Dialogue

Vocabulary

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Lesson Notes

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Lesson Transcript

INTRODUCTION
Gabriella: Hello everyone and welcome back to PolishPod101.com. This is Absolute Beginner, season 1, lesson 24, Surviving in Poland. I’m Gabriella.
Joanna: And I’m Joanna.
Gabriella: In this lesson you'll learn useful phrases for asking about Polish words.
Joanna: This conversation takes place at the post office.
Gabriella: It’s between Alex and a sales clerk.
Joanna: The speakers are strangers, so they’ll be using formal Polish.
DIALOGUE
Alex: Dzień dobry. Poproszę znaczek na list.
Clerk: Zwykły czy priorytet?
Alex: Przepraszam, nie rozumiem
Clerk: List zwykły czy priorytet-szybki?
Alex: Aaa! Proszę szybki.
Clerk: 3 złote.
Alex: Dziękuję. Do widzenia.
Gabriella: Let’s hear the conversation one time slowly.
Alex: Dzień dobry. Poproszę znaczek na list.
Clerk: Zwykły czy priorytet?
Alex: Przepraszam, nie rozumiem
Clerk: List zwykły czy priorytet-szybki?
Alex: Aaa! Proszę szybki.
Clerk: 3 złote.
Alex: Dziękuję. Do widzenia.
Gabriella: Now let’s hear it with the English translation.
Alex: Dzień dobry. Poproszę znaczek na list.
Alex: Good morning. A stamp for a letter, please.
Clerk: Zwykły czy priorytet?
Clerk: Normal or prioritaire?
Alex: Przepraszam, nie rozumiem
Alex: I'm sorry, I don't understand.
Clerk: List zwykły czy priorytet-szybki?
Clerk: Normal letter or prioritaire - fast?
Alex: Aaa! Proszę szybki.
Alex: Aaah! Fast, please.
Clerk: 3 złote.
Clerk: 3 zloty.
Alex: Dziękuję. Do widzenia.
Alex: Thank you. Goodbye.
POST CONVERSATION BANTER
Gabriella: In the dialogue Alex went to the post office. How do you say “post office” in Polish?
Joanna: It’s ‘poczta’
Gabriella: Will we see that word above the entrance to every post office?
Joanna: Yes, and also it’s possible to see another one, which is ‘urząd pocztowy’
Gabriella: But both of them have the same meaning.
Joanna: That’s true. Also, very often post offices, especially the main one in the city, will be located in an old building, which makes some of them an interesting place to visit.
Gabriella: Are there many post offices around the city?
Joanna: Of course it depends on the size of the city - in smaller towns there can only be one office. Also when you want to send a letter, it’s best to bring it to the office, instead of dropping it in the mailbox, because then you can be sure it will be sent soon.
Gabriella: That’s some useful information!
VOCAB LIST
Gabriella: Let’s take a look at the vocabulary for this lesson.
The first word we shall see is...
Joanna: Znaczek [natural native speed]
Gabriella: stamp
Joanna: Znaczek [slowly - broken down by syllable] Znaczek [natural native speed]
Gabriella: Next
Joanna: List [natural native speed]
Gabriella: letter
Joanna: List [slowly - broken down by syllable] List [natural native speed]
Gabriella: Next
Joanna: Rozumieć [natural native speed]
Gabriella: to understand
Joanna: Rozumieć [slowly - broken down by syllable] Rozumieć [natural native speed]
Gabriella: Next
Joanna: Dziękować [natural native speed]
Gabriella: to thank
Joanna: Dziękować [slowly - broken down by syllable] Dziękować [natural native speed]
Gabriella: Next
Joanna: Nie [natural native speed]
Gabriella: no, not
Joanna: Nie [slowly - broken down by syllable] Nie [natural native speed]
Gabriella: Next
Joanna: Dobry [natural native speed]
Gabriella: good
Joanna: Dobry [slowly - broken down by syllable] Dobry [natural native speed]
Gabriella: Next
Joanna: Zwykły [natural native speed]
Gabriella: normal, regular
Joanna: Zwykły [slowly - broken down by syllable] Zwykły [natural native speed]
Gabriella: And last...
Joanna: Złoty [natural native speed]
Gabriella: zloty (Polish currency)
Joanna: Złoty [slowly - broken down by syllable] Złoty [natural native speed]
KEY VOCAB AND PHRASES
Gabriella: Let's take a closer look at the usage for some of the words and phrases from this lesson. Joanna, what’s the first word?
Joanna: ‘list’
Gabriella: “letter”
Joanna: in Poland, there are a few kinds of letters, and it’s necessary to know the names and differences if you want to send something from Poland
Gabriella: Now, let’s go through them one by one
Joanna: ‘zwykły list’
Gabriella: meaning “regular letter”
Joanna: It’s usually sent within Poland
Gabriella: then we have air mail
Joanna: in Polish we call that one ‘list priorytetowy’ or simply ‘priorytet’
Gabriella: As you may have guessed, this means “priority mail”
Joanna: the last kind is ‘list polecony’
Gabriella: “registered mail”
Joanna: to send that one, you will need to fill in additional paperwork, and of course the cost is higher
Gabriella: but that way you can be sure that it won’t get lost and reaches the recipient quite quickly. So what’s the next word?
Joanna: ‘rozumieć’
Gabriella: “to understand”
Joanna: there are quite a few colloquial words that are used instead of the verb ‘rozumieć’
Gabriella: I’m sure our listeners are dying to hear them !
Joanna: Okay, well, we often use them to confirm if the other person knows or understands what we want to say. Then we can say ‘kumasz?’
Gabriella: This is the Polish for “do you understand?” or “do you get it”
Joanna: You could also say ‘czaisz?’ or ‘kapujesz?’
Gabriella: Okay, now let’s move on the the grammar.
GRAMMAR POINT
Gabriella: In this lesson, you will learn useful phrases to ask about Polish words
Joanna: In other words, we will teach you how to survive in Poland, when you’re not a fluent Polish speaker yet!
Gabriella: Sounds like a really important lesson!
Joanna: C’mon! All of them are important!
Gabriella: Okay, Okay! What shall we start with then?
Joanna: With the situation when you don’t understand something.
Gabriella: Alex found himself in this kind of situation.
Joanna: Yes, then he said - ‘Przepraszam, nie rozumiem’
Gabriella: in English “I’m sorry, I don’t understand”
Joanna: Here we have two new verbs. First is ‘przepraszam’, the first person singular form of ‘przepraszać’
Gabriella: meaning “I’m sorry”
Joanna: The other verb was ‘rozumiem’, the first person singular of the verb ‘rozumieć’
Gabriella: meaning “understand”
Joanna: Now, please repeat after me - ‘przepraszam, nie rozumiem’
Gabriella: (pause) “I’m sorry, I don’t understand”
Joanna: After saying this, you can expect someone to repeat or explain what they have just said.
Gabriella: What if we just didn’t hear something clearly? What can we say?
Joanna: We can ask the person to repeat it, right? The verb needed here is ‘powtarzać’
Gabriella: meaning “to repeat”
Joanna: One of the ways to say that is - ‘Proszę powtórzyć’
Gabriella: In English “Repeat please”
Joanna: Or something more like a question - ‘Możesz powtórzyć?’
Gabriella: “Can you repeat it?”
Joanna: Let’s try together - ‘Proszę powtórzyć’ (pause)... and another one - ‘Możesz powtórzyć?’(pause)
Gabriella: Okay. What if we want someone to write something down for us.
Joanna: The simplest way to ask someone that is - ‘Proszę napisać’
Gabriella: “Write it down, please”
Joanna: But it’s very direct, so a more polite option is - ‘Możesz to napisać?’
Gabriella: “Can you write it down?”
Joanna: Then if you find yourself talking to someone who speaks really fast, you can ask them to slow down a bit
Gabriella: Yes, that happens, especially when you’re still learning.
Joanna: Again the simplest way is - ‘Proszę mówić wolniej’
Gabriella: “Please, speak slower”
Joanna: There are more ways to ask that, so please check the lesson notes.
Gabriella: For every situation, there are a few example sentences, ranging from the easiest to the more complex.
Joanna: Remember, when you don’t understand or you’re confused, don’t be afraid to say so and ask for help!
Gabriella: That’s good advice.

Outro

Gabriella: Thanks for listening, everyone, and we’ll see you next time.
Joanna: Pa pa!

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