The World of Languages · Indo-European
Polish · polski
A West Slavic language famous for its consonant clusters (szcz, chrz), seven cases and a Nobel-winning literature.
- 39.7 million native speakers
- 42.6 million speakers in total
- Latin script
- FSI Category III · 44 weeks
- Official in 1 country
Where Polish is spoken
Tap or hover over a country. Colours show the language's status, based on Unicode CLDR territory data (population estimates mix sources and years).
Top countries by speakers
- Poland · PolskaOfficial language · 37M (96%)
- United Kingdom · Wielka BrytaniaWidely spoken · 2.7M (4%)
Key numbers
- Native (L1) speakers
- 39.7 million
- Second-language (L2) speakers
- 2.1 million
- Total speakers
- 42.6 million
- Source
- Ethnologue (27th ed.), via Wikipedia · 2021–2024
Polish at a glance
Polish (endonym: język polski, [ˈjɛ̃zɘ̟k ˈpɔlskʲi] , polszczyzna [pɔlˈʂt͡ʂɘ̟zna] or simply polski, [ˈpɔlskʲi] ) is a West Slavic language of the Lechitic subgroup, within the Indo-European language family, and is written in the Latin script. It is primarily spoken in Poland and serves as the official language of the country, as well as the language of the Polish diaspora around the world. In 2024, there were over 39.7 million Polish native speakers. It ranks as the sixth-most-spoken among languages of the European Union. Polish is subdivided into regional dialects. It maintains strict T–V distinction, obligatory honorifics, and other formalities when addressing individuals.
From the Wikipedia article Polish language (CC BY-SA 4.0).
- Name in Polish
- polski
- Family
- Indo-EuropeanClassical Indo-EuropeanBalto-SlavicSlavicWest SlavicLechiticPolish-Silesian
- Writing system
- Latin alphabet (32 letters, including ą, ć, ę, ł, ń, ó, ś, ź, ż)
- Direction
- Left to right
- Official in
- Poland
- Codes
- ISO 639-3
pol· Glottologpoli1260· Q809 - Writing sample
Wszyscy ludzie rodzą się wolni i równi pod względem swej godności i swych praw. Są oni obdarzeni rozumem i sumieniem i powinni postępować wobec innych w duchu braterstwa.
Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights: “All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights…”
Linguistic profile
How hard is Polish for English speakers?
The US Foreign Service Institute puts Polish in Category III: about 44 weeks (1100 class hours) of full-time study to reach professional working proficiency.
Source: FSI language learning timelines. See all languages ranked: hardest · easiest.
Feature values from the World Atlas of Language Structures (WALS Online, CC BY 4.0).
The Polish script
Latin alphabet (32 letters, including ą, ć, ę, ł, ń, ó, ś, ź, ż). Tap a character to hear it (your device reads the letter name or sound).
Standard letters from Unicode CLDR exemplar characters.
Useful Polish phrases with pronunciation
Numbers 1–10
- jeden
- dwa
- trzy
- cztery
- pięć
- sześć
- siedem
- osiem
- dziewięć
- dziesięć
Days of the week
- Mon poniedziałek
- Tue wtorek
- Wed środa
- Thu czwartek
- Fri piątek
- Sat sobota
- Sun niedziela
Everyday words
- water woda
- cat kot
- dog pies
- coffee kawa
- beer piwo
- bread chleb
- book książka
Phrases and words checked against Wiktionary; days and months from Unicode CLDR. Audio uses your browser's built-in Polish voice when available.
Dialects and varieties
Standard Polish
Poland
Stress almost always falls on the second-to-last syllable.
Silesian
Upper Silesia
Some consider it a separate language; it has many German loanwords.
Kashubian
Pomerania, near Gdańsk
Recognised as a regional language with its own spelling.
Podhale (Goral)
Tatra Mountains, Zakopane
Has archaic features such as initial stress.
Hear the dialects
Fun words, untranslatables and false friends
kombinować
To scheme your way around an obstacle, finding a creative (sometimes dodgy) workaround.
załatwić
To sort something out, often through connections.
na zdrowie
“To health”: cheers, and also what you say after someone sneezes.
False friends for English speakers
| Polish | Looks like | Actually means |
|---|---|---|
| ewentualnie | eventually | possibly, alternatively |
| pensja | pension | salary |
| konkurs | concourse | competition, contest |
| data | data | date |
Curious facts
- Polish has seven grammatical cases, including a vocative for addressing people: Anna becomes “Anno!”
- The tongue-twister “W Szczebrzeszynie chrząszcz brzmi w trzcinie” (In Szczebrzeszyn a beetle buzzes in the reeds) is a national favourite.
- The letter ł used to sound like a dark l but today usually sounds like English w.
- Polish-language writers have won the Nobel Prize in Literature five times, most recently Wisława Szymborska (1996) and Olga Tokarczuk (2018).
Famous Polish-speaking voices
Singers & musicians
Writers & poets
Film & TV
Other famous figures
Descriptions from Wikidata; photos from Wikimedia Commons under the licences shown.
Polish culture now
The Witcher
Fantasy franchise
Ida (film)
2013 film by Paweł Pawlikowski
Cold War (2018 film)
2018 film by Paweł Pawlikowski
Disco polo
Polish music genre
Pan Tadeusz
1834 Polish epic poem by Adam Mickiewicz
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
2015 video game
Learn Polish on YouTube
Free lessons from teachers and channels with Polish courses. Videos load only when you press play.
The story of the language
Quick quiz: how well do you know Polish?
Where to learn Polish
The Endless Book
Read text you can understand, in the style of your favourite author and genre. About 30 languages.
LangMagicLangMagic Speak
Speaking lessons built around your topics, from materials you choose.
LangMagicLangMagic Meet
A virtual meeting platform built for language lessons, with follow-up exercises.
FreeWikivoyage Polish phrasebook
Free travel phrasebook with pronunciation guide
FreeWikibooks: Polish
Free, open textbook
FreeOmniglot: Polish
Script, pronunciation and useful phrases
FreeWiktionary: Polish dictionary
Free multilingual dictionary
Sources
- Speaker numbers: Ethnologue (27th ed.), via Wikipedia, 2021–2024.
- Countries, populations, alphabets, days and months: Unicode CLDR 46.
- Classification: Glottolog 5.3. Grammar features: WALS Online.
- Introduction: Wikipedia, Polish language (CC BY-SA 4.0). People and culture: Wikipedia and Wikidata. Images: Wikimedia Commons.
- Writing sample: Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 1, from the Unicode UDHR collection. Phrases and words: Wiktionary. Difficulty: US Foreign Service Institute.
- Map: Natural Earth via world-atlas (public domain).