Learn Polish: Czy pani jest blisko? - Are you close by, madam?

In Polish, to say 'you' formally to a woman, we use the word pani (madam or lady) paired with the third-person singular verb. It is literally structured as 'Is the lady close by?'. This is why we use jest (is) instead of the informal second-person jesteś (you are).

Why is the word Czy at the beginning of this sentence?

Czy is a question word used to turn a statement into a yes-or-no question. In English, we often swap the word order to make a question ('You are' becomes 'Are you'). In Polish, the word order usually stays the same, and we just put Czy at the very beginning to signal that a question is coming.

The English translation says 'Are you close by, madam?'. Do we always translate pani as 'madam'?

Not necessarily. In English, saying 'madam' or 'sir' can sound very strict or overly formal. In Polish, using pan (for a man) and pani (for a woman) is just the standard, polite way to speak to adults you don't know well, like a shop assistant, a doctor, or a stranger on the street. It often just translates as a formal 'you'.

Does the ending of blisko change if I am asking a man instead of a woman?