Many words in the Polish language are very similar to English, because fifty percent of the Polish language is rooted in Latin. Words may sound different in Polish – but in the written word they are easier to discern. Guess what the Polish and European name for ATM is, based on the photo to the right? Just for fun, check out a few more easy words to translate.

Before I traveled to Poland, I scanned through a travel dictionary and hired a language tutor for a few sessions. I easily identified over two dozen words spelled identically in English (bar, bank, pub and cinema, to name a few.) Quite a few Polish words are nearly identical to English: lampa [lamp], koncert [concert], and gitara [guitar] as examples. Once in Poland, I saw even more words that were easily recognized and translated, including two personal favorites: wine and chocolate. Despite the fact that at first, second and third glance Polish looks like a long string of consonants with more letters than the English alphabet  (ę, ł, ą for a few), consider the following photos:

Translation:
Alcohol, Antiques, Delicatessen, Restaurant, Library/muzeum, Optical, and in tourist lingo, the American Embassy. No photos, however wine is vino, and chocolate is czekolada, a word I’ll find in any language.