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How to politely refuse something in Polish Posted by on Apr 26, 2017 in Grammar, Phrases

We all know that English is very widely spoken in Poland, especially by younger generations. But, a few basic phrases in Polish will always come in handy, and will always be met with approval by your listeners. Polish people tend to be rather in awe of anyone who attempts to speak their language, and even the most horrifically mispronounced greeting will be enthusiastically applauded!

So how to be polite and still say “no” in some situations? Today I put a list of some useful “refusal phrases” together. Enjoy!

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Nie, dziękuję – No, thank you

Nie tym razem, może w innym terminie – Not this time, maybe on a different ocassion

Muszę dzisiaj odmówić – Today I have to refuse

Dzisiaj jestem zajęta/zajęty – Today I’m busy

Bardzo bym chciała/chciał, ale mam już na dzisiaj inne plany – I would love to, but I already have different plans for today

Niestety nie mogę Ci w tym pomóc – Unfortunately I can’t help you with that

Wolałabym/wolałbym tego nie zrobić – I would rather not do it

Myślę że inny termin będzie lepszy – I think that another date will be better

Nie mogę – I can’t

Nie chcę się do tego wtrącać – I do not want to interfere with it

Bardzo dziękuję, ale muszę odmówić – Thank you very much, but I have to refuse

Niestety nie jestem tym pomysłem zachwycona/zachwycony – Unfortunately I’m not thrilled with this idea

Myślę że musimy przełożyć nasze spotkanie – I think we have to reschedule our meeting

Niestety, musisz to sama/sam załatwić – Unfortunately you have to take care of it yourself

Nie mogę przyjąć takiego prezentu – I can’t accept such gift

To nie byłoby stosowne z mojej strony – It would not be appropriate for me

Myślę że niektóre sekrety muszę zachować dla siebie – I think I have to keep some secrets to myself

Niestety, nie mogę się z tobą podzielić tą wiadomością – Unfortunately I can’t share this information with you

Nie jestem zachwycona/zachwycony tą propozycją – I’m not impressed with this proposal

 

 

 

 

 

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About the Author: Kasia

My name is Kasia Scontsas. I grew near Lublin, Poland and moved to Warsaw to study International Business. I have passion for languages: any languages! Currently I live in New Hampshire. I enjoy skiing, kayaking, biking and paddle boarding. My husband speaks a little Polish, but our daughters are fluent in it! I wanted to make sure that they can communicate with their Polish relatives in our native language. Teaching them Polish since they were born was the best thing I could have given them! I have been writing about learning Polish language and culture for Transparent Language’s Polish Blog since 2010.


Comments:

  1. alan:

    Nie chcę się do tego wtrącać – I do not want to interfere with it – would ‘I don’t want to get involved with it’ better?