The Polish Language

Polish is the main language of Poland, a country in Europe. About 45 million people speak it. Polish uses the Roman alphabet with some extra letters. It is famous for words with many consonants crammed together. Polish is a Slavic language, like Russian and Czech.

Tricky Sounds

Polish has some sounds that are hard for English speakers. Words can have four or five consonants in a row with no vowels in between. For example, the word for 'fly' is 'mucha,' but there are much harder words too. Polish has special letters with lines or dots on them. These letters make unique sounds.

Polish Around the World

Polish people have moved to many countries over the years. Today, you can hear Polish in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. Chicago has one of the biggest groups of Polish speakers outside Poland. Kids in these families often learn both Polish and English at home.

Fun Facts

• Polish has nine special letters not found in English.
• The longest Polish word has 54 letters.
• The word 'pierogi' comes from Polish and means little dumplings.

Did You Know?

The famous scientist Marie Curie was born in Poland and spoke Polish as her first language. She won two Nobel Prizes.