Learn Hardcore Polish: Proszę słuchać uważnie podczas lekcji. - Please listen carefully during the lesson.

Because proszę + infinitive is a polite/neutral way to tell someone to do something. It’s common in classrooms, announcements, and on signs. It works for one person or a group. Słuchaj! (1 person, informal) and Słuchajcie! (several people, informal) are more direct imperatives.

What exactly does proszę mean here? Is it just “please”?

Literally it’s “I ask” (1st person of prosić). In this construction it functions like English “please” to make a polite request: Proszę słuchać ... = “Please listen ...”. In other contexts proszę can mean “you’re welcome,” “here you are,” or “pardon?/come again?” depending on situation.

What’s the difference between słuchać and słyszeć?

słuchać = to listen (intentional action). Example: Słucham muzyki. “I’m listening to music.”
słyszeć = to hear (perception, not necessarily intentional). Example: Słyszę muzykę. “I hear music.” For a one-off “listen (for a moment),” Polish often uses perfective posłuchać.

Why is lekcji in that form? What case is it?

Podczas always takes the genitive, so podczas lekcji is genitive singular of lekcja. Note: for this noun the genitive singular and locative singular look the same (lekcji). Here it’s genitive because of podczas.

Can I say na lekcji instead of podczas lekcji? Is there a difference?

Yes. Na lekcji (locative) means “in/at class” and is very common. Podczas lekcji (genitive) emphasizes “during the lesson” as a time span. Both are natural here.

Does słuchać take an object? If I add one, which case do I use?

Yes—when you say what you listen to, słuchać takes the genitive:

słuchać muzyki (listen to music)
słuchać nauczyciela / nauczycielki (listen to the teacher, m./f.)
słuchać radia (listen to the radio) In the given sentence there’s no object; it’s a general instruction.

What is uważnie grammatically, and how is it different from uważać?

Uważnie is an adverb meaning “carefully/attentively,” formed from the adjective uważny. Uważać is a verb:

uważać (na coś/kogoś) = to pay attention / watch out for
uważać, że... = to think/consider that... So you can say słuchać uważnie (listen carefully) or simply uważać (pay attention).

Would Proszę uważać podczas lekcji be a good alternative?

Yes. It means “Please pay attention during the lesson” and is very idiomatic in classroom talk. Proszę słuchać uważnie specifically highlights careful listening.

How do you pronounce the tricky bits?

Approximate guide:

Proszę ≈ PRO-sheh (final ę at word end sounds like plain “e”; sz = English “sh”)
słuchać ≈ SWOO-khatch (ł = English “w”; ó = “u”; ch = a guttural “kh”; final ć is a soft “ch” as in “chew” but softer)
uważnie ≈ oo-VAZH-nyeh (ż = “zh” as in “vision”; nie ≈ “nye”)
podczas ≈ POT-chas (the “d” assimilates; you mostly just hear a strong cz)
lekcji ≈ LEK-cyee (the ci/ći sound is a soft “ch” + “ee”) Polish stress is almost always on the second-to-last syllable (see next point).

Where does the stress fall in each word?

On the penultimate syllable:

PRO-szę
SŁU-chać
u-WAŻ-nie
POD-czas
LEK-cji

Can I change the word order?

Yes. Polish word order is flexible. Variants like Proszę podczas lekcji słuchać uważnie or Proszę uważnie słuchać podczas lekcji are correct. The original is the most neutral.

How do I make a polite negative command?

Use proszę + nie + infinitive. Examples:

Proszę nie rozmawiać podczas lekcji. (Please don’t talk during the lesson.)
Proszę nie przeszkadzać. (Please don’t disturb.) You could say Proszę nie słuchać, but that usually makes little sense in class.

Is this addressed to one person or many? How would I target it?

Proszę słuchać ... works for one person or a group and sounds polite/neutral. Informal, explicit forms:

1 person: Słuchaj uważnie podczas lekcji!
Several people: Słuchajcie uważnie podczas lekcji! More formal to one person: Niech pan/pani słucha uważnie podczas lekcji.

Could I use posłuchać instead of słuchać?

Sometimes. Posłuchać (perfective) implies listening once or for a while, often to get someone’s attention: Proszę posłuchać! (Please listen [for a moment]!). With podczas lekcji, the ongoing activity is meant, so imperfective słuchać fits better.

Why is there no explicit “you” in the sentence?

Polish normally drops subject pronouns, and in the proszę + infinitive construction the subject is understood from context. English needs “you,” but Polish doesn’t say it.

Is lekcji here singular or plural?

Formally it could be either genitive singular (“of the lesson”) or genitive plural (“of lessons”) because the forms are identical. In normal classroom context it’s understood as singular: “during the lesson (this class).” Context decides.

Any punctuation or tone tips?

No comma is needed. A period is fine, though teachers often use an exclamation mark for emphasis: Proszę słuchać uważnie podczas lekcji! The tone is polite but still a clear directive.