When to use "chciałbym" vs "chcę" in Polish requests?

Polish

asked by
Sylvia published
21 days ago

Hi everyone! I keep running into this thing in Polish that's confusing me. I know both "chciałbym" and "chcę" mean "I want," but I notice Polish people seem to use "chciałbym" a lot more in restaurants and shops.

Like yesterday, I heard someone say "Chciałbym kawę" to order coffee, but then later they used "chcę" when talking to their friend about wanting to go home. Is "chciałbym" just more polite? Or is there some specific rule about when to use each one?

I've been using "chcę" everywhere and now I'm worried I've been sounding rude this whole time! 😅 Would love to hear from some more experienced learners or native speakers about this.

Thanks in advance!

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When to use "chciałbym" vs "chcę" in Polish requests?

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