nie, dziękuję
/ˈɲɛ d͡ʑɛŋˈku.jɛ/word by word
nie, dziękuję is the Polish way to say "no thank you".
This phrase is used as a polite way to decline an offer or a suggestion.
Meaning: polite way of saying no (intj)
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is a literal combination of nie (no) and dziękuję (I thank/thank you).
How does it change in a sentence?
The word dziękuję is the first-person singular form of the verb dziękować, meaning "I thank".
How do you pronounce it?
The pronunciation is /ˈɲɛ dʑɛŋˈku.jɛ/. It has 3 syllables, and the first syllable is stressed.
Did you know?
- When declining food at a Polish home, it is common to say nie, dziękuję the first time, but then accept a second offer, as refusing immediately can sometimes be seen as overly modest.
- Depending on the region, some Poles might respond to an offer with dziękuję alone to mean 'no thank you', which can confuse English speakers who think the person is simply saying 'thanks' and accepting.
- The word nie is a direct descendant of the Proto-Indo-European root *né, meaning it shares a prehistoric ancestor with the English word 'no'.
Examples in context
- Nie, dziękuję, jestem pełny.No, thank you. I'm full.This is useful for declining food when you are full.Tatoeba #624834 by Bilberry, translation #65670 by CK
- Nie, dziękuję, jestem w ciąży.No thank you, I'm pregnant.This is useful for declining something when you are pregnant.Tatoeba #8178648 by arie, translation #543416 by blay_paul
- Nie, dziękuję. Tylko się rozglądam.No, thank you. I'm just looking around.This is useful for declining assistance while shopping by saying you are just looking around.Tatoeba #718194 by Bilberry, translation #66817 by CK
- 3 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Katarzyna offers Krzysztof some more tea.
- KrzysztofNie, dziękuję, już mam wystarczająco.No thank you, I already have enough.
- KatarzynaSzkoda, jest naprawdę pyszna.That's a pity, it is really delicious.
- KrzysztofMoże innym razem, Katarzyno.Maybe another time, Katarzyna.
- KatarzynaOczywiście, nie ma problemu.Of course, no problem.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “no thank you” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- IPA marked “word by word” joins the Wiktionary pronunciations of each word (nie, dziękuję) and can differ in connected speech.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries dziękuję, nie, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
