Learn Polish: Hej! Czy ty znasz polski? - Hey! Do you know Polish?

Hej! Czy ty znasz polski?

Hey! Do you know Polish?

Breakdown of Hej! Czy ty znasz polski?

to know (someone or something)

polski

Polish

Questions & Answers about Hej! Czy ty znasz polski?

Why is Czy used here if znasz already translates to "you know"?

In Polish, czy is a small word used to start yes/no questions. It doesn't have a direct translation, but it works a lot like the "Do" in "Do you...?" You put it at the very beginning of the sentence to show you are asking a question.

Since the verb znasz already tells us the subject is "you", do I have to include ty?

No, you don't have to! Polish often drops pronouns like ty (you) because the verb's ending already makes it clear who is doing the action. You could just say Czy znasz polski? and it would sound completely natural. Adding ty just adds a little extra emphasis to the "you".

I learned the word wiesz for "you know". Why is it znasz in this sentence?

Polish has two different verbs for "to know". You use wiedzieć (which gives us wiesz) when you know a fact or a piece of information. You use znać (which gives us znasz) when you are familiar with a person, a place, or a language. Because you are talking about a language here, you must use znasz.

Why is the word polski written with a lowercase letter?

Unlike English, Polish does not capitalize the names of languages, days of the week, or adjectives related to countries. Therefore, "Polish" is written in lowercase as polski.