How Are You in Polish: 9 Ways to Ask (With Audio)

Q: How do you say “how are you” in Polish?

The literal translation is jak się masz? (yahk sheh MAHSH), used with friends and family. Politely, it’s jak się pan miewa? to a man or jak się pani miewa? to a woman. In everyday life, though, Poles more often say co słychać? — “what’s new?”

Q: Is “yakshemash” real Polish?

It’s a mangled spelling of jak się masz, made famous by the film Borat — whose character isn’t actually speaking Polish. The phrase itself is genuine and perfectly polite; the spelling isn’t. Write it jak się masz.

Q: How do I ask an older Polish person how they are?

Use the pan/pani form: jak się pani miewa? for a woman, jak się pan miewa? for a man. With your own grandmother, Polish uses her title instead of “you” — jak się Babcia czuje?, “how is Grandma feeling?”, said directly to her. It’s respectful and affectionate at once.

Polish › Phrases › How are you

Updated August 2026 · Everyday Polish · 5-minute read · 🔊 every phrase has native audio · ✓ Reviewed by Laura, native Polish speaker

The quick answer: how are you in Polish is jak się masz? (yahk sheh MAHSH) with someone you know well, or jak się pan / pani miewa? (yahk sheh pahn / PAH-nee MYEH-vah) when you’re being polite. But there’s a catch worth knowing before you use either — in Poland, this question expects a real answer. 👇

Jak się masz?

yahk sheh MAHSH · how are you? (informal) — tap to hear it spoken

🐌 Play slow version

9 ways to ask “how are you” in Polish

Polish	Say it like	What it means
Jak się masz?	yahk sheh MAHSH	How are you? — the textbook one, and a genuine question
Co słychać?	tsoh SWIH-hahch	What’s new? — the one Poles actually say most
Co tam?	tsoh tahm	What’s up? — light, casual, friends only
Jak leci?	yahk LEH-chee	How’s it going? — literally “how’s it flying?”
Co nowego?	tsoh noh-VEH-goh	What’s new? — after weeks or years apart
Jak się pan miewa?	yahk sheh pahn MYEH-vah	How are you, sir? — polite, to one man
Jak się pani miewa?	yahk sheh PAH-nee MYEH-vah	How are you, ma’am? — polite, to one woman
Co u pani słychać?	tsoh oo PAH-nee SWIH-hahch	What’s new with you? — polite and warm
Jak się czujesz?	yahk sheh CHOO-yesh	How are you feeling? — for someone who’s been unwell

💡 Pronunciation tip: the little word się shows up in half of these, so get it once and you’ve got them all. It looks alarming and it is not: say sheh. That’s it. The ę at the end has a faint nasal tail in careful speech, but in everyday Polish it softens to a plain “eh” — so “yahk sheh MAHSH” is exactly right.

The part nobody tells you: Poles mean it

In English, “How are you?” isn’t a question. It’s a handshake made of words. We say it to the cashier, we say “fine, thanks,” and nobody involved expects information to change hands.

Polish doesn’t work that way. If you ask a Pole how they are, they will tell you. Properly. You may get the knee, the neighbor, the weather, the state of the country and a full report on a cousin’s divorce — and it is not oversharing. It’s the answer to the question you asked.

🇵🇱 So don’t use it as a greeting. This is the single most useful thing on this page. Walking into a Polish shop with “Dzień dobry, jak się masz?” is like asking your mail carrier how their marriage is going. Greet people with dzień dobry or cześć. Save jak się masz for someone you’d sit down with.

Once you know this, the whole language relaxes. Poles aren’t gloomy or blunt — they simply reserve the question for people they actually want an answer from. It’s a smaller circle, and being inside it means something. (If this is the kind of thing you enjoy, our friendly guide to the Polish language is full of it.)

Asking politely: pan, pani, and Babcia

Polish has no single polite “you.” Instead you talk about the person while talking to them, using pan (a man) or pani (a woman) — closer to “sir” and “ma’am” than to anything in modern English.

So the polite version of “how are you” is literally “how is sir doing”:

Who you’re speaking to	Polish	Say it like
One man	Jak się pan miewa?	yahk sheh pahn MYEH-vah
One woman	Jak się pani miewa?	yahk sheh PAH-nee MYEH-vah
A group (mixed or formal)	Jak się państwo miewają?	yahk sheh PAHN-stfoh myeh-VAH-yawn
Your grandmother	Jak się Babcia czuje?	yahk sheh BAHB-chah CHOO-yeh

❤️ The one to keep: that last row is the warmest sentence on this page. With family you love and respect, Polish swaps pani for the person’s title — so you ask Babcia, not “you.” Jak się Babcia czuje? — “How is Grandma feeling?”, said straight to her face. It is polite and tender at the same time, and there is no way to say it in English without sounding odd. If you have one Polish sentence to bring to a nursing home or a phone call to Kraków, make it this one.

How to answer — including “not great”

Poles hand the question back, so learn a reply and the little a ty? that follows it.

Polish	Say it like	What it means
Dobrze	DOB-zheh	Good — the safe default
Świetnie	SHFYET-nyeh	Great — save it for when it’s true
Wszystko w porządku	FSHIST-koh f poh-ZHOND-koo	Everything’s fine — polite, gently closes the subject
Tak sobie	tahk SOH-byeh	So-so — completely allowed
Po staremu	poh stah-REH-moo	Same as always — the classic older-generation reply
Nie narzekam	nyeh nah-ZHEH-kahm	I can’t complain — very Polish, slightly wry
A ty?	ah tih	And you? — informal, always hand it back
A u pana / pani?	ah oo PAH-nah / PAH-nee	And you? — the polite version

Tak sobie deserves a moment. English pushes us toward “great, thanks!” whether it’s true or not. Polish leaves the door open for an honest, unbothered so-so — and nobody flinches or asks a follow-up you didn’t want. If today is a tak-sobie day, tak sobie is the right answer.

☎️ The Sunday phone call: a great many Polish-American families kept exactly two lines of the language, and this was one of them. Co słychać? from the older voice — and po staremu coming back down the line, which never meant “nothing’s happening.” It meant “I’m still here, we’re still fine, keep talking.”

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Which one should you actually use?

Two phrases carry almost everything. Learn these and stop:

Co słychać? — your everyday workhorse. Friendly, low-pressure, and the one you’ll genuinely hear most in Poland. Literally “what’s audible?”, which is a lovely way to ask what’s new.
Jak się pani miewa? — for anyone older, or anyone you’ve just met. Swap in pan for a man. Older Poles hear the respect in it immediately.

Jak się masz? is not wrong — every textbook teaches it because it’s the clean, literal translation. Just know that it lands as a real question, not a hello. And if you’ve met siema (SHYEH-mah) out in the wild: yes, it grew out of “jak się masz,” but it has drifted all the way to plain “hey” and carries no question at all. More of that kind of thing lives on our Polish slang page.

Practice: quick check

1. You walk into a Polish bakery. Do you ask “jak się masz?”

No. Greet the room with dzień dobry and stop there. Asking a stranger how they are is a real question in Polish — you’d be starting a conversation neither of you planned.

2. Your friend’s 80-year-old mother opens the door. What do you say?

Jak się pani miewa? — polite, warm, and exactly the register she’ll expect. If she’s your own grandmother, make it Jak się Babcia czuje? instead.

3. Someone asks you “co słychać?” and honestly, it’s been a rough week.

Tak sobie. Or po staremu . Polish has room for a truthful answer, and neither one obliges you to explain.

4. You’ve answered. What’s the one word you must not forget?

A ty? — “and you?” Polish conversation is a ball you pass back. Politely, it’s a u pana? or a u pani?

Jak się masz? — every phrase with its pronunciation, from My Everyday Language — Save or share this card — every word on it has a play button above.

Frequently asked questions

How do you say “how are you” in Polish?

The literal translation is jak się masz? (yahk sheh MAHSH), used with friends and family. Politely, it’s jak się pan miewa? to a man or jak się pani miewa? to a woman. In everyday life, though, Poles more often say co słychać? — “what’s new?”

How do you pronounce “jak się masz”?

Yahk sheh MAHSH — three short beats with the stress on the last one. The tricky-looking “się” is simply “sheh,” and “masz” rhymes with the English word “gosh.” Play the slow version above and repeat it twice out loud.

Is “yakshemash” real Polish?

It’s a mangled spelling of jak się masz, made famous by the film Borat — whose character isn’t actually speaking Polish. The phrase itself is genuine and perfectly polite; the spelling isn’t. Write it jak się masz.

Do Poles really answer honestly?

Yes. “How are you?” in Polish is a genuine question, not a greeting ritual, so expect a real answer — sometimes a long one. That’s also why you don’t ask it of strangers or shop assistants. Ask it of people you want to hear from.

How do I ask an older Polish person how they are?

Use the pan/pani form: jak się pani miewa? for a woman, jak się pan miewa? for a man. With your own grandmother, Polish uses her title instead of “you” — jak się Babcia czuje?, “how is Grandma feeling?”, said directly to her. It’s respectful and affectionate at once.

What does “co słychać” literally mean?

Literally “what is audible?” — the Polish way of asking what’s being heard, meaning what’s new. It’s lighter than jak się masz, works with friends and neighbors, and is probably the phrase you’ll hear most often in Poland.

How do I reply to “jak się masz?”

Dobrze (good), świetnie (great), wszystko w porządku (everything’s fine), tak sobie (so-so), po staremu (same as always) or nie narzekam (I can’t complain). Then hand it back with a ty? — or a u pana / pani? if you’re being polite.

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