[USflag] [USflag]
Home Spoken Languages Privacy Terms
           Home   > Languages   > Polish Language

How to Learn Polish

Polish is spoken by more than 41 million people in Poland, by 2–3 million in North America and about 1.5 million in the former Soviet Union.
Polish is uniform throughout Poland, with only slight regional differences.
Polish is a significant second language in Lithuania.
Polish is structurally similar to other Slavic languages, but is the only one that has nasalized vowels.
Polish is written in a way that is mostly phonetic, but there are often several ways to write one sound.
Stress is on the next-to-last syllable.

Polish has no article, definite or indefinite. Nouns are declined in 6 cases in Polish.
It is difficult to pick up the pronunciation of Polish from a book. It is essential to use audio courses or a real live instructor.
We have selected the Polish books and audio courses that we feel are the best.
Polish book

Books for learning Polish (on this page)
Polish On-Line Dictionaries (on this page)
Polish Translating (on this page)
Polish Radio and TV (on this page)
Polish Newspapers and Magazines (on this page)
Polish Websites, Portals and Interesting Links (on this page)
Polish Search Engines (on this page)
Websites for learning Polish (on this page)
This page was last updated April 17 2008.


Polish Books

Top of Page

[Polish language learning book grammar]
Say it the Polish Way - Powiedz to po polsku + CD Coursebook for beginners)

By Katarzyna Drwal-Straszakowa

An excellent, low cost way to improve your listening comprehension of Polish. The voices on the CD speak at a normal rate of speed, and are very clear. The dialogues on the CD are in Polish only. The book has the complete dialogues in English and Polish.
Inspect/Order Say it the Polish Way + CD from Amazon.com

[Pimsleur language learning book audio]
Czesc, jak sie masz? Spotykamy sie w Polsce

By Wladyslaw Miodunka

Level 1. A communicative coursebook of Polish for beginners. Learn Polish and Polish culture. 13 lessons with CD.
Inspect/Order Czesc, jak sie masz? Spotykamy sie w Polsce from Amazon.com

[Pimsleur language learning book audio]
Czesc, jak sie masz? Spotkajmy sie Europie

By Wladyslaw Miodunka

Level 2. Builds on level 1. Many practical aspects of communicating in Polish. 14 lessons with CD.
Inspect/Order Czesc, jak sie masz? Spotkajmy sie Europie from Amazon.com

One Reader's Favorite Books for Learning Polish

[Polish language learning book grammar]
Beginning Polish: Revised edition, Volume 1

By Alexander M. Schenker

From the Yale Language Series. There are very few good methods for learning Polish. The reader reviews on this one indicate that it is the best organized of several books for learning Polish. But you won't get pronunciation from this one. For that, please get the Pimsleur audio courses.
Inspect/Order Beginning Polish: Revised edition, Volume 1 from Amazon.com

[Pimsleur language learning book audio]
Polish Quick & Simple Audio CD

By Pimsleur

This is a short introductory audio course for learning Polish, not the unabridged as the Amazon description says. It contains 8 lessons from the Comprehensive. (next).
Completely in audio. No printed matter. Excellent for listening comprehension, and for practicing pronunciation. What is needed for the learner is something that gives you the printed word and a sample of how it sounds! For that, we suggest a live teacher.
Inspect/Order Polish Quick & Simple Audio CD from Amazon.com

[Pimsleur language learning book audio]
Polish Comprehensive UNABRIDGED Audio CD

By Pimsleur

If you complete this course you will have confidence in your ability to speak Polish. Your pronunciation will be what is required for conversing with native speakers. You will need to expand your vocabulary and learn the written Polish language. This is the full course with 30 lessons of essential Polish grammar and vocabulary. All audio.
Inspect/Order Polish Comprehensive UNABRIDGED Audio CD from Amazon.com

[Bilingual picture dictionary in Polish and English] The Oxford Picture Dictionary English/Polish

By Norma Shapiro


Bilingual picture dictionary in Polish and English. Learn what things are called in both languages. Fun to use and to learn from.
Inspect/Order The Oxford Picture Dictionary English/Polish

[301 Polish Verbs conjugations]
301 Polish Verbs

By Klara Janecki

Complete conjugations of Polish verbs. All you could ever want. An excellent reference.
Inspect/Order 301 Polish Verbs

[Polish language learning book Czesc, jak sie masz? Spotykamy sie w Polsce (First Communicative Coursebook of Polish)]
Czesc, jak sie masz? Spotykamy sie w Polsce (First Communicative Coursebook of Polish)

By Wladyslaw Miodunka

A coursebook for learning Polish. Can be used for independent study or in a classroom.
Inspect/Order Czesc, jak sie masz? Spotykamy sie w Polsce (First Communicative Coursebook of Polish) from Amazon.com

[Polish language learning book grammar]
First Year Polish

By Oscar E. Swan

A simple, easy to use book for learning Polish. While it uses a traditional method of presenting Polish, it is extremely useful for learning Polish with or without a teacher.
Inspect/Order First Year Polish from Amazon.com

[Polish language learning book audio]
Speaking Polish in Poland. Audio CD

By Oscar E. Swan


Inspect/Order Speaking Polish in Poland. Audio CD from Amazon.com

[Polish language learning book ]
Grammar of Contemporary Polish

By Oscar E. Swan

Oscar Swan has written several other books on Polish. This book is an excellent grammar of Polish. This book explains Polish sounds and verbal aspect in Polish.
Inspect/Order Grammar of Contemporary Polish from Amazon.com

[Polish language learning book grammar]
Mastering Polish

By Albert Juszczak

A good grammar and interesting conversations on 2 audio CD's.
Inspect/Order Mastering Polish from Amazon.com

[Polish language learning book audio]
Hippocrene Beginner's Polish

By Ewa Wanasz-Bialasiewicz

Basic language instruction: grammar, vocabulary, and common phrases in clear, concise lessons. The basics of Polish grammar and vocabulary. If you like it, you can move on to the next, shown at the right. With 2 audio CDs
Inspect/Order Hippocrene Beginner's Polish from Amazon.com

[Polish language learning book audio]
Learn Polish the Fun and Easy Way: A Practical Workbook for Beginners

By Alicja Pawlak and Monika Pawlak

If you are serious about learning Polish, this course is essential. You interactively complete the exercises, practicing and assimilating your Polish. With 2 audio CD's.
Inspect/Order Learn Polish the Fun and Easy Way: A Practical Workbook for Beginners from Amazon.com

[Polish language learning book grammar]
Spoken Polish (Beginning Polish)

By A.M. Schenker

From the Yale Linguistics Series. Most readers' reviews are good.
Inspect/Order Spoken Polish from Amazon.com

[Polish language learning book audio]
Polish: Learn to Speak and Understand Polish

By Pimsleur

This is the first 8 lessons from the Pimsleur Comprehensive Level I. It gives you 4 hours of audio-only instruction. It's a good start.
Inspect/Order Polish: Learn to Speak and Understand Polish from Amazon.com

[Polish language learning book grammar]
Polish: An Essential Grammar

By Dana Bielec

A good grammar for reference. It organizes Polish grammar clearly. It gives you all the grammar that there is, and some that you never wanted to know. It shouldn't be your only book for learning Polish.
Inspect/Order Polish: An Essential Grammar from Amazon.com


Audio Phrase books help you build your vocabulary in Polish, and give you much needed practice in listening comprehension.
The following three come with an audio CD.
It's essential to have a CD, since trying to pronounce Polish without help will not work.

[Polish language learning book grammar]
Teach Yourself One Day Polish

By Elisabeth Smith

Hear and repeat 50 essential Polish words and some phrases. There are 75 minutes of recorded audio. This will get you started with Polish.
Inspect/Order Teach Yourself One Day Polish from Amazon.com

[Polish language learning book audio cd]
Berlitz Polish Phrase Book

By Berlitz

Hear and repeat essential Polish phrases that you will need when travelling. Everything that is on the CD is also printed in the book. This is essential for practicing your pronunciation, and listening comprenenstion.
Inspect/Order Berlitz Polish Phrase Book from Amazon.com

[Polish language learning book ]
Berlitz Travel Pack Polish

By Berlitz

CD and phrase book. The book has more words and phrases than the CD. Note: the reader reviews are NOT for this book. They refer to other books.
Inspect/Order Berlitz Travel Pack Polish from Amazon.com

Amazon Returns Policy   Credit Card Safety Guarantee at Amazon.com


Polish On-Line Dictionaries

Top of Page

Polish-English dictionary From Onet.pl

Polish-English dictionary From Lexitools

Polish-English Dictionary From Babylon.com

Online Dictionaries for Polish From Ectaco.com.

Polish dictionary and translator From Dict.pl Also lets you type Polish accented letters which you can copy and paste into a Word document.

Polish dictionary and translator From Poltran.com

Polish dictionary and translator From LingvoSoft

Polish dictionary and translator From Tranexp.com Produces some good results, and a few really strange results.

Polish dictionary From Polish-dictionary.com A list of many common words, alphabetized by the English.

Polish Dictionary, Verb Conjugator By Logos.it Definitions, translations, antonyms, words in context. A lot of interesting things on the site. Stay around and browse.

Polish-English dictionary From Skwierzyna.net

Polish Dictionary BIG PDF file From University of Pittsburgh



Polish Translating

Top of Page

Polish translator



Polish Radio and TV

Top of Page
Internet broadcasts change their addresses frequently. These were accurate as of Mar 2008.

Polish Radio From Polish Radio

Polish Radio From Polskie Radio Listen to radio in Polish, live, podcasting

Polish TV From Itvp.pl Watch videos online.



Polish Newspapers and Magazines

Top of Page

Glos Polski Gazeta Polska Subscribe to Polish Voice Weekly

Tygodnik Polski / Polish Weekly (Australia) Website

Online Polish Newspaper Gazeta From Gazeta.pl

Tygodnik Polski Subscribe to The Polish Weekly

Dziennik Polish daily newspaper From Dziennik.pl

Nowy Dziennik Polish daily newspaper Website

Nowy Dziennik Subscribe to The Polish paper

Polish weekly newspaper Sunday.niedziela.pl Practice reading Polish with side by side English and Polish. Open the English version in one window, the Polish in another, and compare.



Polish Websites, Portals and Interesting Links

Top of Page

Poland portal from Poland.gov.pl

Poland portal from Poland.pl

Warsaw Webcams From Camera.xt.pl



Search Engines in Polish

Top of Page

Google in Polish From Google.pl



Websites for Learning Polish

Top of Page

On Line Encyclopedia in Polish From Wikipedia

Learn Polish online From Wikipedia Clear and useful, but not complete.

Learn Polish online By University of Illinois Has detailed description of Polish sounds under Sounds and Spellings

Polish Grammar. Big PDF file. By University of Pittsburgh

Polish Grammar. By University of Pittsburgh Usable site. Simple and clear.

A Concise Polish Grammar. PDF file. By Ron F. Feldstein Technical and written for linguists. Has a detailed explanation of Polish phonology.

Polish Grammar in a Nutshell. PDF file. By Oscar Swan 2003

Polish Grammar on line By Maria Zagórska Brooks Google search. The first result is this book.

Polish Reference Grammar on line By University of Pittsburgh Great resources for learning Polish. Also contains a PDF file (not the same as the previous link)

Polish Grammar on line By Polish-translators.com

Overview of the Polish language From University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Good Polish Pronunciation (part of previous site) With recorded sound.

Polish Pronunciation From Krykiet.com

Polish Pronunciation By Dick Oakes Short and usable description of Polish pronunciation

Polish Pronunciation By Rootsweb Learn Polish pronunciation with these recorded sounds. Ignore the "English" pronunciation of the Polish at the right.

Learn Polish online By Grzegorz Jagodzinski For reference. Very technical.

Learn Polish online. Polish audio files with written transcript. By Carla at the University of Minnesota Good for practicing your oral comprehension

Learn Polish online By University of Silesia Useful words and phrases for learning Polish.

Polish Numbers By Yoursecondlanguage.com

Polish Days of the Week, and Months By Yoursecondlanguage.com

Polish Colors By Yoursecondlanguage.com

Polish vocabulary By Langsites.com List of Polish business, finance and economic words.

Polish vocabulary By Langsites.com Another list of Polish business, finance and economic words.

Polish vocabulary By Langsites.com List of medical words.

Polish vocabulary By Langsites.com Another list of medical words.

Polish vocabulary By Langsites.com List of musical words.

Polish vocabulary By Langsites.com List of computer words.

Polish vocabulary By Langsites.com List of aeronautical words.

Type accented Polish letters by Tomasz P. Szynalski Type Polish letters with their accents. You can copy and paste into a Word document!.

HTML Character Codes for Polish From Penn State University

Interesting site! Type in some Polish text, it will read it out loud From Expressivo.com


[Line]

Home Spoken Languages
Site Map and Site Search Privacy Terms Contact the SiteTop of Page |

Polish language Books course learning Polish