When to use pan/pani instead of ty - and the third-person rule that trips everyone up
Grammar A2
Two ways to say 'you'
Polish makes you choose a register before you open your mouth.
ty - friends, family, children, people your own age you already know.
pan (to a man) / pani (to a woman) - strangers, shops, offices, doctors, older people. This is the safe default with any adult you don't know.
Getting this wrong isn't a grammar slip, it's a social one. When unsure, use pan/pani and let the other person offer ty.
Przepraszam, czy pan wie, gdzie jest apteka?
Excuse me, do you know where the pharmacy is? (to a man)
Cześć, wiesz, gdzie jest apteka?
Hi, do you know where the pharmacy is? (to a friend)
The golden rule: pan and pani take 'he/she' forms
This is the one thing to get right. Think of it as talking about someone who happens to be standing in front of you.
Group
Ending
Example
ty
wiesz
Wiesz, gdzie to jest?
pan / pani
wie
Czy pan wie, gdzie to jest?
ty
masz
Masz chwilę?
pan / pani
ma
Czy pani ma chwilę?
ty
chcesz
Chcesz kawę?
pan / pani
chce
Czy pani chce kawę?
So it's Czy pan wie? - never czy pan wiesz. Starting with czy also makes a formal question sound softer.
pan and pani in the cases
pan declines like a normal noun. pani barely moves - one form does nearly all the work.
Group
Ending
Example
Mianownik
pan / pani
Czy pan wie?
Dopełniacz
pana / pani
Nie ma pana w biurze.
Celownik
panu / pani
Dziękuję panu.
Biernik
pana / panią
Przepraszam panią.
Narzędnik
panem / panią
Rozmawiam z panią.
Miejscownik
panu / pani
Mówiliśmy o panu.
Good news: pani only really changes to panią (biernik and narzędnik). Everywhere else it stays pani.
Talking to more than one person
Three plural forms, depending on who is in the group.
Group
Ending
Example
panowie
a group of men
Czy panowie są gotowi?
panie
a group of women
Czy panie mają bilety?
państwo
a mixed group / a couple
Czy państwo chcą stolik?
The verb goes to third person plural: państwo chcą, panowie są. In shops and restaurants you'll also hear the second-person plural - Płacicie państwo razem czy osobno? Strictly it should be Czy państwo płacą..., but the 'płacicie' version is everywhere in service Polish.
Softening, and switching to ty
Two everyday moves that make formal Polish feel natural rather than stiff.
Proszę + infinitive is the polite command: Proszę usiąść. You never need a bare imperative with a stranger.
To get someone's attention: proszę pana / proszę pani.
With a first name you get a middle register, common at work: pan Marek → panie Marku, pani Anna → pani Anno.
Moving to ty is offered, not taken: Czy możemy przejść na ty? - usually proposed by the older or more senior person. In startups and many offices, ty is the default from day one.