Going shopping in poland ,what to say?

I'm going to Poland soon and i have been learning my self some polish through reading papers and dictionaries. And some through "before you know it".

And with some help from you guys here at the Polishforum :)

What i'm wondering is ,if i'm going to one of those shops that is open at night(the ones you talk through a small window). The people who is in this shop often dont speak english.

As an example if i'm ordering a bottle of Coka cola ,is this sentence correct?

Czy moge dostac jeden duzy Coca Cola? (Will this get me a large bottle og Coca Cola?)

Or should i say:

Chcialabym jeden duzy Coca Cola.

I haven't seen shops where you order sth through a small window ;-) Are they exist in Poland? At nights usually are opened some of big hipermarkets (like tesco) or gas stations (where usually are also shops).



just ask:

Poproszę dużą Coca Cole (kokakole :-).

Are you talking about where you buy tickets for buses and trams?

Yes ,that and some of the liquerstores have this window ,i have been to some of them around Warsaw.
But i have had someone with me to order for me, this time i would like to order for myself and not just stand there like a jackass while others do the shopping for me ;)

Mysle ze on mowi o kiosku.

Yes ,maybe It's called a kiosk ,my bad!

Everyone speaks English or you can point, thats works too :)

Just ask for some beefburgery z grilla and some drinki

:D :D :D

No ,thats the problem ,many i have spoken to dont speak english ,or they refuse and just shake they're heads ,dont know which one it is.

And i cant squise through the window and point at everything ,they probably will freak out!

But how about this if i'm buying different things:

Poproszę dużą Coca Cole! (waits for clerk to get the stuff) I jeden dużą niegazuwany woda (again waiting for the clerk) I Szesc butelka piwo Tyskie(or any other brand but i like Tyskie). Then i ask "Ile?"

Would this work? Or would i sound like a moron and get the window slammed in my face :P (i know that wont happen ,poles are polite)

Poproszę dużą Coca Cole. Jedną dużą, niegazowaną wodę i piwo Tyskie, sześć butelek. Ile płacę?

but it might be hard to buy sth without an interaction with a clerk... I mean you can be asked a few things like size of the water bottle (that's why it's better to ask - poproszę półtoralitrową wodę/coca cole/whatever - it means that you are asking for 1,5l bottle of [...] - but I'm not sure.... Coca Cola probably is sold in 2l bottles - so instead 'półtora litrową' you will say dwulitrową'). You can be also asked about mineral water - which one do you want - the most popular in Poland are probably Nałęczowianka and maybe Cisowianka. Another set of questions... what do you want if there was no what you asked.... it's good to know a word 'obojętnie' + 'jakikolwiek/jakąkolwiek' ;-) Examples:

a) Poproszę wodę niegazowaną półtoralitrową
b) jaką?
a) obojętnie, jakąkolwiek

or

a) poprosze piwo tyskie
b) nie ma
a) no to niech będzie jakiekolwiek w butelce, 6 sztuk poproszę

and so on... :)

Thanks a lot ,this is really helping me. :)

There is so many things in this polishcoarse i bought ,but not one single thing about how to buy something ,it's all about saying which color things has and stuff like that.

you're welcome :-)


You should take a look at some publications or programs named 'Rozmówki Polsko-Angielskie' (or Angielsko-Polskie) - it's for Polish people who just want to know basic English for typical situations like buying sth in a shop, renting a room in a hotel and so on .... usually there are only English dialogues + Polish translations and some addional words.

Thanks for the tip ,i'll check it out.