Przepraszam, proszę pani, czy ten biletomat przy wejściu działa, czy lepiej iść do drugiego obok kiosku?

They do slightly different jobs:

• Przepraszam = Excuse me / Sorry
• proszę pani = a polite way to address a woman, like ma’am

So together they sound very natural in Polish when politely asking a stranger something:

• Przepraszam gets the person’s attention.
• proszę pani shows respect.

You do not always need both, but the combination is very common in real speech.

In this sentence, proszę pani is a polite form of address used when speaking to a woman. It works a bit like:

• ma’am
• excuse me, madam

It does not literally mean please lady in the way an English learner might guess from proszę.

This expression is somewhat fixed:

• proszę pana = when addressing a man
• proszę państwa = when addressing a group

Here czy introduces a question and also sets up an either/or choice.

In this sentence:

• czy ten biletomat przy wejściu działa
• czy lepiej iść do drugiego...

the pattern is basically:

• Is this machine working, or is it better to go to the other one...?

So the second czy works a bit like or in English, although the Polish structure is literally more like whether ... or whether ....

Polish often uses czy ... czy ... in questions involving alternatives.

Biletomat means ticket machine or ticket vending machine.

It is built from:

• bilet = ticket
• -omat = a machine/device that dispenses or handles something

This ending appears in other words too, for example:

• bankomat = ATM
• wpłatomat = cash deposit machine

So biletomat is a very practical modern compound noun.

Because przy requires the locative case.

• dictionary form: wejście = entrance
• locative singular: wejściu

So:

• przy wejściu = by / near the entrance

This is a very common pattern:

• przy stole = at the table
• przy oknie = by the window
• przy dworcu = by the station

So after przy, you should expect the locative.

Działa means works / is working / functions.

The verb is działać = to function, to work.

So:

• ten biletomat działa = this ticket machine works / is functioning

It is commonly used for machines, devices, systems, and even medicines:

• Telefon nie działa. = The phone doesn’t work.
• To lekarstwo działa. = This medicine works.

Yes — but Polish often leaves that kind of subject unstated.

lepiej iść literally means better to go.

In English we usually need to say:

• Is it better to go... ?
• Should I/we go... ?

In Polish, the infinitive can be used in this more general, impersonal way:

• Lepiej poczekać. = It’s better to wait.
• Lepiej zadzwonić. = It’s better to call.

So here czy lepiej iść do drugiego... means something like:

• or is it better to go to the other one...?

The noun is omitted because it is understood from context.

Earlier, the sentence already mentioned ten biletomat. After that, Polish can simply say:

• do drugiego = to the second one / to the other one

This is very natural. The full version would be something like:

• do drugiego biletomatu

But saying just do drugiego is shorter and completely normal.

Also, do requires the genitive case, which is why you get:

• drugi → drugiego

Because the preposition do takes the genitive case.

So:

• drugi = dictionary form / basic form
• drugiego = genitive masculine/neuter singular

Since biletomat is masculine, the understood phrase is:

• do drugiego biletomatu = to the second/other ticket machine

The noun is omitted, but the adjective still has to show the correct case.

obok kiosku means next to the kiosk or beside the kiosk.

The preposition obok usually takes the genitive case, so:

• kiosk = kiosk, newsstand
• kiosku = genitive singular

Compare:

• obok domu = next to the house
• obok sklepu = next to the shop
• obok kiosku = next to the kiosk

It can feel like either, depending on context.

In this sentence, do drugiego most naturally means:

• to the other one or
• to the second one

Because there seem to be two ticket machines:

1. one by the entrance
2. another one by the kiosk

So English might translate it either way. In Polish, drugi often covers both ideas when there are two items in context.

ten means this.

• ten biletomat = this ticket machine

It helps identify a specific machine — the one przy wejściu.

You could say just czy biletomat przy wejściu działa, and it would still be understandable, but ten makes it more concrete and natural when pointing out or referring to a visible object.

The word order is fairly natural, but Polish is more flexible than English.

This version sounds polite and clear:

• Przepraszam, proszę pani, czy ten biletomat przy wejściu działa, czy lepiej iść do drugiego obok kiosku?

Why it works well:

• the polite opener comes first
• the first option is stated clearly
• the second option follows after the second czy

You could rearrange parts a little, but this order is smooth and conversational.

For example, ten biletomat przy wejściu sounds better than separating ten too far from biletomat.

Yes, it is polite and appropriate for speaking to a stranger, especially an older woman or someone you do not know.

The formal tone comes mainly from:

• Przepraszam
• proszę pani

If you were speaking casually to a friend, you would not normally say proszę pani.

So this sentence is a good model for polite public interaction — for example in a station, tram stop, or shop area.