Learn Polish with Movies & TV Shows
Polish has a reputation for being difficult, but hearing it spoken in real scenes takes away the mystery. Polish cinema and TV are having a golden moment right now, with gripping stories that keep you watching. Wordy turns every streamed episode into a vocabulary lesson you actually remember.
Why Learn Polish?
Connect with 45 million speakers
Polish is the second most spoken Slavic language after Russian. Poland has one of the largest economies in the EU, and the Polish diaspora spans the UK, US, Canada, and Germany.
Stand out professionally
Very few non-Poles learn Polish, which makes it a genuine career advantage. Companies doing business in Central Europe value Polish speakers because the market is large and competition for talent is low.
Unlock Slavic languages faster
Once you learn Polish grammar and vocabulary, Czech, Slovak, and other Slavic languages become much more approachable. Polish acts as a strong foundation for the whole language family.
How to Learn Polish with Wordy
Three steps to start picking up Polish from real movies and shows.
Pick a Movie or Show
Browse Polish content from our library of 15,000+ clips or connect your streaming service.
Watch and Tap Words
Tap any word in the subtitles for instant translation. Save words you want to remember.
Review with Flashcards
Practice saved vocabulary with spaced repetition flashcards linked to the original scene.
Popular Polish Content for Learning
Great Polish movies and shows to get you started.
Cold War
Paweล Pawlikowski's Oscar-nominated romance uses poetic, measured Polish that is clear and beautiful to listen to.
1983
An alternate-history thriller with political dialogue that teaches formal Polish vocabulary and complex sentence structures.
Ida
A quiet, contemplative film with simple, sparse dialogue, making it ideal for beginners to follow along.
The Woods
Based on Harlan Coben's novel, this mystery features modern conversational Polish with realistic everyday speech.
How I Became a Gangster
A crime saga spanning three decades, loaded with Polish slang and informal expressions from different eras.
Tips for Learning Polish from Movies
Tackle pronunciation letter by letter
Polish uses the Latin alphabet with extra characters like sz, cz, rz, and nasal vowels. Each letter combination has a consistent sound. Learn these mappings first, and you will be able to pronounce any Polish word you see, even if you do not know what it means.
Accept the seven cases gradually
Polish has seven grammatical cases, and they change word endings constantly. Do not try to memorize all the tables at once. Instead, focus on one case at a time and notice how characters use it in dialogue. The nominative and accusative cases cover most of what you need early on.
Pay attention to word stress
Unlike English, Polish almost always stresses the second-to-last syllable. This makes pronunciation predictable once you know the rule. Listen to how actors speak and you will hear this consistent rhythm in every sentence.
Polish Fun Facts
The Polish alphabet has 32 letters, including 9 that do not exist in any other language: ฤ , ฤ, ฤ, ล, ล, รณ, ล, ลบ, and ลผ. Each one represents a unique sound (PWN Polish Language Dictionary).
The longest common Polish word is "najcharakterystyczniejszego" (32 letters), meaning "of the most characteristic." Polish words can get very long because of how prefixes and suffixes stack (Wielki Sลownik Jฤzyka Polskiego).
Polish is one of the few European languages where the formal "you" (Pan/Pani) uses third-person verb forms instead of second-person. So "Do you want coffee?" literally translates as "Does the gentleman/lady want coffee?" (Swan, Polish Grammar in a Nutshell).
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does it take to learn Polish?
How long does it take to learn Polish?
The FSI estimates about 1,100 class hours, placing Polish in Category IV. For most learners, that means 2 to 3 years of regular study to reach professional proficiency. Daily exposure through Polish media on Wordy can accelerate your progress significantly.
Is Polish the hardest language to learn?
Is Polish the hardest language to learn?
Polish is often called one of the hardest languages for English speakers, but it is not the hardest overall. The seven grammatical cases and consonant clusters are challenging, but pronunciation is actually very consistent. Once you learn the spelling rules, you can read anything out loud correctly.
Can I learn Polish from watching shows?
Can I learn Polish from watching shows?
Watching Polish shows is one of the best ways to train your ear and build natural vocabulary. Polish pronunciation can be hard to learn from textbooks alone because the rhythm and flow matter so much. Wordy helps by letting you replay scenes, save words, and build a personal vocabulary list from what you watch.
Is Polish similar to Russian?
Is Polish similar to Russian?
Polish and Russian are both Slavic languages and share some vocabulary roots, but they are not mutually intelligible. Polish uses the Latin alphabet while Russian uses Cyrillic. The grammar has similarities in case systems, but the pronunciation and much of the vocabulary are quite different.
Start Learning Polish Today
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