Episode 15 · Look How Far You've Come

Welcome back to Kazimierz. It's been a few weeks since Tom arrived in Krakow with one suitcase and zero Polish. He’s survived official desks, draughts, street slang, and a slow-burn connection with a girl across the courtyard.

He originally booked this room for a month. Today is day thirty. He’s looking at his open suitcase, wondering if it's time to pack up. But before he decides, he needs a walk.

As soon as he steps into the courtyard, he hears a voice. It’s Kuba, leaning out of a window.

Siema, co tam? Jak się masz?

Cześć, Kuba. Wszystko spoko.

Look at the scale of greetings you now know. From the super casual siema, co tam? and jak się masz? with friends, to the standard cześć. We'll recap them all in a second.

And right on cue, Pani Kowalska walks past with her crisp briefcase. Tom straightens up instantly.

Dzień dobry, pani.

Dzień dobry, panie Tomku. Na razie.

Did you catch that? She used his name! The formal dzień dobry is still required, but she followed it with a slightly warmer na razie for see you later. From casual to polite, you know them all. Say the polite hello: dzień dobry.

cześć / dzień dobry / jak się masz? / siema, co tam? / na razie — Greetings & register: warm-casual vs polite, recognised. · CHESH-ch / JEHN DOH-bri / YAK shyeh MASH / SHEH-mah, TSO tahm / nah RAH-zheh

Tom heads toward the market square. A delivery driver with a clipboard looks lost, pointing at the building numbers.

The driver sees Tom and asks if he knows where number fifteen is. Tom has to explain his situation.

Przepraszam, nie jestem stąd. Jestem z Anglii.

The core of your identity. You can tell people your name with mam na imię, ask theirs with jak masz na imię, and explain your roots. Say: jestem z Anglii, nie jestem stąd. I am from England, I am not from here.

mam na imię… / jak masz na imię? / jestem z Anglii / nie jestem stąd — Identity: give and ask a name, say where you're from and that you're not local. · mahm nah EE-myeh / yak mash nah EE-myeh / YES-tem z AHN-glee / nyeh YES-tem stohnt

Look how much you can already handle. You can navigate the street. Cześć. Cześć. Hello. Dzień dobry. Dzień dobry. Good morning. Siema, co tam? Siema, co tam? Hi, what's up? Mam na imię. Mam na imię. My name is. Nie jestem stąd. Nie jestem stąd. I am not from here. You have a voice here now.

Tom reaches Pan Zbyszek's vegetable stall. The gruff vendor with the flat cap is busy sorting apples. Little Zosia is there too, playing with her coloured blocks.

Dzień dobry, panie Zbyszku. Ile to kosztuje?

To? Pięć złotych. Ale dla ciebie, cztery.

The legendary local discount! You can ask a price anywhere now. Ile to kosztuje? And you know the numbers to handle the answer, all the way from jeden to sto. You even use mam... lat for your age. Try the price question: ile to kosztuje?

jeden… sto; ile to kosztuje? — pięć złotych; mam … lat — Numbers & money: count, ask a price, give an age (and a phone number). · YEH-den ... stoh; EE-leh toh kosh-TOO-yeh — pyench ZWOH-tih; mahm ... laht

Tom! Co to jest?

To jest książka? Nie... jest czerwona.

Being able to point at the world and name it is a superpower. Co to jest? What is this? To jest książka. To moja mama. Tu jest, tu nie ma... You can describe your whole immediate universe. Say the question: co to jest?

co to jest? — to jest książka / jest czerwona; to moja mama; tu jest… / tu nie ma… — Things, colours, family: name and describe, say what there is and isn't. · TSO toh yest — toh yest K-SHOHN-shkah / yest cher-VOH-nah; toh MOY-ah MAH-mah; too yest / too nyeh mah

Tom buys the cherries and keeps walking. A tourist stops him and asks: gdzie jest kawiarnia?

Tu, na rogu.

He knows exactly where it is. He walks into Pani Basia's café. The bell chimes. She looks up, her face breaking into a bright smile.

O, dzień dobry! To co zwykle, kochanie?

Tak. Poproszę kawę. Bardzo lubię kawę.

Look closely! Without a word, Pani Basia just set aside a blue mug. It's his mug now. He's a regular. He knows how to ask for things: poproszę kawę. And he knows how to express a preference: lubię kawę. Try the magic polite request: poproszę kawę.

poproszę kawę; lubię kawę; gdzie jest kawiarnia? — tu; to co zwykle, kochanie — Coffee, wants, place: order, say what you like, ask where something is. · poh-PROH-sheh KAH-veh; LOO-byeh KAH-veh; G-JEH yest kah-VYAR-nyah — too; toh tso ZVIH-kleh, koh-HAH-nyeh

Notice what Tom has been hoarding? He uses frozen, ready-made verbs. Jestem. Mam. Poproszę. But very soon, these words are going to open up. Jestem will become the full verb być, and he'll talk about other people. And that little 'ę' at the end of kawę? That is the secret key to the whole case system. He's holding the keys to the engine, he just doesn't know it yet.

Tom takes his coffee outside. Across the courtyard, sitting on a bench with her planner open, is Magda. She looks up, catches his eye, and holds his gaze for a second before offering a small, unmistakable smile.

Tom drinks his coffee. He thinks about the packed suitcase in his room. He isn't going anywhere.

Let's lock in everything you've built. Ile to kosztuje? Ile to kosztuje? How much is it? Mam pięć lat. Mam pięć lat. I am five years old. Co to jest? Co to jest? What is this? Poproszę kawę. Poproszę kawę. A coffee, please. Gdzie jest kawiarnia? Gdzie jest kawiarnia? Where is the cafe? You've built a world.

Tom is staying in Kazimierz, and so are we. Next time, Level 1 begins, and the Polish language is going to break wide open. Join us every Tuesday and Friday. Do widzenia!