Learn Hardcore Polish: Chciałabym zamówić zupę dnia i wodę. - I would like to order the soup of the day and water.

Polish shows gender in the conditional and past tenses. Chciałabym means “I (female) would like,” while Chciałbym means “I (male) would like.” If you don’t want to reveal gender, use a neutral ordering phrase like Poproszę… or Dla mnie…

Is Chciałabym the most natural way to order in a restaurant?

It’s perfectly polite and correct, but the most common, neutral ordering phrase is Poproszę… (e.g., Poproszę zupę dnia i wodę.). You can also hear Proszę… in this sense, or Czy mogę prosić o… for extra politeness.

What’s the difference between Chciałabym zamówić… and Poproszę…?

Chciałabym zamówić… = “I would like to order…” (more formal-sounding, uses the conditional + infinitive).
Poproszę… = “I’ll have / May I have…” (short, very common in service contexts). Both are polite; Poproszę is the default in cafes/restaurants.

Why is the verb zamówić used instead of zamawiać?

Polish distinguishes aspect:

zamówić (perfective) = to order (and complete the action once).
zamawiać (imperfective) = to be ordering / to order habitually. Here you’re making a one-time order, so zamówić is natural.

Why are zupę and wodę ending in -ę?

They’re in the accusative singular, because they’re direct objects of zamówić (to order). Feminine nouns ending in -a (like zupa, woda) take -ę in the accusative: zupę, wodę.

What case is dnia in zupę dnia and why?

dnia is genitive singular of dzień (“day”). The pattern “X of Y” is expressed with the genitive in Polish. So zupa dnia = “soup of the day.” When used as an object, zupa changes to zupę, but dnia stays genitive.

When would I say zupa dnia vs zupę dnia?

zupa dnia (nominative) when it’s the subject or a menu item name: Zupa dnia jest pomidorowa.
zupę dnia (accusative) when it’s the direct object: Poproszę zupę dnia.

How do I pronounce Chciałabym and dnia?

ch is like the “ch” in German “Bach” or Scottish “loch.”
In chcia-, ci is soft, roughly like “ch-tya”: overall sounds like “h-chya-WA-bim” (with ł like English “w,” y like the vowel in “bit”).
dnia sounds like “d-nya” (the n is softened before i).

What about the final -ę in zupę and wodę—how is it pronounced?

Word-final ę is often pronounced like plain “e” in everyday speech. So wodę often sounds like “VO-deh.” Both nasalized and denasalized realizations are acceptable in casual speech.

Is the word order fixed? Can I say …wodę i zupę dnia?

Yes, word order is flexible. Chciałabym zamówić zupę dnia i wodę and …wodę i zupę dnia are both fine. The order usually reflects what you want to emphasize, or just what comes to mind first.

Can I just say Chcę zamówić… instead of Chciałabym zamówić…?

You can, but Chcę… (“I want…”) is more direct and can sound less polite. In service contexts, Chciałabym… or Poproszę… is usually better.

How do I specify still or sparkling water?

Use adjectives that agree with wodę (accusative, feminine):

still: wodę niegazowaną
sparkling: wodę gazowaną Examples: Poproszę wodę niegazowaną. / Poproszę wodę gazowaną.

How do I order more than one? For example, two waters or two soups of the day?

two waters: dwie wody
two soups of the day: dwie zupy dnia Example: Poproszę dwie wody niegazowane i dwie zupy dnia. (Note: dwie is used with feminine nouns.)

Do I need to include ja (“I”) as a subject?

No. Polish usually drops subject pronouns because the verb ending shows the person. Chciałabym… already means “I would like.” You can add Ja for emphasis: Ja bym chciała…

What’s the role of -bym in Chciałabym?

-bym is the conditional clitic (1st person singular). It often attaches to the first stressed element in the clause. Variants are possible:

Chciałabym zamówić…
Ja bym chciała zamówić… (the clitic moves to second position)

Is capitalization needed in zupa dnia?

No. It’s a common-noun phrase, so use lowercase in running text: zupa dnia. Menus may capitalize for styling, but standard writing keeps it lowercase.

Can I use prosić o with this order?

Yes. Prosić o + accusative is very polite:

Czy mogę prosić o zupę dnia i wodę?
Poproszę o zupę dnia i wodę. Here o takes the same accusative forms (zupę, wodę).