Chcemy dotrzeć na szczyt przed południem.

Chcemy means we want.

Its base form is chcieć = to want.

This is the 1st person plural present-tense form:

• chcę = I want
• chcesz = you want
• chce = he/she/it wants
• chcemy = we want
• chcecie = you (plural) want
• chcą = they want

So Chcemy dotrzeć... literally means We want to reach...

Because Polish often uses the same pattern as English: want + infinitive.

So:

• chcemy iść = we want to go
• chcemy zobaczyć = we want to see
• chcemy dotrzeć = we want to reach / get to

After chcieć, the second verb usually stays in the infinitive.

Dotrzeć means to reach, to get to, or to arrive at, often with the idea of successfully getting to a destination.

So it is not just random movement. It suggests that you finally make it to the place.

For example:

• dotrzeć do domu = to get home
• dotrzeć na miejsce = to reach the place / arrive
• dotrzeć na szczyt = to reach the summit

It is a very natural verb when talking about travel, hiking, journeys, and destinations.

With verbs of movement, Polish often uses:

• na + accusative for movement onto / to a place
• w + accusative for movement into a place
• do + genitive for movement to certain places or toward an endpoint

Here, szczyt is treated as a destination you move onto/up to, so na szczyt is natural.

Compare:

• iść na górę = go upstairs / go up
• wejść na szczyt = go up to the summit
• dotrzeć na szczyt = reach the summit

Even though dotrzeć often appears with do (for example dotrzeć do miasta), with szczyt the phrase dotrzeć na szczyt is standard.

It is changing grammatically, but for this noun the accusative singular looks the same as the nominative singular.

Here:

• szczyt = summit/top
• after na with motion, we need the accusative
• for a masculine inanimate noun like szczyt, the accusative singular is the same as the nominative singular

So:

• nominative: szczyt
• accusative: szczyt

That is why you see na szczyt.

After przed in this time expression, Polish uses the instrumental case.

The noun is:

• południe = noon

Its instrumental singular form is:

• południem

So:

• przed południem = before noon

This is a very common pattern:

• przed obiadem = before lunch
• przed pracą = before work
• przed zachodem słońca = before sunset

It can mean both, depending on context.

• południe = noon
• południe = south

In this sentence, przed południem clearly means before noon, because it is a fixed time expression.

If it meant south, the context would be about direction or geography, for example:

• na południu Polski = in the south of Poland
• jechać na południe = go south

So here there is no ambiguity for a native speaker.

Yes, but the nuance is a little different.

• przed południem = before noon / in the morning
• do południa = by noon / until noon

In many contexts they are close, but not always identical.

For this sentence:

• Chcemy dotrzeć na szczyt przed południem = We want to reach the summit before noon.
• Chcemy dotrzeć na szczyt do południa = We want to reach the summit by noon.

The second version sounds a bit more like a deadline.

No, Polish word order is fairly flexible.

The neutral order here is:

• Chcemy dotrzeć na szczyt przed południem.

But other orders are possible, especially for emphasis:

• Przed południem chcemy dotrzeć na szczyt.
  Emphasis on before noon.

• Na szczyt chcemy dotrzeć przed południem.
  Emphasis on the summit as the destination.

Even though the order can change, the original version sounds very natural and neutral.

Yes, dotrzeć is a perfective verb.

That matters because perfective verbs focus on the action as a completed result. Here, the result is successfully reaching the summit.

Its imperfective partner is usually docierać.

Compare:

• Chcemy dotrzeć na szczyt = We want to reach the summit.
  Focus on completing the goal.

• Docieramy na szczyt o świcie = We reach / are reaching the summit at dawn.
  More about the process or repeated/general action, depending on context.

After chcemy, perfective is very natural here because the speaker is talking about achieving a goal.

A rough pronunciation guide is:

HCHEH-my DOH-tshech nah shchit pshed poh-WOOD-nyem

A few tricky parts:

• chcemy: the beginning chc- is difficult for English speakers
• dotrzeć: the ć is a soft ch-like sound
• szczyt: this cluster is hard; szcz sounds roughly like shch
• przed: the rz sounds like zh in modern Polish
• południem: ł sounds like English w

You do not need perfect pronunciation immediately, but szczyt and chcemy are especially worth practicing.