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Polish B1 exam phrases: speaking and writing

As of 26 October 2026

Ready-made phrases help you start an answer, move on to the next point and get out of trouble when a word escapes you. We've put them all in one place, split into the speaking part and letters. Print this page and practise the phrases out loud until they come naturally.

1. Describing a photo

The speaking part lasts up to 15 minutes. You draw one of three sets, each with two or three tasks. In the official sample sets on certyfikatpolski.pl, the first task is describing a photo, the second is talking about a given topic, and the third is a conversation with the examiner in a set situation.

Go through the photo step by step: what you see, where it is, who is there and what they're doing. Finish with what you think is going on. If you're not sure, use phrases with „chyba”, „wydaje mi się” and „prawdopodobnie”.

2. Giving your opinion, agreeing and disagreeing

In the sample sets, the second task sometimes asks whether you agree with a statement and why. A bare „yes” or „no” isn't enough: after your opinion, always add „bo…” or „ponieważ…” and one example from real life.

3. Role-play conversation

In the third task of the sample sets you play a role in a conversation with the examiner: you call about an advert, persuade someone, or suggest something else. Address the examiner as the situation requires: „ty” for a friend, „pan” or „pani” for a stranger. Where there are two forms, e.g. chciałbym / chciałabym, the first is for men and the second for women.

4. When you don't know a word or didn't understand

Not knowing one word is no reason to go quiet. Ask for a repeat or say it in other words. That's still speaking Polish, and your answer keeps going.

5. Structuring what you say

These words work in both speaking and writing. They make it easy for the examiner to follow you, and they tell you what to say next. A good pattern: your opinion first, then two arguments, then a summary.

6. Informal letter or email: openings and endings

In the writing part you choose one set and write both texts from it. Writing is worth 30 points, and three things are assessed: task completion (content, form and length), range of language, and accuracy - grammar, spelling and punctuation.

In the April and June 2024 exam papers, one of the tasks was an email to a friend or to a cousin. A good greeting and sign-off are part of a letter's form, so don't skip them. You write to someone close using „ty”.

7. Formal letter or email

One of the sets in June 2024 asked for an email to a company, so formal phrases are worth knowing too. You address a stranger as „Pan”, „Pani” or „Państwo” with the verb in the third person: „Czy mógłby Pan…”, „Czy mogliby Państwo…”. You can check a finished text in the B1 bez stresu app, where AI marks writing and speaking against the exam criteria.

8. Common traps in letters

Punctuation and letter form affect your marks for accuracy and task completion. The rules below come from linguists' answers in the PWN language advice service (Poradnia Językowa PWN) and other reliable language sources.