Krakow travel guide to restaurants pubs bars apartments shops and hotels in Krakow Poland

Language

Fun with words


Online Translators and Dictionaries

What do those signs mean?

There are a whole range of Polish words which look pretty similar to their English equivalents, so signs such as POLICJA, RESTAURACJA HOTEL and TAXI are hardly going to tax most travellers, but here are a handful of others that may be useful:

Kawiarnia - Cafe
Herbaciarnia - Tea House
Ksiegarnia - Book Shop
Mieso - Butchery
Nabial - Dairy products
Sklep - Shop
Prasa - Newsagent
Dworzec - Station
Lotnisko - Airport

Click & Listen!

Yes

No

Hello

Goodbye

How are you?

Please

Thank you

How much does this cost?

Do you speak English?

Cheers!

I lost my passport - can you help me?

How much does beer cost?

Two beers please!

Do you have a sister?

Drop by tonight and I'll show you my stamp collection

There's no getting away from it - Polish is a tough language, any early attempts at which will have you sounding like you're whispering, gargling and choking simultaneously. Many Poles, particularly the younger ones, speak a little English, but that's no excuse not to learn at least a few of those tortuous tongue-twisters, so we've included. at the bottom of this page, a brief guide to get you started. For those who wish to get more involved, there are a host of excellent language schools and Polish courses for foreigners, many of them providing translation services, which may be necessary if you plan to stay any length of time in the city. Also, if you are looking for an English curriculum school for your children whilst working in Cracow, you can find out more details from the British International School in Cracow's website.

Below: a tough nut to crack - a mouthful of Polish consonants

The Polish language uses the Latin alphabet as in English, however you will find a few extra letters, (formed from Latin letters but with an additional slash or hook), bringing the total to 32. A few letters you won't find are: q, v, and x. The only exception to this rule are direct translations from other languages (e.g. "fax') and, of course, slang and marketing-language.

We've recently added our new audio pronunciation guide (right) to help with those tricky Polish pronunciations! If you've got some good ideas on how to make our language section better, let us know!

a few words...



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Getting to Krakow
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Auschwitz
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Krakow Tours
Wawel Castle


Wieliczka Salt Mines
Nightlife
Krakow Stags
Hostels


Learn Polish in Krakow
Polish Summer

Polish language tips

"Hi, i´m from the 17 June until 19 June 2009 in Crakow. I moved with 7 years to Germany, so I speak a little bit polish as well, looking for someone, who show´s me amazing places in Crocow. Looking to hear from you! "

babs
Germany
Jun.03.2009
rates this page
3/5

"my browser shows characters. Are there deaf / sign language groups in Krakow? "

s. wall
United States
May.03.2009
rates this page
4/5

"The site is really informative. Me and my boyfriend fly to crakow on Sunday for a few days and I can't wait to see the sites. It looks a beautiful place. My Polish needs ALOT of work though! "

Kate
United Kingdom
Mar.31.2009
rates this page
4/5

"bardzo dobry krakow zmienyl sie bardo PS prsepraszam za 'dobry'polski"

lemi
Macedonia
Mar.09.2009
rates this page
5/5

"It's "Polski" or "Polskie" depending on the context."

Ania
Poland
Mar.03.2009
rates this page
5/5

"how do you say Polish in polish?"

Jorge
United States
Feb.28.2009
rates this page
4/5

"Ha, I love speaking Polish! All my friends are always asking me to say words. It's very hard, but it's SOO worth it!! LOVE IT!!!! PS-- The sign up there it a mouthful to say! "

Kasia
United States
Feb.25.2009
rates this page
5/5

"Hi, just like to find out if jeans and sneakers are allowed in the opera krakowska? not those dirty torn sneakers though! :)"

Ellen
Singapore
Feb.20.2009
rates this page
3/5

"It's such a pleasure to read all the nice comments and to know there are some people who do appreciate the beauty of Poland! I'm Polish myself but leave in the UK at the moment. My bfriend is from here as well but unfortunatelly he's not that enthusiastic about the country and its people... "

Asia
United Kingdom
Feb.17.2009
rates this page
4/5

"wot a place to visit.. friendly, clean and very cheap..."

knoxy
United Kingdom
Feb.04.2009
rates this page
4/5

"just come back from poland its 1 fantastic place to see "

andy
United Kingdom
Jan.18.2009
rates this page
3/5

"Could anyone translate STODDI BABBA AND STODDI PON for me"

Lina
United States
Jan.13.2009
rates this page
3/5

"here is web dictionary link: http://www.dict.pl/ and here u can translate all sentenses: http://www.poltran.com/pl.php4"

kolop
United Kingdom
Jan.12.2009
rates this page
4/5

"anyone from krakow? please piramerd@msn.com"

Diary
Sweden
Jan.12.2009
rates this page
3/5

"is krakow nisce? Diary Sweden piramerd@msn.com"

Diary
United States
Jan.12.2009
rates this page
3/5

"i absolutely loveee poland!!! kocham swoj kraj!!!!!! krakow is absolutely beautiful !!!!i luv poznan as well. :)"

martyna
Australia
Jan.04.2009
rates this page
4/5

"Yo Nalepka!"

Cesky Tesin
Mozambique
Dec.30.2008
rates this page
3/5

"this is it really is tak"

karina
United States
Nov.19.2008
rates this page
2/5

"Sobota means Saturday. have fun in poland Mukesh Uniyal"

Mukesh Uniyal
India
Nov.14.2008
rates this page
4/5

"Poland in Polish = Polska"

a
Poland
Oct.22.2008
rates this page
3/5

"how do you spell poland in polish "


United States
Oct.21.2008
rates this page
3/5

"o znaczkach jest dobre :D"

hehe
Egypt
Oct.21.2008
rates this page
5/5

"You'll have a brilliant time. I certainly did the Poles are amongst the friendliest bunch of people I've ever come across and Cracow maybe the most beautiful place."

Davey Clare
United Kingdom
Sep.30.2008
rates this page
5/5

"I am off to Krakow around november for a short break.I have not been to an eastern country befor, so I am really looking forward to going.This Polish translation insite is brill,Infact lets be brutful, The hole site BRILL."

Paul
United Kingdom
Sep.23.2008
rates this page
5/5

"URODZILAM SIE W KATOWICACH TO JEST CUDOWNE MIASTO OD 30 LAT MIESZKAM W STANIE IL W MIESTECZKU ORLAND PARK HEY! PEPLE GO TO POLAND AND YOU WILL HAWE GOOD TIME! CRACOW IS NICE PLACE TO VISYT TO SHAP! EAT! DANCE! AND TO SEE MANY, MANY MORE! GO! AND SEE POLAND KATOWICE KRAKOW WARSZAWE LOVE IRENA! "

IRENA
United States
Aug.16.2008
rates this page
5/5

"good info here, last but one click and listen is best, i am planing to visit in September with a view to setting up a used / antique furniture business in poland importing goods from UK i would welcome any info or contacts.... graham "

graham york
United Kingdom
Aug.16.2008
rates this page
4/5

"I love the fact that you can hear the sound of the words too .. I will be working in a class in a primary school in September and one lil boy comes from poland and speaks very little english, so if anyone can help with links to where I can get some words used in schools like books, pencil, pen, desk, paper, ruler, listen, understand? etc would be very useful. thankies Wends xx"

Wends
United Kingdom
Jul.18.2008
rates this page
4/5

"hello! im pretending to go to krakow in setember for 2 days only....i hope that can i visit some interesting places there. i need suggestions for examples museums places to go in krakow ... thanks "

liliana
United Kingdom
Jul.06.2008
rates this page
4/5

"I will be in krakow monday and tuesday next week which is first time, is there any body who have a spare time to show me the most important things of the town besid have a couple drinks in nice pub. my e-mail is salzburg_fas@yahoo.de"

Alex
Austria
Jul.03.2008
rates this page
3/5

"Love the last "Click and Listen". Is that a pick up line or what? :)"

girlmissinghome
United States
Jun.30.2008
rates this page
3/5

""Does some one would like to work whilst practicing English or Spanish? If you have a driving license please contact me. Hola, si te interesa practicar tu español mientras trabajas llamame! "515450617 o e-mail: esperanz@mac.com""

Espe
Spain
Jun.20.2008
rates this page
3/5

"Se vi recate a Cracovia, andate a mangiare e bere in questo caratteristico risorante polacco.Prezzi abbordabili,cibi ottimi,sopratutto la carne,piatti spettacolari e personale affabile."

Lino
Italy
Jun.19.2008
rates this page
4/5

"This is the most informative website I have found to learn about Cracow. I would like to visit Cracow before going on to Ternopil, Ukraine. I want to see the main sites in Cracow, plus Auschwitz, the Black Madonna and perhaps Pope John Paul II's birthplace. I am wondering if I could take a train from Cracow to Lviv, or Ternopil, Ukraine? I plan to visit in August 2008. If anyone can help with advice on these subjects, please feel free to e-mail me at mzax@yahoo.com. Thank you!"

Mark Z
United States
Jun.06.2008
rates this page
4/5

"Intend to visit Krakow this year... Oh Lord, gotta study Polish! Thankee! :)"

Oleg Szemetow
Ukraine
May.11.2008
rates this page
4/5

"amit "

amit
India
Apr.08.2008
rates this page
4/5

"This site is very helpful. Im a 14 year old History Student and i am travelling to Poland next year to visit Auschwitz and the salt mines etc. Poland seems like such an interesting country, so much history. Anyone has any knowledge to share feel free to email. touch-of-glitter@hotmail.com Thanks."

Tiffany
United Kingdom
Apr.06.2008
rates this page
5/5

"This is an excellent site with amazing links and suggestions. Thankyou so much for this much needed help for a first time visitor to Poland. Na zdrowie!"

Val Kerry
United Kingdom
Mar.20.2008
rates this page
5/5

"I off to Krakow later this year any tips on best places to visit while there? Also I am REALLY interested to visit any disabled charities and organisations, particularly ones that cater for Deaf, and Blind people... can anyone help???? "

Caroline
United Kingdom
Mar.18.2008
rates this page
4/5

"Visiting Kracow in July and really looking forward to it. If any nice poles know a Katarzina (kasca) Bluckasz aged 27/28 from Katowice, who I was lucky enough to meet a long time ago could you please forward this e-mail address to her (tonzat@fsmail.net) and let her know that Tony Tyrer was trying to get in touch with her to see how she is doing! Many Thanks. "

Tony
United Kingdom
Mar.14.2008
rates this page
3/5

"To the guy who was disappointed that there was no mcdonalds - if you;re actully serious, and that is a real complaint, there is one at the top of florianski street, by the gate itself. If you arrive from the nigth train at 6am it's about the only thing open!"

Sophie
United Kingdom
Mar.11.2008
rates this page
4/5

"If you need a professional, efficient and creative linguistic coach to guide you through the harshness and mystification of the Polish language, you may contact me at: sylwia.gruszka@gmail.com. I speak English, French and Spanish, and I'am an experienced Polish teacher."

sylwinka
Poland
Feb.21.2008
rates this page
4/5

"We are deaf. Can you help me"

Pat
United Kingdom
Feb.19.2008
rates this page
2/5

"help!!! how much the things cost in Krakow... examples please!!! hotel, taxi, beer, dinner... thanks a lot"

Ana
Mexico
Feb.15.2008
rates this page
4/5

"My girl friend is Polish, We hope to visit Kracow later this year. I'm picking up the language quite well. It's interesting and fun to learn! This site is great! I'm going to develop a few lessons for other people in the future, will let you know when they are ready. They'll be audio based to download."

Kev
United Kingdom
Jan.28.2008
rates this page
3/5

"In terms of the toilet signs just think freudian. Triangle male. Circle female. Not so hard really is it? Whoops another freudian slip."

Ray
United Kingdom
Jan.23.2008
rates this page
4/5

"Poland is the best country which I've seen!!! Cool girls, cheap alcohol!!!"

Brian
United Kingdom
Jan.20.2008
rates this page
3/5

"Heya jst passin im 16 ahn im away 2 vist mi best friend Justyna in June who livez in Poland in Crakow (Katowice) n i have read a few commens on here of how good it iz coz i have never bn 2 Poland b4 and im really nervous so thnkz xxxx"

Kirsten x
United Kingdom
Jan.09.2008
rates this page
5/5

"The beautifulest girls in the world are from poland....never seen so many "

Pierre
France
Dec.25.2007
rates this page
5/5

"Merry Christmas is "Wesolych Swiat Bozego Narodzenia", but you can say just "Wesolych Swiat", that's more like a general "happy holidays"."

Ania
Poland
Dec.18.2007
rates this page
3/5

"How do you say Merry Christmas in Polish?"

Camille Shelhamer
United States
Dec.16.2007
rates this page
3/5