dziękuję
"dź" = English j; stress is the second-to-last syllable
Common trap for English speakers Stress the second-to-last syllable: jen-KOO-yeh. English speakers instinctively hit the last or first syllable; Polish stress is fixed penultimate, so it's a rule to trust, not a per-word memory job.
In the story
Tom
Dziękuję bardzo.
Pani Basia
Nie ma za co.
Ah, the perfect reply. 'Nie ma za co'. It literally means 'there isn't for what' – as in, 'there's nothing to thank me for'. It's the most natural way to say 'you're welcome'.
Learn it in the story
This phrase appears in the lesson:
Level pre-A1 · Lesson 1
Welcome to Kazimierz — Witaj na Kazimierzu (Intro)
Related phrases
- cześć — "hi/bye" — cz and ć are English "ch", ś is "sh"
- ładny / mały — Polish "ł" is English "w" — never say "l"
- kawa / woda — Polish "w" is English "v" — the classic slip
- już / rzeka — "ż" and "rz" are the SAME sound: the s in "measure"
- są / kawę — the nasal vowels "ą / ę" — hum them (ę at word-end → plain "e")