Inviting someone in Polish hinges on one prepositional pattern — zapraszam cię na + accusative — and replying hinges on a small set of fixed politeness formulas. The English speaker's instinct is to say "invite to dinner," and na is indeed "to" here, but the case that follows it (accusative, marking the event as a destination) is the part that needs drilling. This page gives you the inviting half and the responding half, plus the softening question forms that make an invitation sound natural rather than abrupt.
Inviting — zapraszam cię na + accusative
The core verb is zapraszać (imperfective) / zaprosić (perfective), "to invite." The present zapraszam ("I invite") is used performatively — saying it is the invitation, exactly like English "I invite you." The person invited goes in the accusative (cię, "you"), and the event goes after na in the accusative.
Zapraszam cię na kolację.
I'm inviting you to dinner.
Zapraszam cię na imprezę w sobotę.
I'm inviting you to a party on Saturday.
Kolację is the accusative of kolacja ("dinner"); imprezę the accusative of impreza ("party"). The na signals the event as a destination — you are heading to the event — which is why the accusative (the case of direction/goal with na) appears rather than the locative. See /grammar/polish/cases/accusative/with-prepositions.
Zapraszam państwa na uroczystą kolację.
I invite you to a formal dinner. (formal, addressing a group)
For formal or plural addressees, cię becomes pana / panią / państwa (the latter for a mixed group). The verb stays zapraszam.
na + accusative vs na + locative
A subtle but real contrast: with motion or an event as a goal, na takes the accusative (idę na koncert, "I'm going to a concert"). When you are already at the event, na takes the locative (jestem na koncercie, "I'm at a concert"). Invitations are always about going to the event, so the accusative wins.
Zapraszam cię na koncert w piątek.
I'm inviting you to a concert on Friday.
Będę na koncercie o ósmej.
I'll be at the concert at eight. (locative — already there)
Softer ways to invite — asking first
A bare zapraszam is warm but direct. Often you test the water first by asking whether the person feels like it. Two everyday openers:
Czy masz ochotę pójść do kina?
Do you feel like going to the cinema?
Czy chciałbyś pójść ze mną na spacer?
Would you like to go for a walk with me? (to a man)
Mieć ochotę ("to feel like, to fancy") + infinitive is the most natural "do you fancy…?" formula. Chciałbyś is the conditional of chcieć ("to want"), making the offer politely tentative — chciałbyś to a man, chciałabyś to a woman. Both forms sit well above the blunt present and are the pragmatic heart of /grammar/polish/pragmatics/requests-and-offers.
Czy chciałabyś wpaść do nas na obiad w niedzielę?
Would you like to come over to ours for lunch on Sunday? (to a woman)
Note the stack of patterns: chciałabyś (conditional), wpaść do nas (do + genitive, "to ours"), and na obiad (na + accusative, the meal as event).
Accepting — the enthusiastic formulas
Polish has a set of fixed phrases for saying yes, graded by warmth.
Chętnie!
Gladly! / I'd love to!
Z przyjemnością!
With pleasure!
Tak, bardzo chętnie. O której się spotykamy?
Yes, I'd love to. What time shall we meet?
Chętnie ("gladly," an adverb from chętny, "willing") is the workhorse acceptance. Z przyjemnością ("with pleasure") uses z + the instrumental of przyjemność ("pleasure") — a fixed phrase, slightly warmer and a touch more formal. Both are complete answers on their own.
Świetny pomysł! Liczę na ciebie.
Great idea! I'm counting on you.
Declining — softening the no
Refusing requires more care. The standard move is Niestety ("unfortunately") + nie mogę ("I can't"), optionally with a reason and a rain-check.
Niestety nie mogę, mam już inne plany.
Unfortunately I can't, I already have other plans.
Bardzo bym chciał, ale nie dam rady w ten weekend.
I'd love to, but I won't be able to make it this weekend.
Niestety front-loads the regret; nie mogę ("I can't," from móc) is the core refusal. Nie dam rady ("I won't manage / I can't make it") is a very natural colloquial alternative. Bardzo bym chciał ("I'd really love to," conditional) cushions the no by showing the desire is real — to a woman, bardzo bym chciała.
Może innym razem?
Maybe another time?
Może innym razem ("maybe another time") softens any refusal into a deferred yes. Innym razem is the instrumental of inny raz ("another time") — a fixed adverbial phrase. Offering it is the polite default after declining.
A full invitation exchange
— Cześć! Zapraszam cię na urodziny w sobotę wieczorem. Przyjdziesz?
Hi! I'm inviting you to my birthday party on Saturday evening. Will you come?
— Z przyjemnością! O której i gdzie?
With pleasure! What time and where?
— O dziewiętnastej u mnie w domu. A ty, Kasiu, masz ochotę przyjść?
At seven (nineteen hundred) at my place. And you, Kasia, do you feel like coming?
— Niestety nie dam rady, jadę do rodziców. Ale dzięki za zaproszenie — może innym razem!
Unfortunately I can't make it, I'm going to my parents'. But thanks for the invitation — maybe another time!
Notice the closing courtesy: dzięki za zaproszenie ("thanks for the invitation"), with za + accusative zaproszenie — the same za + accusative used for thanking elsewhere.
Common mistakes
❌ Zapraszam cię na kolacji.
Incorrect — na for the event takes the accusative, not the locative.
✅ Zapraszam cię na kolację.
I'm inviting you to dinner.
❌ Zapraszam ciebie do imprezy.
Incorrect — it's na + accusative for an event, and the clitic cię is preferred here.
✅ Zapraszam cię na imprezę.
I'm inviting you to a party.
❌ Z przyjemność!
Incorrect — the fixed phrase uses the instrumental: z przyjemnością.
✅ Z przyjemnością!
With pleasure!
❌ Niestety nie mogę, mam inne plany — koniec.
Incorrect tone — a flat no without softening; add a rain-check.
✅ Niestety nie mogę, mam inne plany. Może innym razem?
Unfortunately I can't, I have other plans. Maybe another time?
Key takeaways
- The inviting frame is zapraszać KOGOŚ na COŚ — both the person and the event are accusative (zapraszam cię na kolację).
- Na
- accusative marks the event as a goal you go to; na
- locative marks being already at it.
- accusative marks the event as a goal you go to; na
- Soften invitations by asking first: Czy masz ochotę…? or the conditional Czy chciałbyś / chciałabyś…?
- Accept with the fixed formulas Chętnie! or Z przyjemnością!; decline with Niestety nie mogę plus a reason and może innym razem?
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Start learning Polish→Related Topics
- zapraszać / zaprosić — inviteB1 — Full conjugation and usage reference for the aspect pair zapraszać (imperfective) and zaprosić (perfective), 'to invite', with the ś → sz future mutation and the na/do government for events vs places.
- Accusative After Prepositions (motion: na, w, przez, po, za)A2 — The prepositions that take the accusative — na, w, przez, po, za and the motion-toward set — and the crucial rule that the same preposition means 'where to' with the accusative but 'where at' with the locative or instrumental.
- Annotated Dialogue: An InvitationB1 — Inviting someone out in Polish — Może pójdziemy…?, mieć ochotę na + accusative, the perfective future, and softening a refusal with Niestety — fully annotated.
- Making Requests, Offers, and SuggestionsB1 — How to ask, offer, and suggest across politeness levels — the very polite gender-marked conditional Czy mógłbyś / Czy mogłaby pani…?, proszę + infinitive, the bare imperative for friends, offers with Może + genitive (Może herbaty?), and suggestions like Może byśmy…? and Co powiesz na…?
- Making Arrangements and AppointmentsB1 — Scheduling in Polish — Kiedy się spotkamy?, Umówmy się na piątek (umówić się na + accusative), Pasuje ci? (the dative 'does it suit you?'), O której się spotkamy?, and the handy one-word agreements Pasuje! and Zgoda!