Breakdown of Czy pani wie, kto to jest?
to
this
być
to be
czy
[question particle]
pani
madam / Mrs.
kto
who
wiedzieć
to know
Questions & Answers about Czy pani wie, kto to jest?
Why does the sentence use pani wie instead of a direct word for "you"?
In Polish, to say "you" formally to a woman, we use the word pani (ma'am or lady) along with the "he/she/it" form of the verb. So, instead of saying "Do you know?", you are literally asking "Does the lady know?".
Why use wie here? Doesn't znać mean "to know"?
Polish has two verbs for "to know". You use znać when you are familiar with a person, place, or thing. You use wiedzieć (which gives us the form wie) when you know a fact or a piece of information. Because you are asking about the fact of who the person is, wie is the correct choice.
How would I use what we're currently learning to ask "Don't you know who this is, ma'am?"
Can I drop Czy and just ask Pani wie, kto to jest?
Yes! Just like in English, you can turn a statement into a question simply by raising your tone of voice at the end. However, starting with Czy makes it immediately clear that it is a yes/no question, which is very common and polite in formal speech.
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