So, you’ve mastered basic greetings in Polish. You know how to say “Hello”, “Good morning”, “Good afternoon” and “Good evening”.
Well done! Now you will probably want to learn some expressions for what naturally comes next: How are you in Polish. You’ve come to the right place. I got you!
Cultural undertones of saying ‘How are you’ in Polish
In most languages, “How are you?” is the natural follow-up to “Hello”. It is considered the most polite way to start a conversation and it is pretty much expected when first approaching someone.
Yet, people rarely anticipate an answer other than “Fine, thank you” to the question “How are you?”. The expression is not so much an invitation to discuss one’s well-being as it is an icebreaker and mark of politeness.
This is not the case in Polish. While Polish culture places a great deal of importance on politeness, it values directness equally. If you ask someone “How are you?” in Poland, it is assumed you actually want to know about their well-being, and what they are up to. For this reason, the question usually comes after informal greetings in Polish and is reserved for people you know well.
But that’s not to say you cannot ask someone “How are you?” in a more formal setting in Poland. If you feel like asking people older than you, or people you don’t know well, how they are after formal greetings in Polish, you can certainly do so.
All you have to do is add the polite address forms Pan (Mr) and Pani (Miss) to the question. Just keep in mind that, in these cases, you will probably get a simple “Fine” as a reply, and the question is unlikely to be reciprocated. This is not because of rudeness, but rather because Poles are not big fans of small talk.
Polish expressions for ‘How are you’
1. Jak się masz?
The literal translation of “How are you?” in Polish is “Jak się masz?”. It is the phrase that you will most commonly find in chapters of Polish textbooks discussing greetings. Nevertheless, you will not hear it much (if at all) while in Poland. That is because it does not quite sound right in Polish.
While it is perfectly correct grammatically, it sounds awkward when uttered. If you do happen to hear it spoken, it is almost always a tell-tale sign that someone is not a native Pole.
Having said that, “Jak się masz?” is one of the most polite ways to ask how somebody is. A lot of Polish expressions for “How are you?” are very casual, bordering on slang. Therefore, if you want to ask an older person, or somebody you don’t know, how they are, “Jak się masz?” is your best bet.
Just remember to add the polite address forms to your question. That means you should ask “Jak się Pani ma?” when talking to a woman and “Jak się Pan ma?” when talking to a man.
2. Jak wszystko?
“Jak” means “how” in Polish and “wszystko” means “everything”. The phrase “Jak wszystko?”, therefore, translates to “How is everything?” This is a popular expression all around the world and Poland is no exception.
In Poland, “Jak wszystko?” is considered a casual way to ask a friend or acquaintance how they are.
3. Co nowego?
“Co nowego?” translates to “What’s new?”. This phrase is the perfect greeting to use with a family member or friend you haven’t seen in a while.
As mentioned previously, Poles aren’t into small talk and platitudes. “Co nowego?” allows the person you’re talking with to cut straight to the chase and give you the round-up of what’s currently happening in their life.
4. Co słychać?
One of the most frequently used expressions for “How are you?” in Poland is “Co słychać?”. The word “słychać” literally means “to be heard”.
Therefore, you could say this expression loosely translates to “What’s up?” or “What’s the chat?”. This expression is probably the most popular way of asking “How are you?” in Poland. You will definitely come across it while watching TV or reading Polish texts.
What’s surprising about “Co słychać?” is that, while it sounds like it should only be used in very casual contexts, it’s not. Used correctly, it would sound friendly but not be totally out of place in a formal setting.
To address a man in a formal context, you would say “Co u Pana słychać?”. To address a woman, you would say “Co u Pani słychać?”. Finally, to address a group of people, you would say “Co u Państwa słychać?”.
5. Jak leci?
The literal translation of “Jak leci?” is “How is it flying?”. As you can probably guess from that, it is a very informal way to ask somebody how they are. For this reason, it’s normally reserved for one’s close friends.
The thing about “Jak leci?” is that it doesn’t really require a proper answer. I mean, what do you even say when somebody asks you “How is it flying?”. There is no logical answer to this question. How is what flying? It could be argued that “it” refers to life, so the expression actually is a synonym for “How is life?”.
That may well be true, but the phrase is used more as an icebreaker and a cool way of saying “Hello” rather than a question that demands an answer.
6. Co się dzieje?
This expression is the equivalent of “What’s going on?” or “What’s happening?” in English. In fact, because it sounds so casual in Polish, you could even say that a better translation for it is “What’s the haps?”.
“Co się dzieje?” can, of course, also be used to literally ask about a specific situation. For example, if you walked into a room and somebody was shouting at someone, you could ask “Co się dzieje?”. In this case, you would be asking about what led to the situation you’re confronted with.
In the absence of a situation that needs explaining though, it is safe to assume “Co się dzieje?” is just an informal way of asking “How are you?”. It is typically used by young people.
7. Jak/Co tam?
The briefest way to ask How are you doing in Polish is to say “Jak tam?” or “Co tam?”. As previously mentioned, “jak” means “how”. “Co” means “what” and “tam” means “there”. Therefore, these questions literally mean “How’s there?” or “What’s there?”.
If you think that doesn’t make a lot of sense, you’re probably right. But slang often doesn’t and these expressions definitely fall under the “slang” category.
If you’re using these expressions, make sure to only ever do so with family or friends. Because they sound so casual, they would be very impolite to use with elderly people, strangers, or in formal contexts.
8. Wszystko dobrze?
Some people say “Wszystko dobrze?” is the Polish equivalent of “Is everything fine?”. I would disagree. The question “Is everything fine?” carries connotations of worry. It suggests that you suspect something is not right and you’re essentially asking someone what’s wrong.
A better translation of this expression is “All good?”. It is a very informal way to ask someone “What’s up?” and it doesn’t really offer room for a proper answer.
If someone asks you “Wszystko dobrze?”, they’re not expecting you to give them the low-down. It’s more of a yes-or-no question that is mostly used as another way of saying hello in Polish.
9. Wszystko w porządku?
“Wszystko w porządku?” is pretty much the same as “Wszystko dobrze?”, only infinitely more difficult to pronounce! “Porządek” means “order” in Polish. Therefore, this phrase translates to “Everything in order?”.
As is the case with “Wszystko dobrze?”, this question doesn’t really require more than a yes or no answer. However, if you’re planning on using this phrase on your trip to Poland, you should work on your accent to ensure you’re understood! A great way to do this is by listening to Polish podcasts.
10. Jak się czujesz?
“Jak się czujesz?” means “How are you feeling?” in Polish. Even though it is not uncommon to hear this expression in Poland, it wouldn’t be quite right to translate it as “How are you?”. That is because the verb “czuć się” (i.e. “to feel”) is heavily associated with one’s sense of physical and mental well-being.
The question “Jak się czujesz?” demands a serious answer. It is not prompt to give someone news about your work or what you’ve been up to lately. Rather, it expresses genuine concern about someone’s health and emotional state.
If a friend or loved one has recently been ill or having a difficult time, you can ask them “Jak się czujesz?”. Nevertheless, if you’re just trying to make small talk, you should stick to one of the other expressions on this list!
| Polish | English |
| Jak się masz? | How are you? |
| Jak wszystko? | How is everything? |
| Co nowego? | What’s new? |
| Co słychać? | What can be heard? |
| Jak leci? | How is it flying? |
| Co się dzieje? | What’s happening? |
| Jak/Co tam? | How/what’s there? |
| Wszystko dobrze? | All good? |
| Wszystko w porządku? | Everything in order? |
| Jak się czujesz? | How are you feeling? |
Responses to “How are you?” in Polish
If you’ve got the hang of the above expressions, you may now be wondering how to correctly respond to them. These are the most common responses to the different versions of the question “How are you?” in Polish.
1. Dobrze
“Dobrze” means “Fine” in Polish. As is the case in most languages, this is the most common response to “How are you?” in Polish. Some variations of it that you might hear on your travels to Poland are “Mam się dobrze” (“I am fine”) and “Całkiem dobrze” (“Rather well”).
2. W porządku
Another common answer to the question “How are you?” in Polish is “W porządku”. This literally means “in order”, but is best translated to “alright”. Mind you, if someone asks you “Wszystko w porządku?”, it’s enough to just say “tak” (“yes”) or “nie” (“no”).
3. Nie (jest) źle
“Nie źle” means “Not bad”. It’s perhaps one of the most popular responses to “How are you?” in Polish. A variation of it is “Nie jest źle”, which means “It’s not bad”.
4. (Jest) OK
The word “OK” is used very frequently in Poland. It’s a perfectly decent, albeit laconic, response to “How are you? so feel free to use it when no other Polish words spring to mind!
5. Czuję się dobrze/źle
When somebody asks you “Jak się czujesz?”, they want to know about your physical or emotional well-being. To answer, you could say “Czuje się dorbze/źle”, which means “I am feeling fine/bad”.
6. Tak sobie
“Tak sobie” translates to “so-so” in Polish. If you’re feeling neither good nor bad, this is a perfect answer to every single one of the questions mentioned above!
7. Nic nowego
“Nic nowego” means “nothing new” in Polish. It works great as a response to “Co nowego?” but also “Co się dzieje?” and “Co słychać?”.
8. Po staremu
“Stary” translates to “old” in Polish. “Po staremu”, therefore, could be said to literally mean “the old way”. A better translation, however, would probably be “much the same”.
This is a very colloquial expression that you wouldn’t use in a formal context. However, if you’re talking to a good friend and you don’t have a lot of news to share, this should be your go-to answer!
| Polish | English |
| Dobrze | Fine |
| W porządku | Alright |
| Nie (jest) źle | Not bad |
| Jest OK | (It’s) OK |
| Czuję się dobrze/źle | I’m feeling well/bad |
| Tak sobie | So-so |
| Nic nowego | Nothing new |
| Po staremu | Much the same |
Conclusion
And there you have it! With this list, you should feel well-equipped to try out all sorts of different greetings in Polish.
The most important takeaway from this piece should be to always remember these two simple rules. When talking to friends, stick to colloquial phrases. When in a formal setting or with people you don’t know, always add the polite forms of address Pan, Pani, and Panstwo.
Even if saying “How are you?” is not considered necessary when greeting somebody in Poland, your effort will always be appreciated!