Hej, mam pytanie.

In Polish, the subject pronoun is often omitted because the verb already shows who is doing the action.

• mam = I have
• so ja is not necessary

You could say Ja mam pytanie, but that usually adds emphasis, like I have a question (as opposed to someone else). In a neutral sentence, Mam pytanie sounds more natural.

Mam is a form of the verb mieć, which means to have.

Here it is in the 1st person singular present tense:

• mam = I have

So:

• mam pytanie = literally I have a question

Pytanie is the noun meaning question. It is a neuter noun in Polish.

In this sentence, it is the direct object of mam. Polish usually uses the accusative case for direct objects, but with many neuter nouns, the accusative looks the same as the nominative.

So:

• nominative: pytanie
• accusative: pytanie

That is why the word does not change here.

Yes, Hej is a casual greeting, very similar to Hi or Hey in English.

It is friendly and informal. It works well:

• with friends
• with classmates
• in casual messages
• in relaxed conversation

It is usually not the best choice in very formal situations. In those cases, Polish more often uses greetings like Dzień dobry.

A simple approximate pronunciation is:

• Hej ≈ hey
• mam ≈ mahm
• pytanie ≈ pih-TAH-nyeh

A few helpful notes:

• h in hej is pronounced
• y in pytanie is not the same as English ee; it is a short Polish vowel
• nie at the end sounds roughly like nyeh
• the stress in pytanie is on the second-to-last syllable: py-TA-nie

The comma is used because Hej is a greeting or discourse opener, separated from the main sentence.

So Polish writes:

• Hej, mam pytanie.

This is similar to English punctuation in phrases like:

• Hi, I have a question.

In casual texting, people sometimes skip punctuation, but with standard writing, the comma is correct.

Yes, Polish word order is more flexible than English, but not every order sounds equally natural.

The most natural version here is:

• Hej, mam pytanie.

You could also hear:

• Mam pytanie.
• Hej, mam jedno pytanie.

But moving words around carelessly can sound strange or overly marked. For a learner, it is best to keep this standard order unless you have a reason to emphasize something.

Yes, it is very natural. Polish often uses mam pytanie in exactly the same kind of situation where English says I have a question.

It is common in:

• conversation
• class
• emails
• chats
• meetings

You may also hear slightly different versions, such as:

• Mam jedno pytanie. = I have one question.
• Mam do ciebie pytanie. = I have a question for you.

Yes. You can say just:

• Mam pytanie.

That is perfectly correct and natural.

Adding Hej makes it sound more conversational and friendly, especially at the beginning of a message or when starting to speak to someone.

For a more polite or formal tone, Hej is usually replaced.

For example:

• Dzień dobry, mam pytanie. = polite / standard
• Przepraszam, mam pytanie. = Excuse me, I have a question
• Czy mogę zadać pytanie? = May I ask a question?

So Hej, mam pytanie is good for informal situations, but not always for professional or formal ones.