On the other hand, when speaking to a friend, relative, or close acquaintance, the proper way to address them is in the second person. However, unlike in English, the person is already indicated in the verb, thus explicitly saying ty (you-sing.) or wy (you-pl.) is not common, unless you mean to place special emphasis on the person or persons being spoken to.

For example, in the verb widzisz the ending -sz indicates that you are speaking to one person in the second person (ie: you). Saying ty widzisz is quite rare in everyday Polish, because it is the equivalent of saying in English "you you see"--sort of repetitive, wouldn't you say?

Witaj is a slightly formal way of greeting someone (it literally means "greet"), while witam is extremely formal (it means "I greet [you]" and is reserved for greeting strangers and professionals--in which case you also add the third person, for example: witam Pana). Witajcie, is, like witaj, slightly formal, but it is only spoken to a group of people (never one person).

A fairly neutral way of greeting someone of either sex in Polish is to say miło mi poznać Pana/Panią/Pannę (to a man, woman, and young lady, respectively). The phrase means the equivalent of the English "I'm pleased to meet you." Note, however, that the forms I introduced earlier for Mr., Mrs., and Miss--Pan, Pani, and Panna--changed their form in the phrase above. This is another feature of Polish unfamiliar to speakers of English, and is called declension. The nouns change their endings according to their function in the sentence. In the greeting above, the nouns perform the function of direct objects, and are therefore in the accusative case.

When greeting a close friend or acquaintance in Polish, there are many words and phrases to choose from. The greeting cześć is reserved for only the closest friends, and literally means "honor." Another greeting, which can be used for someone whom you don't necessarily know personally, is co słychać?, which is the equivalent of the English "what's up?" The greeting jak się masz/macie? (used when speaking to one person and a group of people, respectively) is the equivalent of "how are you?", and is appropriate for close friends or people whom you have met before (but not for strangers).

To sum up, if you are not familiar with the ins and outs of the Polish language and Polish culture, you should not greet a stranger with whatever phrase seems most convenient from the guidebook. You could be committing a serious gaffe, and possibly losing yourself a potential friend or business contact. Remember, if ever in doubt about which level of formality to use, err on the side of safety and go with the third person. That way, the worst that can happen is that the other person will be amused to hear you referring to them as to a professional.

Martin Cheslak is a professional low-cost translator between Polish, English, and Latin, and is a native Polish and English speaker. Find more articles about the Polish language on the website of SlovoPol Group at http://www.slovopol.com.