The first thirty seconds of any Polish conversation run on a small set of fixed phrases — a greeting, an exchange of names, "pleased to meet you", and a "how are you?". This page is the phrase bank for that opening routine. The two things an English speaker has to get right are register (which greeting matches whom) and the fact that Polish splits introductions into two different constructions depending on whether you give your first name or your full/last name. Get those two points and you can open almost any encounter cleanly.
Greeting: dzień dobry vs cześć
Every Polish greeting instantly signals whether you're in the formal (pan/pani) world or the informal (ty) world. There is no neutral middle.
Dzień dobry ("good day") is the safe formal default. It covers the whole day from waking until evening — there is no separate "good morning" — and you use it with anyone you'd address as pan/pani: strangers, shopkeepers, officials, a new colleague, a professor. In the evening it shifts to dobry wieczór ("good evening"). When in doubt, dzień dobry is never wrong.
Dzień dobry, mam spotkanie z panią Kowalską o dziesiątej.
Good morning, I have a meeting with Mrs Kowalska at ten.
Dobry wieczór, czy jest jeszcze wolny stolik?
Good evening, is there still a table free?
Cześć ("hi" / "bye") is the informal workhorse — and note that it does both the hello and the goodbye. It belongs strictly to the ty world: friends, family, peers, fellow students, children. Saying cześć to someone you'd address with pan/pani is a genuine faux pas, the social equivalent of a stranger slapping you on the back.
Cześć, dawno cię nie widziałam! Co u ciebie?
Hi, I haven't seen you in ages! How are you doing?
No to cześć, do jutra!
Right, bye then — see you tomorrow!
"What's your name?" — and the two ways to answer
This is where English speakers stumble, because Polish doesn't have one "my name is…". It has two constructions, and they take different parts of your name.
Nazywam się + surname (or full name) — "I am called…". The verb is nazywać się ("to be called"), a reflexive verb, and it pairs with your full name or last name. This is the formal, complete way to introduce yourself.
Nazywam się Anna Kowalska.
My name is Anna Kowalska. (full name)
Dzień dobry, nazywam się Nowak. W jakiej sprawie pan dzwoni?
Good day, my name is Nowak. What are you calling about?
Mam na imię + first name — literally "I have for a first name…". Imię means specifically a first/given name, so this construction takes only your first name. It is warmer and more personal, common when getting to know someone socially.
Mam na imię Tomek, a ty?
My name's Tomek — and you?
Wszyscy mówią mi Kasia, ale mam na imię Katarzyna.
Everyone calls me Kasia, but my name is Katarzyna.
The matching questions mirror the split:
| Question | Literally | Expects | Register |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jak się pan(i) nazywa? | "How is the gentleman/lady called?" | full / last name | formal |
| Jak się nazywasz? | "How are you called?" | full / last name | informal |
| Jak masz na imię? | "What do you have for a first name?" | first name only | informal |
| Jak ma pan(i) na imię? | same, formal | first name only | formal |
Jak się nazywasz? — Nazywam się Marta Wiśniewska.
What's your name? — My name is Marta Wiśniewska.
Jak masz na imię? — Mam na imię Marta.
What's your (first) name? — My name's Marta.
"Pleased to meet you" — Miło mi
The fixed response on being introduced is Miło mi ("[it's] nice for me"), often expanded to Miło mi pana / panią poznać ("pleased to meet you", literally "[it's] nice for me to meet you"). This is a set phrase — don't try to build it word by word. The longer formal version uses pana (meeting a man) or panią (meeting a woman) in the accusative, the object of poznać ("to meet, to get to know").
— To jest mój kolega, Marek. — Miło mi.
— This is my colleague, Marek. — Pleased to meet you.
Bardzo mi miło panią poznać.
I'm very pleased to meet you, madam. (formal, to a woman)
A common reply when both sides say it is Mi również or Mnie też ("likewise / me too"). In writing or speech you'll also meet the very formal Miło mi pana/panią poznać at first meetings between professionals.
— Miło mi pana poznać. — Mnie również.
— Pleased to meet you (sir). — Likewise.
"This is…" — presenting someone else
To introduce a third person, use To jest… ("this is…") followed by the name or description in the nominative. Note that Polish often drops jest in casual speech, leaving just To….
To jest moja żona, Agnieszka.
This is my wife, Agnieszka.
Poznaj moją siostrę. To Ola.
Meet my sister. This is Ola.
Chciałbym przedstawić panią dyrektor, Barbarę Lewandowską.
I'd like to introduce the director, Barbara Lewandowska. (formal)
"How are you?" — by register
The greeting routine usually ends with a "how are you?", and this too splits by register. Crucially, jak się masz? uses the reflexive się, and in the formal version pan/pani slots in.
| Question | Register |
|---|---|
| Jak się masz? | informal ("how are you?") |
| Co u ciebie? / Co słychać? | informal ("what's up? / what's new?") |
| Jak się pan(i) ma? | formal ("how are you, sir/madam?") |
| Co u pana / u pani? | formal ("how are things with you?") |
Typical replies, from best to worst: Dobrze, dziękuję ("fine, thanks"), W porządku ("all right"), Jakoś leci ("getting by"), Tak sobie ("so-so"). It's polite to bounce the question back with A ty? / A pan(i)?.
— Cześć, jak się masz? — Dobrze, dziękuję, a ty?
— Hi, how are you? — Fine, thanks, and you?
— Dzień dobry, jak się pani ma? — W porządku, dziękuję.
— Good day, how are you (madam)? — All right, thank you.
A short introduction dialogue (informal)
— Cześć! Mam na imię Piotr. — Cześć, ja jestem Ola. Miło mi.
— Hi! My name's Piotr. — Hi, I'm Ola. Nice to meet you.
— Mi również. To twoja siostra? — Tak, to jest Kasia.
— Likewise. Is that your sister? — Yes, this is Kasia.
A short introduction dialogue (formal)
— Dzień dobry, nazywam się Adam Zieliński. — Dzień dobry, Maria Dąbrowska. Miło mi pana poznać.
— Good day, my name is Adam Zieliński. — Good day, Maria Dąbrowska. Pleased to meet you.
For an annotated walk-through of a fuller greeting exchange, see the greetings dialogue.
Common Mistakes
Greeting a stranger or superior with cześć. This is the single most common register error English speakers make.
❌ Cześć, czy ma pani wolny pokój?
Incorrect — over-familiar to a hotel clerk.
✅ Dzień dobry, czy ma pani wolny pokój?
Good day, do you have a room free?
Mixing up nazywam się and mam na imię. Nazywam się takes your surname/full name; mam na imię takes only your first name. Putting a full name after mam na imię is a mismatch.
❌ Mam na imię Anna Kowalska.
Mismatch — mam na imię takes a first name only.
✅ Nazywam się Anna Kowalska. / Mam na imię Anna.
My name is Anna Kowalska. / My name's Anna.
Building "pleased to meet you" word by word instead of using the set phrase. It is Miło mi, not a literal translation of "I am pleased".
❌ Jestem zadowolony spotkać ciebie.
Incorrect — calque of English, not Polish.
✅ Miło mi cię poznać.
Nice to meet you.
Dropping the reflexive się in jak się masz?. Without się it isn't the "how are you?" idiom.
❌ Jak masz?
Incorrect — missing się; doesn't mean 'how are you?'.
✅ Jak się masz?
How are you?
Dropping diacritics in names and phrases. It is dzień, cześć, Wiśniewska, Dąbrowska — the marks are part of the spelling.
❌ czesc, dzien dobry, milo mi
Incorrect spelling — missing diacritics.
✅ cześć, dzień dobry, miło mi
hi, good day, pleased to meet you (correct).
Key Takeaways
- Dzień dobry = safe formal greeting (all day); dobry wieczór in the evening; cześć = informal "hi" and "bye". Match the greeting to whether you'd use ty or pan/pani.
- Two introductions: nazywam się + surname/full name (formal, complete) vs mam na imię + first name (warmer, first name only).
- The questions mirror this: Jak się nazywasz? fishes for the surname, Jak masz na imię? for the first name.
- Miło mi (optionally …pana/panią poznać) is the fixed "pleased to meet you"; reply Mi również.
- To jest… presents a third person; jest is often dropped.
Now practice Polish
Reading grammar gets you part of the way. The exercises are where it sticks — free, no signup needed.
Start learning Polish→Related Topics
- Greetings and FarewellsA1 — Polish hellos and goodbyes by formality and time of day — dzień dobry as the safe all-day formal default, cześć as both 'hi' and 'bye' (informal only), dobry wieczór, do widzenia, na razie, do zobaczenia, trzymaj się, dobranoc — and why mixing the register is a real faux pas.
- Formality: ty versus pan/paniA1 — The core Polish politeness system — informal ty with a 2nd-person verb versus formal pan/pani/państwo with a THIRD-person verb — and when to switch.
- nazywać się — to be called / one's nameA1 — Full conjugation of the inherent-się verb nazywać się, the verb for giving your full or last name, and how it differs from mieć na imię for the first name.
- Titles and Forms of Address: pan, pani, proszę panaB1 — How to address people respectfully in Polish — proszę pana / proszę pani to get attention, the warm semi-formal pan/pani + first name (pani Aniu, panie Tomku, vocative), and titles used alone (panie doktorze, pani profesor) where English would add a surname.
- Annotated Dialogue: First MeetingA1 — A natural first-meeting dialogue in Polish, annotated line by line for the ty/pan choice, pro-drop, and the instrumental predicate after być.