Question words: Co, Gdzie, and Kto
To ask for specific information in Polish, you start your sentence with a question word, just like in English. The verb usually comes right after the question word.
- Co means "what"
- Gdzie means "where"
- Kto means "who"
| What is this? | Co to jest? |
| Where is the toilet? | Gdzie jest toaleta? |
| Who is sitting there? | Kto tam siedzi? |
Asking "How are you?"
To ask how someone is doing, Polish uses the question word jak (how) alongside the verb phrase mieć się, which literally translates to "to have oneself".
| How are you today? | Jak się dzisiaj masz? |
When speaking formally, such as to a man you do not know well at a cafe, you replace the informal "you" with the formal pronoun pan (sir/Mr.).
| How are you, sir? | Jak się pan ma? |
Yes/No questions with "Czy"
In English, we often use extra helper words like "do", "does", or "is" to ask a question that can be answered with a simple yes or no. Polish makes this much easier.
To turn any statement into a yes/no question, you just place the word czy at the very beginning of the sentence. The word order of the rest of the sentence stays exactly the same as a normal statement.
| Is this a cafe? | Czy to jest kawiarnia? |
| Do you have a menu? | Czy masz menu? |
| Is he drinking wine? | Czy on pije wino? |
