ładny / mały
Polish "ł" is English "w" — never say "l"
Common trap for English speakers The single trap: Polish ł is English "w", not "l". Say "WAD-ni" / "MA-wi" — never "LAD-ni" / "MA-li". An English speaker's eye reads the letter as "l" every time until this is drilled.
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"
- kawa / woda — Polish "w" is English "v" — the classic slip
- już / rzeka — "ż" and "rz" are the SAME sound: the s in "measure"
- dziękuję — "dź" = English j; stress is the second-to-last syllable
- są / kawę — the nasal vowels "ą / ę" — hum them (ę at word-end → plain "e")