Lesson 13
Memorize New Vocabulary
Today we will learn how to ask about someone else's name. Both formal and informal ways are important.
English | Polish |
What is your name? | Jak masz na imię? |
My name is... | Ja mam na imię … |
A literal interpretation of the above phrase would be, “what do you have for a name?” or likewise, “I have for a name…”
To speak with formality we will use the following terms:
English | Polish |
Mr / Sir | Pan |
Ms / Madam | Pani |
Apply It To Sentence Structure
In Polish we can inquire of someone's name by using either the formal or informal form. The formal includes Pan/Pani while the informal form would not.
For example:
Jak masz na imię?
What is your name? (informal)
Jak pan ma na imię?
What sir, is your name? (formal)*
Jak pani ma na imię?
What madam, is your name? (formal)*
*Notice the order of the sentence changes when using a formal pan/pani
Notice that in this example the "masz" changes to "ma". This is due to a simple rule of conjugation just like the difference between saying in English "have" and "has". Conjugations such as this one will be covered in our next lesson. As for now, simply familiarize yourself with these terms.
Practice it!
Write out these new Polish phrases by inserting your own name, or the name of someone you know. Try to practice it in a dialogue.
For Example:
A: Cześć! Jak się masz?
B: Cześć, dobrze.
A: Jak masz na imię?
B: Mam na imię Kasia.
Also, take the opportunity to ask a Polish speaker what their name is. Practice asking this question using both formal and informal forms.
Lesson 12 Lesson 14