Learn to speak Polish

1. 1

   Week 1: sounds and greetings

   Say hello (Cześć) and thank you (Dziękuję) until they feel natural. Learn the sounds that differ from English, and say ten short sentences about yourself. Polish strings consonants together in ways English rarely does. Saying words slowly and out loud, then checking how close you came, builds the muscle memory.

2. 2

   Week 2: everyday requests

   Learn to order, ask the price, ask where things are and say you do not understand. Build each as a full sentence and say it three times.

3. 3

   Week 3: questions and answers

   Practise question words and the answers to them. Listen to each Polish sentence first, then say it, then compare.

4. 4

   Week 4: short exchanges

   Chain sentences into a mini conversation: greet, introduce yourself, ask a question, answer one. Record yourself and listen back.

Polish uses the Latin alphabet, so you can read and sound out words from day one.

Takes time for English speakers. There are seven cases and demanding consonant clusters. Short, repeatable sentences make it manageable.

A good first target sentence: Jak się masz? (How are you?).

• Ten to twenty minutes, same time every day.
• Say everything out loud, even when alone.
• Learn whole sentences, not isolated words.
• Repeat yesterday's sentences before learning new ones.
• After a couple of weeks, find a conversation partner or tutor and use what you have practised. At 30 minutes a day, Polish reaches working proficiency in roughly 6 years, and you will be speaking well before that.