Na kontroli bezpieczeństwa
Going through airport security · a free Polish immersion capsule
Useful sentences · 10
Phrases you'll actually use today. Tap Explain for the why behind each one.
Proszę pokazać paszport i kartę pokładową.
Please show your passport and boarding pass.
Literal Please show passport and boarding card.
A standard opening instruction from a security officer requesting travel documents.
- 'Proszę' + infinitive is the standard polite command form in Polish
- 'Kartę pokładową' is the accusative of 'karta pokładowa' (feminine noun phrase)
Czy ma pan coś metalowego w kieszeniach?
Do you have anything metal in your pockets?
Literal Whether has Mr. something metallic in pockets?
A security officer's question about metal items. 'Pan' is the formal address for men.
- 'Czy' opens a yes/no question
- 'Coś metalowego' — 'coś' (something) triggers genitive on the following adjective
- 'Kieszeniach' is the locative plural of 'kieszeń' (pocket), required after 'w'
Proszę zdjąć buty i pas i włożyć je do kuwety.
Please take off your shoes and belt and put them in the tray.
Literal Please take-off shoes and belt and put them into tray.
A combined two-action instruction. 'Je' is an accusative pronoun referring back to 'buty i pas'.
- 'Proszę' + infinitive for polite commands
- 'Zdjąć' means to remove or take off clothing and accessories
- 'Do kuwety' — genitive of 'kuweta' after the preposition 'do'
Laptop proszę wyjąć z torby i włożyć do osobnej kuwety.
Please take the laptop out of the bag and put it in a separate tray.
Literal Laptop please take-out from bag and put into separate tray.
Fronting 'laptop' to the start emphasises what must be removed. 'Osobnej' means separate.
- Object-fronting for topical emphasis is natural in Polish
- 'Z torby' — genitive after 'z' (out of)
- 'Osobnej kuwety' — genitive of 'osobna kuweta' after 'do'
Proszę przejść przez bramkę kontrolną.
Please walk through the security gate.
Literal Please pass through control gate.
The instruction to step through the metal detector arch after placing belongings on the belt.
- 'Przejść' is a perfective verb meaning to pass through or walk through
- 'Przez' (through) always takes the accusative: 'bramkę'
- 'Kontrolną' is an accusative feminine adjective agreeing with 'bramkę'
Proszę stanąć tutaj i rozłożyć ręce.
Please stand here and spread your arms.
Literal Please stand here and spread arms.
Said when a traveller is directed for additional screening with a handheld wand.
- 'Stanąć' is perfective, meaning to take up a standing position
- 'Rozłożyć ręce' — 'ręce' is the accusative plural of 'ręka' (hand/arm)
Przepraszam, nie rozumiem. Czy może pan powtórzyć?
Excuse me, I don't understand. Could you repeat that?
Literal I-apologise, not I-understand. Whether can Mr. repeat?
An essential traveller phrase for requesting clarification from a security officer.
- 'Przepraszam' serves as both 'excuse me' and 'I'm sorry'
- 'Czy może pan' + infinitive is a polite request form equivalent to 'could you'
- 'Powtórzyć' is the perfective infinitive of 'to repeat'
To tylko leki na receptę.
These are just prescription medicines.
Literal This only medicines on prescription.
A brief explanation a traveller might give when asked about items flagged in their bag.
- 'To' acts as a subject ('this/these') before a noun predicate
- 'Leki' is the nominative plural of 'lek' (medicine)
- 'Na receptę' — accusative of 'recepta', a fixed phrase meaning 'on prescription'
Proszę stanąć z boku i poczekać na dodatkową kontrolę.
Please step aside and wait for additional screening.
Literal Please stand from side and wait for additional control.
Said when something in the scan needs further investigation. 'Z boku' means to one side.
- 'Z boku' is a fixed adverbial phrase meaning 'to one side / aside'
- 'Poczekać na' + accusative: 'dodatkową kontrolę'
- 'Dodatkową' is accusative feminine agreeing with 'kontrolę'
Gdzie mogę odebrać swoje rzeczy po kontroli?
Where can I collect my belongings after the screening?
Literal Where can-I collect my things after control?
A practical end-of-checkpoint question. 'Po kontroli' uses the genitive after 'po' when meaning 'after'.
- 'Mogę' is first-person singular of 'móc' (to be able to / can)
- 'Odebrać' means to collect or pick up (perfective)
- 'Po kontroli' — genitive of 'kontrola' after 'po' in temporal meaning
New words · 10
Themed vocabulary, each with an example you can borrow.
paszport
passport
Proszę pokazać paszport.
Please show your passport.
Inanimate masculine — accusative matches nominative: 'paszport'
karta pokładowa
boarding pass
Czy ma pani kartę pokładową?
Do you have your boarding pass?
Accusative: 'kartę pokładową'; the adjective inflects to match the noun
kuweta
security tray / bin
Proszę włożyć buty do kuwety.
Please put your shoes in the tray.
The plastic scanning tray at airport checkpoints; genitive 'kuwety' after 'do'
bramka kontrolna
security gate / metal detector arch
Proszę przejść przez bramkę kontrolną.
Please walk through the security gate.
zdjąć
to take off / to remove
Proszę zdjąć pas przed przejściem.
Please take off your belt before going through.
Perfective; specifically used for removing clothing and worn accessories
przejść
to walk through / to pass through
Proszę przejść przez bramkę.
Please walk through the gate.
Perfective; takes 'przez' + accusative for the thing passed through
kieszeń
Proszę opróżnić kieszenie.
Please empty your pockets.
Locative plural 'kieszeniach' (in pockets); accusative plural 'kieszenie' (empty the pockets)
kontrola
screening / check / inspection
Po kontroli można zabrać rzeczy.
After the screening, you can take your things.
Genitive 'kontroli' used after 'po' (after) and 'do' (for/to)
powtórzyć
to repeat
Czy może pan powtórzyć, proszę?
Could you repeat that, please?
Perfective infinitive; key for asking clarification in formal settings
dodatkowy
additional / extra
Proszę poczekać na dodatkową kontrolę.
Please wait for the additional screening.
Accusative feminine 'dodatkową' agreeing with 'kontrolę'
Short reading
A tiny story stitched from today's words. Translation is hidden, tap to peek.
Anna stoi w kolejce do kontroli bezpieczeństwa na lotnisku. Ochroniarz prosi ją, żeby zdjęła buty i włożyła laptopa do osobnej kuwety. Anna kładzie wszystko na taśmę i spokojnie przechodzi przez bramkę kontrolną. Alarm nie brzmi, więc odbiera swoje rzeczy i idzie w stronę bramki odlotów.
Sentence by sentence
stoi w kolejce do kontroli bezpieczeństwa
is standing in the queue for the security checkpoint
'Stoi' (she stands, imperfective present) + 'w kolejce' (in the queue, locative after 'w') + 'do kontroli bezpieczeństwa' (genitive after 'do', meaning 'for the security check')
żeby zdjęła buty i włożyła laptopa do osobnej kuwety
to take off her shoes and put her laptop in a separate tray
'Żeby' introduces a purpose or reported-instruction clause; it requires past-tense forms 'zdjęła' and 'włożyła'. This is how Polish reports what someone was told to do.
spokojnie przechodzi przez bramkę kontrolną
calmly walks through the security gate
'Spokojnie' is an adverb (calmly). 'Przechodzi' is the imperfective present for an ongoing action. 'Przez bramkę kontrolną' — accusative after 'przez' (through).
Alarm nie brzmi, więc odbiera swoje rzeczy
The alarm does not go off, so she collects her belongings
'Brzmi' means 'sounds/rings'; negated with 'nie'. 'Więc' = so/therefore. 'Odbiera swoje rzeczy' — 'odebrać' means to collect; 'swoje' is a reflexive possessive meaning 'her own'.
Pattern of the day
One grammar move, explained once, that unlocks dozens of sentences.
Polite Commands: Proszę + Infinitive
The most natural way to give polite instructions in Polish is 'proszę' (please) followed by an infinitive verb. It is used by security staff, officials, and service workers, and works regardless of whether you are addressing a man or woman. It is softer than a direct imperative and is the form travellers will hear most often at checkpoints.
Proszę + [infinitive] (+ [object in accusative])
Proszę pokazać paszport.
Please show your passport.
Proszę zdjąć buty.
Please take off your shoes.
Proszę przejść przez bramkę.
Please walk through the gate.
Proszę poczekać tutaj.
Please wait here.
Mini practice · 5
Low-pressure, never graded. Just enough to make it stick.
Translate to Polish: "Please show your passport and boarding pass."
Hint Use the Proszę + infinitive pattern.
What does this mean? "Proszę zdjąć buty i pas i włożyć je do kuwety."
Hint Zdjąć = to take off, włożyć = to put in, kuweta = tray.
Complete the sentence: "Laptop proszę wyjąć z torby i włożyć do osobnej ___."
Hint It's the word for the plastic bin at security.
You didn't understand the security officer's instruction. Which phrase do you use?
Hint Powtórzyć means to repeat.
Rewrite as a polite command using "Proszę + infinitive": "Przejdź przez bramkę kontrolną."
Hint Replace the imperative verb form with Proszę + infinitive.
That’s today’s phraseberry.
Nice work, you understood something real today. Come back tomorrow for a fresh one.
Make one about your own world
This is a ready-made capsule from our library. Sign up free to generate a daily Polish capsule about any theme you choose, hear it spoken, and save the bits you want to keep.