Word
Skąd jesteś? — Jestem z Polski.
Meaning
Where are you from? — I am from Poland.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Breakdown of Skąd jesteś? — Jestem z Polski.
być
to be
Polska
Poland
skąd jesteś
where are you from (informal)
z
from (+ Genitive)
Questions & Answers about Skąd jesteś? — Jestem z Polski.
Why is it Skąd instead of Gdzie for "where"?
In Polish, Gdzie means "where" to ask about a static location, but Skąd specifically means "from where". Because the question asks where someone originates from, you have to use Skąd.
Why are there no words for "you" or "I" in these sentences?
Polish often drops subject pronouns like ja (I) or ty (you) because the verb endings already show who is doing the action. Jesteś specifically means "you are", and Jestem means "I am".
Why is Poland spelled Polski here instead of Polska?
Polish changes the endings of words depending on how they are used, which is called a case system. The base word for Poland is Polska, but after the word z (from), Polish requires a grammatical form called the genitive case. This changes the ending, making Polska become Polski.
How should I pronounce the tiny word z?
It sounds just like a short buzzing English Z sound. In spoken Polish, it links directly to the word after it, so z Polski flows together and sounds almost like one continuous word.