Cześć, co tam?
/ˈt͡ʂɛɕt͡ɕ ˈt͡sɔ ˈtam/word by word
The English phrase "hi, how are you doing?" is translated into Polish as Cześć, co tam?
Cześć, co tam? is an informal greeting used to ask someone how they are or what is happening in their life.
What does it mean word for word?
The second part of the phrase, co tam?, literally translates to "what is there?"
Which one should you use?
While Cześć, co tam? is very casual, Jak się masz? is a more standard, slightly more formal way to ask "How are you?" You may also encounter Hej, co tam?, which means "Hey, what's going on?" in an informal context and Cześć, jak się masz?, which means "Hi, how are you?" in an informal context.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
Cześć, co tam? is an informal greeting suitable for friends and peers.
How do you pronounce it?
/ˈtʂɛɕtɕ ˈtsɔ ˈtam/
When do people say it?
When someone asks Co tam?, a common response is Wszystko w porządku, meaning "Everything is fine." If nothing much is happening, a natural response is Nic specjalnego, which means "Nothing special."
Did you know?
- While the greeting Cześć sounds like a casual 'hi' to English ears, the word cześć is also a noun meaning 'honor' or 'respect' in Polish. It is used as a formal salutation like 'Hail!' in historical or poetic contexts.
- When saying cześć, Poles sometimes accompany the greeting with a light touch on the arm or a hug, but never a cheek kiss unless they are very close friends.
- Despite being a greeting, cześć is one of the few words in Polish that functions as both a 'hello' and a 'goodbye' in exactly the same way 'ciao' does in Italian.
Example conversation
Tomasz and Małgorzata meet briefly on a sidewalk.
- TomaszCześć, co tam?Hi, how are you doing?
- MałgorzataCześć, wszystko w porządku.Hi, everything is fine.
- TomaszDobrze to słyszeć.That is good to hear.
- MałgorzataA ty jak się masz?And how are you?
