentences.

Conjugation of być (to be):

📝 Examples:

• Jestem nauczycielem / nauczycielką. – I am a teacher. (m/f)
• Ona jest lekarką. – She is a doctor.

Conjugation of mieć (to have):

📝 Examples:

• Mam samochód. – I have a car.
• On ma brata. – He has a brother.

📌 Practice Tip: Write 5 sentences using być and 5 using mieć.

Step 6: 🎧 Practice Speaking

The best way to get comfortable with these structures is to record yourself speaking Polish. Try saying:

1. Your name, age, and where you live.
2. Your nationality.
3. A few sentences with być and mieć.

Listen to your recording, identify areas for improvement, and try again!

Conclusion: Keep Practicing and Stay Consistent

This lesson gives you the foundation to confidently introduce yourself in Polish. Keep practicing daily, and don’t be afraid to make mistakes. Language learning is a journey, and every step you take brings you closer to fluency!

🌟 Next Step: In the next lesson, we’ll dive into common adjectives, describing people, and expressing opinions in Polish!