Polish has a reputation for being hard, but a small set of words covers an outsized share of what you'll actually hear: pronouns, prepositions, and the handful of verbs that show up in nearly every sentence. Start with these hundred and the rest gets a lot more approachable.
How to use this list
Do not work through this list top to bottom. Read down it and mark only the words you could not have produced yourself. Those are your list. The rest are already yours, and reviewing them is wasted effort better spent on words you actually meet in reading, conversation, or subtitles.
The 100 words
| # | Polish | English | In use |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | i | and | Kupiłem chleb i mleko.I bought bread and milk. |
| 2 | w | in | Mieszkam w Warszawie.I live in Warsaw. |
| 3 | nie | not / no | Nie rozumiem tego pytania.I don't understand this question. |
| 4 | się | oneself (reflexive particle) | On myje się rano.He washes himself in the morning. |
| 5 | na | on / for | Książka leży na stole.The book is lying on the table. |
| 6 | to | this / it | To jest mój dom.This is my house. |
| 7 | z | with / from | Idę na spacer z psem.I'm going for a walk with the dog. |
| 8 | że | that (conjunction) | Myślę, że masz rację.I think that you're right. |
| 9 | do | to | Jadę do szkoły autobusem.I'm going to school by bus. |
| 10 | jest | is | Ona jest lekarką.She is a doctor. |
| 11 | co | what | Co robisz dzisiaj wieczorem?What are you doing tonight? |
| 12 | jak | how / like | Jak się masz?How are you? |
| 13 | ale | but | Chcę przyjść, ale nie mam czasu.I want to come, but I don't have time. |
| 14 | o | about | Rozmawialiśmy o pogodzie.We talked about the weather. |
| 15 | tak | yes / so | Tak, zgadzam się z tobą.Yes, I agree with you. |
| 16 | ja | I | Ja mieszkam w Krakowie.I live in Kraków. |
| 17 | być | to be | Chcę być szczęśliwy.I want to be happy. |
| 18 | mieć | to have | Mam dwóch braci.I have two brothers. |
| 19 | ty | you (singular) | Czy ty mnie słyszysz?Can you hear me? |
| 20 | on | he | On pracuje w banku.He works at a bank. |
| 21 | ona | she | Ona uczy się polskiego.She is learning Polish. |
| 22 | my | we | My idziemy do kina.We are going to the cinema. |
| 23 | wy | you (plural) | Czy wy jesteście gotowi?Are you all ready? |
| 24 | oni | they (masc. persons) | Oni mieszkają za granicą.They live abroad. |
| 25 | one | they (fem. / non-masc.) | One są bardzo miłe.They (the women) are very nice. |
| 26 | dla | for | Kupiłem prezent dla mamy.I bought a gift for my mom. |
| 27 | od | from | Dostałem list od przyjaciela.I got a letter from a friend. |
| 28 | po | after / along | Idziemy na spacer po obiedzie.We're going for a walk after lunch. |
| 29 | za | behind / for | Chowa się za drzewem.He's hiding behind a tree. |
| 30 | przez | through / by | Przeszliśmy przez most.We walked across the bridge. |
| 31 | bez | without | Nie mogę żyć bez kawy.I can't live without coffee. |
| 32 | czy | whether / question particle | Czy mogę ci pomóc?Can I help you? |
| 33 | już | already | Już skończyłem pracę.I've already finished work. |
| 34 | tylko | only | Mam tylko jedną siostrę.I only have one sister. |
| 35 | bardzo | very | To jest bardzo ważne.This is very important. |
| 36 | gdzie | where | Gdzie jest najbliższy sklep?Where is the nearest store? |
| 37 | kiedy | when | Kiedy wracasz do domu?When are you coming home? |
| 38 | dlaczego | why | Dlaczego jesteś smutny?Why are you sad? |
| 39 | może | maybe / can (he/she) | On może przyjść jutro.He may come tomorrow. |
| 40 | mogę | I can | Czy mogę otworzyć okno?Can I open the window? |
| 41 | chcę | I want | Chcę kupić nowy samochód.I want to buy a new car. |
| 42 | muszę | I must | Muszę iść do pracy.I have to go to work. |
| 43 | wiem | I know | Nie wiem, co robić.I don't know what to do. |
| 44 | myślę | I think | Myślę o wakacjach.I'm thinking about the holidays. |
| 45 | widzę | I see | Widzę górę w oddali.I see a mountain in the distance. |
| 46 | robić | to do | Co lubisz robić w wolnym czasie?What do you like to do in your free time? |
| 47 | iść | to go (on foot) | Muszę iść na spotkanie.I have to go to a meeting. |
| 48 | mówić | to speak / to say | Ona umie mówić po francusku.She can speak French. |
| 49 | powiedzieć | to say / to tell | Chcę ci coś powiedzieć.I want to tell you something. |
| 50 | widzieć | to see | Miło cię widzieć.Nice to see you. |
| 51 | wiedzieć | to know (a fact) | Chciałbym wiedzieć prawdę.I would like to know the truth. |
| 52 | dobry | good | To był dobry film.That was a good movie. |
| 53 | zły | bad / angry | Jestem zły na siebie.I'm angry at myself. |
| 54 | duży | big | Mają duży ogród.They have a big garden. |
| 55 | mały | small | Kupili mały samochód.They bought a small car. |
| 56 | nowy | new | Potrzebuję nowy telefon.I need a new phone. |
| 57 | stary | old | To jest bardzo stary zamek.This is a very old castle. |
| 58 | pierwszy | first | To mój pierwszy dzień w pracy.This is my first day at work. |
| 59 | ostatni | last | To był ostatni pociąg.That was the last train. |
| 60 | dużo | a lot / much | Mam dużo pracy dzisiaj.I have a lot of work today. |
| 61 | trochę | a little / a bit | Zostań jeszcze trochę.Stay a little longer. |
| 62 | teraz | now | Teraz muszę wyjść.I have to leave now. |
| 63 | dzisiaj | today | Dzisiaj jest piękny dzień.Today is a beautiful day. |
| 64 | jutro | tomorrow | Jutro zaczynam nową pracę.Tomorrow I start a new job. |
| 65 | wczoraj | yesterday | Wczoraj padał deszcz.It rained yesterday. |
| 66 | zawsze | always | Zawsze piję kawę rano.I always drink coffee in the morning. |
| 67 | nigdy | never | Nigdy nie byłem w Japonii.I've never been to Japan. |
| 68 | czas | time | Nie mam czasu na spotkanie.I don't have time for a meeting. |
| 69 | dzień | day | Miałem ciężki dzień.I had a hard day. |
| 70 | rok | year | Za rok skończę studia.In a year I'll finish my studies. |
| 71 | człowiek | person / human | Ten człowiek jest bardzo mądry.This person is very wise. |
| 72 | dom | house / home | Wracam do domu o szóstej.I'm coming home at six. |
| 73 | praca | work / job | Moja praca jest ciekawa.My work is interesting. |
| 74 | woda | water | Poproszę szklankę wody.I'd like a glass of water, please. |
| 75 | ręka | hand | Trzymał jej rękę.He held her hand. |
| 76 | oko | eye | Miała łzy w oku.She had tears in her eye. |
| 77 | głowa | head | Boli mnie głowa.My head hurts. |
| 78 | kobieta | woman | Ta kobieta jest moją siostrą.That woman is my sister. |
| 79 | mężczyzna | man | Ten mężczyzna pracuje jako lekarz.This man works as a doctor. |
| 80 | dziecko | child | Dziecko śpi w swoim pokoju.The child is sleeping in their room. |
| 81 | świat | world | Chcę zobaczyć cały świat.I want to see the whole world. |
| 82 | życie | life | Kocham swoje życie.I love my life. |
| 83 | słowo | word | Nie znalazłem odpowiedniego słowa.I couldn't find the right word. |
| 84 | książka | book | Czytam bardzo ciekawą książkę.I'm reading a very interesting book. |
| 85 | jeden | one | Poproszę jeden bilet.One ticket, please. |
| 86 | dwa | two | Mam dwa psy.I have two dogs. |
| 87 | trzy | three | Zostały nam trzy dni.We have three days left. |
| 88 | pieniądze | money | Nie mam przy sobie pieniędzy.I don't have any money on me. |
| 89 | przyjaciel | friend | On jest moim najlepszym przyjacielem.He is my best friend. |
| 90 | rodzina | family | Spędzam święta z rodziną.I spend the holidays with my family. |
| 91 | miasto | city / town | Warszawa to duże miasto.Warsaw is a big city. |
| 92 | kraj | country | Polska to piękny kraj.Poland is a beautiful country. |
| 93 | droga | road / way | Ta droga prowadzi do lasu.This road leads to the forest. |
| 94 | sprawa | matter / issue | To ważna sprawa.This is an important matter. |
| 95 | problem | problem | Mamy mały problem.We have a small problem. |
| 96 | pytanie | question | Mam do ciebie pytanie.I have a question for you. |
| 97 | odpowiedź | answer | Nie znam odpowiedzi.I don't know the answer. |
| 98 | lubić | to like | Lubię czytać książki.I like reading books. |
| 99 | kochać | to love | Kocham moją rodzinę.I love my family. |
| 100 | rozumieć | to understand | Nie rozumiem, dlaczego on odszedł.I don't understand why he left. |
The ones English speakers get wrong
Seven grammatical cases
Polish nouns, pronouns, and adjectives change their endings depending on their role in the sentence, and there are seven of these cases in total. 'Dom' (house, nominative) becomes 'domu' after 'nie ma' (there's no house), and 'w domu' (in the house) uses yet another ending. It looks intimidating on paper, but you absorb most of it by hearing the patterns repeated.
Verb aspect: mówić vs. powiedzieć
Where English uses one verb, Polish often uses two: an imperfective form for ongoing or repeated actions and a perfective form for a single completed action. 'Mówić' describes the general act of speaking, while 'powiedzieć' describes saying one specific thing and finishing it. Most Polish verbs come in this kind of pair.
oni vs. one
Polish splits 'they' into two words depending on who's included. 'Oni' is used for any group that includes at least one man, while 'one' is used for groups of women, children, animals, or things only. It's a distinction English simply doesn't make.
False friend: aktualny
'Aktualny' looks like 'actual' but really means 'current' or 'up to date,' as in 'aktualne wiadomości' (current news). Similarly, 'ewentualnie' looks like 'eventually' but means 'possibly' or 'alternatively,' not 'in the end.'
Pan / Pani for formal address
Instead of a single formal 'you' like French 'vous,' Polish uses the third person with a title: 'Pan' for a man, 'Pani' for a woman. So 'Czy Pan mówi po angielsku?' literally asks 'Does the Sir speak English?' and is the polite way to ask a stranger the same question.
What to do next
A list this size is about two weeks of light daily review, and it is the difference between decoding Polish and following it.