Learn Hardcore Polish: Dzisiaj wieczorem idziemy na pierwszą randkę do restauracji. - This evening we are going on our first date to a restaurant.

rano → rano (here the form stays the same, but it’s also instrumental in use)
dzień → dniem (rare in time sense, but grammatically similar)
noc → nocą (at night)

So dzisiaj wieczorem literally feels like “today in the evening”, which we just translate as “this evening / tonight” in English.

Are both dzisiaj and wieczorem necessary? Can I say just one of them or change the order?

You don’t have to use both; using both just makes the time more specific.

All of these are correct, with slightly different nuance:

Dzisiaj wieczorem idziemy na pierwszą randkę do restauracji.
= today, this evening, we’re going on our first date to a restaurant (very specific)
Dzisiaj idziemy na pierwszą randkę do restauracji.
= today we’re going on our first date to a restaurant (the time of day is not specified)
Wieczorem idziemy na pierwszą randkę do restauracji.
= this evening we’re going on our first date to a restaurant (it might be understood as today from context, but dzisiaj makes it explicit)

You can also change the order:

Wieczorem dzisiaj idziemy… – grammatically possible, but sounds a bit unusual and less natural.
Idziemy dzisiaj wieczorem na pierwszą randkę do restauracji. – also fine; shifting dzisiaj wieczorem after the verb is natural.

Most natural are:

Dzisiaj wieczorem idziemy…
Wieczorem idziemy…
Dzisiaj idziemy…

with the time expression usually at the beginning or right after the verb.

Why is idziemy (present tense) used for a future plan? Why not a future form like pójdziemy?

In Polish, present tense of motion verbs like iść is very often used for planned near-future actions, just like English uses present continuous:

Polish: Dzisiaj wieczorem idziemy do restauracji.
English: We are going to a restaurant this evening.

So idziemy can mean:

literally: we are going (now)
in context with a future time expression (dzisiaj wieczorem): we are going / we’re going to go (later today)

You could also say:

Dzisiaj wieczorem pójdziemy do restauracji.
This is grammatically correct and still means we will go this evening, but:
- idziemy sounds more conversational and focuses on the plan as something fixed/arranged.
- pójdziemy feels a bit more like a neutral future statement (“we will go”), sometimes slightly more distant or formal.

For everyday speech about arranged plans, present tense + future time phrase (like idziemy dzisiaj wieczorem) is very natural.

What is the difference between iść and chodzić, and why is it idziemy here, not chodzimy?

Both verbs can translate as to go (on foot), but they differ:

iść – one specific movement, “going now / going on this one occasion”
chodzić – repeated, habitual, or general movement, “go regularly / walk around”

Forms:

iść → idę, idziesz, idzie, idziemy, idziecie, idą
chodzić → chodzę, chodzisz, chodzi, chodzimy, chodzicie, chodzą

In your sentence:

idziemy na pierwszą randkę – we are going (this one time) on a first date
→ a single, specific event → iść is correct.

If you said:

Wieczorami chodzimy do restauracji. – We go to restaurants in the evenings (as a habit)

that uses chodzić, because it’s regular and repeated.

Why is there no we in the Polish sentence? Why not My dzisiaj wieczorem idziemy…?

Polish normally drops subject pronouns (like I, you, we) unless you need special emphasis or contrast.

The verb ending -emy in idziemy already tells you:

person: we (1st person plural)
number: plural

So idziemy by itself means we are going. Adding my:

My dzisiaj wieczorem idziemy… is possible if you want to emphasize we (as opposed to someone else), e.g.:
- My dzisiaj wieczorem idziemy na randkę, a oni zostają w domu.
  We are going on a date tonight, and they are staying home.

But in a neutral sentence, you just say:

Dzisiaj wieczorem idziemy na pierwszą randkę do restauracji.

What case is pierwszą randkę, and why do both words change their ending?

Pierwszą randkę is accusative singular feminine.

Breakdown:

randka – a date (noun, feminine)
- nominative: randka
- accusative: randkę
pierwszy – first (adjective; basic masculine form)
- feminine nominative: pierwsza
- feminine accusative: pierwszą

Because Polish adjectives have to agree with the noun in gender, number, and case, both words change together:

nominative: pierwsza randka – the first date (as the subject)
accusative: na pierwszą randkę – for/to the first date (as the object after na)

So:

pierwszą (fem. acc. sg.)
randkę (fem. acc. sg.)

Why is it na pierwszą randkę and not something with do, like do randki?

In Polish, different prepositions are used with different verbs and nouns. For going on a date, the standard expression is:

iść na randkę – to go on a date

Here:

na
- accusative (randkę) is used for:
  - going to an event/activity: na koncert, na spotkanie, na imprezę
  - going onto a surface or area: na plażę (to the beach)

So na randkę fits into the event/activity use.

Do is typically used for going to a place/building/person:

iść do restauracji – go to a restaurant
iść do kina – go to the cinema
iść do lekarza – go to the doctor
iść do szkoły – go to school

That’s why the sentence has both:

na pierwszą randkę (to/for a first date – event)
do restauracji (to a restaurant – place)

Why is it do restauracji and not do restauracja or do restaurację?

The preposition do (“to, into”) requires the genitive case.

The noun restauracja (restaurant) is feminine:

nominative: restauracja
genitive: restauracji

So:

do + genitive → do restauracji

Examples with do:

do domu (dom → domu) – to home / to the house
do sklepu (sklep → sklepu) – to the shop
do miasta (miasto → miasta) – to the city

So do restauracji literally means to (the) restaurant, and the -i ending is just the regular feminine genitive ending.

Is there any difference between na pierwszą randkę do restauracji and do restauracji na pierwszą randkę?

Both orders are grammatically correct and understandable, but the nuance is slightly different in terms of focus:

Idziemy na pierwszą randkę do restauracji.
- Slight emphasis on the fact that it’s a first date, and the place happens to be a restaurant.
- Roughly: “We’re going on our first date, (and it’s) to a restaurant.”
Idziemy do restauracji na pierwszą randkę.
- Slight emphasis on going to a restaurant, and the detail that it’s for a first date is added after.
- Roughly: “We’re going to a restaurant for our first date.”

In everyday speech, both sound natural. The default version in your example puts the first date idea a bit more in front.

Why doesn’t Polish use any word like a/the (articles) in pierwszą randkę or restauracji?

Polish does not have articles like a, an, the at all.

Definiteness or indefiniteness is usually understood from:

context
word order
extra words like ten/ta/to (that/this), jakiś (some), jakaś (some – fem.), etc.

So:

na pierwszą randkę could mean:
- on a first date
- on our first date (if context is a couple talking)
do restauracji could mean:
- to a restaurant
- to the restaurant (one already known in context)

If you really wanted to make it feel closer to this/the, you might say:

na naszą pierwszą randkę – on our first date
do tej restauracji – to this/that restaurant

But normally, the simple forms without articles are completely natural.

What is the difference between dzisiaj and dziś? Could I say Dziś wieczorem… instead?

Yes, you can say:

Dziś wieczorem idziemy na pierwszą randkę do restauracji.

Dzisiaj and dziś both mean today and are interchangeable in most contexts.

Subtle differences:

dzisiaj – slightly more neutral/colloquial everyday form
dziś – a bit shorter and sometimes feels a little more formal, literary, or compact in writing

In spoken language, you’ll hear both. In this sentence, Dzisiaj wieczorem… and Dziś wieczorem… are equally natural.

How do you pronounce dzisiaj wieczorem idziemy na pierwszą randkę do restauracji? Any tricky parts?

Some key points for pronunciation:

dzisiaj
- dzi sounds like English “jee” in jeep, but softer: [dʑi]
- whole word: DJEE-shai (approx.) – stress on the first syllable: DZI-siaj.
wieczorem
- w is like English v
- cz is like ch in church
- rz after o here sounds like zh (like the s in measure) or like a soft ż
- stress: wie-CZO-rem
idziemy
- dzi again like soft jee: [dʑe]
- idzie- is roughly EE-jeh
- stress: i-DZIE-my
pierwszą
- pie → like pye in pyello
- w = v
- sz = English sh
- ą is a nasal vowel; before ł it sounds close to -om / -on. Here before nothing, it’s like French bon: a nasal “aw”.
- stress: PIERW-szą
randkę
- r rolled
- dk pronounced together (both consonants)
- ę at the end often sounds like a nasal e or like -e with slight nasal coloring; in fast speech often just -e.
- stress: RAND-kę
restauracji
- re-stau-RA-cji (4 syllables)
- au like in English “cow”
- cji sounds like tsee
- stress on the -ra-: res-tau-RA-cji

Overall sentence stress (main content words bolded by intonation):
DZISiaj WIECZOrem iDZIEmy na PIERWszą RANDkę do RESTauRACji.