Na pan czy na ty
Polish distance, as spoken: pan, pani and państwo with a third-person verb, first names with pani in front, and the formal register you can switch off with a toast.
proszę pana
phrase · address form
- EN
- sir; excuse me (to a man)
- RU
- извините, простите (к мужчине)
Proszę pana, to chyba pana rękawiczki.
Excuse me, sir, I think these are your gloves.
The way to stop a stranger. Pana and pani are frozen genitives after proszę; proszę panią is a real error Poles make too. Pan plus a surname — panie Kowalski — is not polite: it is what the police say.
pani Aniu
phrase · address form
- EN
- Ania (first name plus pani, in the vocative)
- RU
- пани Аня (обращение)
Pani Aniu, ma pani chwilę?
Anna, do you have a moment?
The vocative of Ania with pani in front: first-name warmth, formal distance. Polish has no patronymic, and this is how neighbours and colleagues stay polite for years.
państwo
pronoun · virile plural
- EN
- you (to a mixed group); ladies and gentlemen
- RU
- вы (к группе); господа
Czy państwo już wybrali?
Have you decided yet? (a waiter to a couple)
The polite plural, with a third-person virile verb: państwo wybrali, not wybraliście. A mixed group is państwo, women are panie, men are panowie. The same word is the state — the waiter and the constitution share it.
per pan
phrase · adverb
- EN
- on formal terms (addressing someone as pan)
- RU
- на вы, официально
Pracujemy razem pięć lat, a on wciąż mówi do mnie per pan.
We've worked together for five years and he still calls me pan.
Per is Latin, and so is the stiffness: mówić do kogoś per pan is to keep the formal register. The opposite, and the end of it, is przejść na ty.
czy mógłby pan
phrase · request
- EN
- could you (polite request)
- RU
- не могли бы вы
Czy mógłby pan zamknąć okno?
Could you close the window, please?
The conditional does the politeness: mógłby pan, mogłaby pani, mogliby państwo. The verb agrees with the pan, not with the you, so a woman gets mogłaby. Without czy it is still polite, just faster.
niech pan
phrase · imperative
- EN
- please (do), go ahead and (polite imperative)
- RU
- садитесь, посмотрите и т. п. (вежливое побуждение на вы)
Niech pan siada, zaraz wracam.
Have a seat, I'll be right back.
The third person turned into a polite imperative: niech pan siada, niech pani spojrzy. It can sound kind or like an order, so proszę + infinitive — proszę usiąść — is the safer choice with strangers.
cała przyjemność po mojej stronie
phrase
- EN
- the pleasure is all mine
- RU
- мне тоже очень приятно; это мне приятно
— Dziękuję za pomoc. — Cała przyjemność po mojej stronie.
'Thanks for your help.' 'The pleasure is all mine.'
Literally 'the whole pleasure is on my side'. The polished reply to thanks or to miło mi — formal, a little theatrical, and exactly right with a client.
przejść na ty
phrase · verb, perfective
- EN
- to switch to first-name terms
- RU
- перейти на ты
Może przejdziemy na ty? Jestem Marta.
Shall we drop the formalities? I'm Marta.
Identical to RU, and the etiquette is the same: the older, the senior or the woman proposes it, never the junior. The state it leaves behind is być na pan, or mówić sobie per pan.
z całym szacunkiem
phrase · adverb
- EN
- with all due respect
- RU
- при всём уважении
Z całym szacunkiem, ale to nie ma sensu.
With all due respect, that makes no sense.
Announces a disagreement in the pan register, and the ale that follows is where the respect ends. Instrumental after z: całym szacunkiem. Said to a friend it is pure irony.
przepraszam, że przeszkadzam
phrase · opener
- EN
- sorry to bother you
- RU
- извините, что отвлекаю
Przepraszam, że przeszkadzam, ma pan chwilę?
Sorry to bother you, do you have a moment?
The opener for interrupting someone at a desk or on the phone. Przeszkadzać is 'to disturb' and takes the dative: nie przeszkadzam? — am I interrupting? — is the check you make before starting.
Drill these ten · earlier morning · later morning
Drill these ten