Polish Question Words

The core Polish question words are <span lang="pl">kto</span> (who), <span lang="pl">co</span> (what), <span lang="pl">gdzie</span> (where), <span lang="pl">kiedy</span> (when), <span lang="pl">dlaczego</span> (why), <span lang="pl">jak</span> (how) and <span lang="pl">ile</span> (how much). For a yes/no question, start the sentence with <span lang="pl">czy</span>.

The main Polish question words

Here are the question words you will use every day. Learn these first. Most questions start with one of them, and the rest of the sentence usually keeps normal word order. Polish has no helper verb like "do": "Where do you live?" is simply Gdzie mieszkasz?, "Where live-you?".

Kto, co, gdzie, kiedy, jak: examples

Kto (who) and co (what)

• Kto to jest?
  Who is that?
• Co to jest?
  What is this?
• Kto dzwonił?
  Who called?
• Co robisz?
  What are you doing?
• Co się stało?
  What happened?

Kto always takes a masculine singular verb, even when you expect a woman or a group: Kto przyszedł? "Who came?". Co takes a neuter verb: Co się stało?

Gdzie (where), skąd (where from), dokąd (where to)

Polish separates location, origin and direction. Gdzie asks where something is, skąd asks where it comes from, and dokąd asks where it is going. In casual speech many people use gdzie for direction too (Gdzie idziesz?), but dokąd is the correct form.

• Gdzie mieszkasz? W Warszawie.
  Where do you live? In Warsaw.
• Gdzie jest dworzec?
  Where is the station?
• Skąd jesteś? Jestem z Anglii.
  Where are you from? I'm from England.
• Dokąd jedziesz? Do Krakowa.
  Where are you going? To Kraków.

Kiedy (when)

Kiedy asks about a day or a moment. For a clock time, use o której (at what time). Related forms: od kiedy (since when), do kiedy (until when), jak długo (how long), jak często (how often).

• Kiedy masz urodziny?
  When is your birthday?
• Kiedy wracasz?
  When are you coming back?
• O której zaczyna się koncert?
  What time does the concert start?
• Jak długo tu mieszkasz?
  How long have you lived here?

Jak (how)

• Jak się masz?
  How are you?
• Jak masz na imię?
  What's your name? (literally: How do you have as a name?)
• Jak to się mówi po polsku?
  How do you say that in Polish?
• Jak dojść do centrum?
  How do I get to the centre on foot?

Note that "What's your name?" uses jak, not co. The same goes for Jak się nazywasz? (What's your surname / name?) and Jak to się nazywa? (What is this called?).

Why: dlaczego, czemu, po co

Dlaczego is the neutral "why" and asks about the cause. Czemu means the same but sounds more casual. Po co asks about purpose: "what for, to what end". The answers differ too: bo or ponieważ (because) for dlaczego, and żeby (in order to) for po co.

• Dlaczego się spóźniłeś? Bo był korek.
  Why were you late? Because there was a traffic jam.
• Czemu nic nie mówisz?
  Why aren't you saying anything?
• Po co ci ten samochód? Żeby jeździć do pracy.
  What do you need the car for? To drive to work.

Ile, który, jaki, czyj

Ile (how much, how many)

Ile is followed by the genitive: ile czasu (how much time), ile osób (how many people). When you count men or mixed groups of people, the form is ilu: Ilu was jest? "How many of you are there?".

• Ile to kosztuje?
  How much does it cost?
• Ile masz lat?
  How old are you? (literally: How many years do you have?)
• Ile kosztuje bilet do Gdańska?
  How much is a ticket to Gdańsk?

Który, jaki and czyj change like adjectives

These three agree with the noun in gender, number and case, just like adjectives. Który asks you to pick one from a set. Jaki asks what something is like, or what kind it is. Czyj asks about the owner.

• Który dom jest twój?
  Which house is yours?
• Która jest godzina?
  What time is it? (literally: Which hour is it?)
• Jaki to samochód?
  What kind of car is it?
• Jaka jest pogoda?
  What's the weather like?
• Czyj to telefon?
  Whose phone is this?
• Czyje to klucze?
  Whose keys are these?

Kto and co in all cases

Kto and co change their form depending on the role they play in the sentence, just like nouns. Polish has seven cases; these words have six forms each, because there is no vocative question. You will hear the forms below constantly, often after a preposition.

Translations: Who is missing? What are you looking for? Who did you give it to? Who do you see? What are you eating? Who are you talking to? How are you getting there (by what)? Who are you talking about? What are you thinking about?

Common combinations with prepositions: dla kogo (for whom), od kogo (from whom), do kogo (to whose place, to whom), z kim (with whom), na co and na kogo (for what, for whom, as in waiting), o czym (about what).

• Na kogo czekasz?
  Who are you waiting for?
• Dla kogo są te kwiaty?
  Who are these flowers for?
• O czym jest ten film?
  What is this film about?

Yes/no questions with czy

To turn a statement into a yes/no question, put czy (chih) at the front. Nothing else changes: no word swap, no helper verb. Masz czas. "You have time." becomes Czy masz czas? "Do you have time?". In speech, rising intonation alone is enough, and you will often hear Masz czas? without czy.

• Czy mówisz po angielsku?
  Do you speak English?
• Czy mogę zapłacić kartą?
  Can I pay by card?
• Czy pan jest z Polski?
  Are you from Poland? (polite, to a man)
• Czy to daleko?
  Is it far?

Answer with tak (yes) or nie (no), often followed by the verb: Tak, mówię. Nie, nie mówię. Polish uses a double negative, so "No, I don't" has nie twice. With a negative question like Nie jesteś głodny? (Aren't you hungry?), the safest answer repeats the verb: Jestem! (Yes, I am) or Nie, nie jestem. (No, I'm not).

Two more uses of czy: in a choice it means "or", as in Kawa czy herbata? (Coffee or tea?), and in reported questions it means "whether", as in Nie wiem, czy przyjdzie. (I don't know whether he'll come). You can also add prawda? or tak? at the end to check something: Jesteś z Londynu, prawda? (You're from London, right?).

Question words inside sentences

The same words introduce indirect questions after verbs like wiedzieć (to know), pytać (to ask) or powiedzieć (to tell). Polish always puts a comma before them.

• Nie wiem, gdzie on mieszka.
  I don't know where he lives.
• Powiedz mi, co się stało.
  Tell me what happened.
• Zapytaj, ile to kosztuje.
  Ask how much it costs.

Add -ś to a question word and you get "some-": ktoś (someone), coś (something), gdzieś (somewhere), kiedyś (some time, once), jakiś (some kind of). The negative versions are nikt (nobody), nic (nothing), nigdzie (nowhere) and nigdy (never), and they always come with nie: Nikt nie przyszedł. "Nobody came."