Ways to say it
| Polish | IPA | Note |
|---|---|---|
| jak się masz? | /ˈjak ɕɛ ˈmaʂ/ (word by word) | singular |
| co słychać? | ||
| jak się macie? | plural | |
| co u ciebie? | /ˈt͡sɔ ˈu ˈt͡ɕɛ.bjɛ/ (word by word) | singular |
| co u was? | /ˈt͡sɔ ˈu ˈvas/ (word by word) | plural |
These phrases are used as greetings to inquire about a person's well-being or current situation. Jak się masz? is a common and casual way to ask "How are you doing?" Co słychać? serves as a more common, casual way to ask "how's it going?" or "what's up?" For a more specific inquiry into someone's life updates or current situation, you can use co u ciebie? to ask "how are things with you?"
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase jak się masz? literally translates to "how are you having yourself?"
Which one should you use?
While jak się masz? is a direct way to ask how someone is, co słychać? is a more common, casual alternative similar to "what's up?" The phrases co u ciebie? and co u was? differ by whether they address a single person or a group of people.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
The forms provided vary in register. Jak się masz? and co u ciebie? are informal. When addressing a stranger or someone in a formal setting, use jak się pan ma? to a man or jak się pani ma? to a woman. For a more formal version of "what's up/what's new with you, sir/ma'am?", you can use co u pana/pani słychać?
How does it change in a sentence?
The form jak się masz? is used for a singular subject, whereas jak się macie? is the plural form used when addressing two or more people. Similarly, co u ciebie? is singular and co u was? is the plural version.
How do you pronounce it?
/ˈjak ɕɛ ˈmaʂ/
When do people say it?
When responding to these greetings, you can use dobrze (well), świetnie (great) or bardzo dobrze (very well). It is polite to acknowledge the greeting with dziękuję (thank you). A standard, polite response is dobrze, dziękuję (fine, thank you).
Did you know?
- In Polish culture, answering co słychać? with a long list of problems is more common than the upbeat 'great' responses often used in English.
- In the phrase co słychać?, the verb słychać literally refers to the sense of hearing, making the question more like 'what is being heard?'
- The word się in jak się masz? is a reflexive pronoun derived from the Proto-Indo-European *swé, which also gave rise to the English word 'self'.
Examples in context
- Cześć, jak się masz?Hello, how are you?This example shows how to use jak się masz? in a greeting.Tatoeba #349418 by zipangu, translation #138868 by CK
- Cześć! Jak się masz?Hi! How are you?This example shows a casual greeting using jak się masz?Tatoeba #5379472 by Mateon1, translation #30316 by Zifre
- Jak się masz? Miałeś dobrą podróż?How are you? Did you have a good trip?This example shows jak się masz? used as a question about someone's well-being.Tatoeba #531820 by Wimmer, translation #1716 by CK
- 7 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Paweł and Anna meet in a park.
- PawełCześć, Anno! Jak się masz?Hi, Anna! How are you?
- AnnaCześć, Pawle. Dobrze, dziękuję.Hi, Paweł. Good, thank you.
- PawełCieszę się, że u ciebie wszystko w porządku.I'm glad that everything is fine with you.
- AnnaA ty jak się masz?And how are you?
Sources
- Wiktionary, “how are you” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- IPA marked “word by word” joins the Wiktionary pronunciations of each word (jak, się, masz, co, u, ciebie, was) and can differ in connected speech.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries co, jak, masz, się, słychać, u, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
