jak się masz?
/ˈjak ɕɛ ˈmaʂ/word by word
The English phrase "how are you doing?" is translated into Polish as jak się masz?
jak się masz? is a common greeting used to ask someone about their general well-being.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase jak się masz? literally translates to "how yourself have?"
Which one should you use?
While jak się masz? asks about general well-being, co słychać? is a more common, casual alternative that focuses more on recent news than general well-being.
How does it change in a sentence?
jak się masz? is the singular informal version used with friends or peers. For the formal singular, use Jak się pan/pani ma? depending on the gender of the person you are addressing.
How do you pronounce it?
/ˈjak ɕɛ ˈmaʂ/
When do people say it?
A standard and polite response to jak się masz? is Dobrze, dziękuję, which means "Good, thank you."
Did you know?
- If you ask jak się masz? to a close friend, they might respond with stara bida, which literally means 'old misery' but just means 'same as always'.
- While jak się masz? is grammatically correct, using it with a stranger can sound strangely intimate or overly poetic, almost as if you are asking about the state of their soul.
- The reflexive pronoun się comes from the Proto-Indo-European root *swé, which is a very distant relative of the English word 'self'.
Examples in context
- Dzień dobry! Jak się pan/pani ma?Good morning! How are you doing?
- Bardzo dobrze, dziękuję. A pan/pani?Very well, thank you. And you?
- Cześć! Jak się masz?Hi! How are you doing?
- Super, a ty?Great, and you?
- Cześć, jak się masz?Hi, how are you doing?
- Długo cię nie było, jak się masz?It's been a long time, how are you doing?
Example conversation
Małgorzata and Krzysztof meet in a park.
- MałgorzataCześć Krzysztof, jak się masz?Hi Krzysztof, how are you doing?
- KrzysztofDziękuję, u mnie wszystko w porządku.Thank you, everything is fine with me.
- MałgorzataTo bardzo dobra wiadomość.That is very good news.
- KrzysztofA co słychać u ciebie, Małgorzato?And how are things with you, Małgorzata?
