| Polish Alphabet |
Letter |
International Phonetic Alphabet |
American English Approximation |
American English Example | Polish Example |
 Aa | a | ah | as in father | fala (wave) |
| Ąą | ɔw̃ | on | (nasalized vowel) as in the French word bon | są (they are) |
| Bb | b | b | as in boy | banan (banana) |
| Cc | ts͡ | ts | as in bats or as in notes | noc (night) |
| Ćć | tɕ͡ | ch | soft/palatalized (tongue against roof of mouth), as in cheer | robić (to do) |
| Dd | d | d | as in dog | dobry (good) |
| Ee | ɛ | eh | as in met | tekst (text) |
| Ęę | ɛw̃ | en | (nasalized vowel) as in the French word fin; when "ę" is the final letter of a word it tends to be pronounced like "e" | język (language) |
| Ff | f | f | as in fun | fajka (pipe) |
| Gg | g | g | as in good | góra (mountain) |
| Hh | x | kh | as in the Scottish word loch (same pronunciation as "ch") | handel (commerce) |
| Ii | i | ee | as in see | lis (fox) |
| Jj | j | y | as in yes | jutro (tomorrow) |
| Kk | k | k | as in kite | królik (rabbit) |
| Ll | l | l | as in last | lampa (lamp) |
| Łł | w | w | pronounced approximately like the English letter "w" | mały (small) |
| Mm | m | m | as in may | mapa (map) |
| Nn | n | n | as in no | noc (night) |
| Ńń | ɲ | ni | as in onion | koń (horse) |
| Oo | ɔ | o | as in no | noga (leg) |
| Óó | u | oo | as in cool (same pronunciation as "u") | ósmy (eighth) |
| Pp | p | p | as in pan | praca (work) |
 Qq | k | q | only in foreign words, as in status quo | Quo vadis? (a novel by Henryk Sienkiewicz) |
| Rr | r | r | as in room | rano (morning) |
| Ss | s | s | as in sit | sobota (Saturday) |
| Śś | ɕ | sh | soft/palatalized (tongue against roof of mouth), as in sheet | środa (Wednesday) |
| Tt | t | t | as in tap | tam (there) |
| Uu | u | oo | as in cool (same pronunciation as "ó") | ulica (street) |
| Vv | v | v | only in foreign words, as in via | via (via) |
| Ww | v | v | as in van | wino (wine) |
| Xx | ks͡ | x | only in foreign words, as in Pax Romana | Pax Romana |
| Yy | ɨ | ih | as in whim | syn (son) |
| Zz | z | z | as in zoo | zupa (soup) |
| Źź | ʑ | zh | soft/palatalized (tongue against roof of mouth), as in Indonesia | późno (late) |
| Żż | ʐ | zh | hard/unpalatalized, as in measure | życie (life) |
| Other Letter Combinations |
Letters | International Phonetic Alphabet | American English Approximation | American English Example | Polish Example |
| ch | x | kh | as in the Scottish word loch (same pronunciation as "h") | chleb (bread) |
| ci | tɕ͡ or tɕ͡i | ch | soft/palatalized (tongue against roof of mouth), as in cheer | ciało (body) |
| cz | tʂ͡ | ch | hard/unpalatalized, as in chair | czas (time) |
| dz | dz͡ | dz | as in pads | dzwon (bell) |
| dzi | dʑ͡ or dʑ͡i | j | soft/palatalized, as in jeans (same pronunciation as "dź") | dziecko (child) |
| dź | dʑ͡ | j | soft/palatalized, as in jeans (same pronunciation as "dzi") | dźwięk (sound) |
| dż | dʐ͡ | j | hard/unpalatalized, as in jam (mainly found in words of foreign origin) | dżem (jam) |
| ni | ɲ or ɲi | ni | as in onion (same pronunciation as "ń") | niebo (sky) |
| rz | ʐ | zh | hard/unpalatalized, as in measure (same pronunciation as "ż"); note: on rare occasion the "r" and "z" are pronounced separately (marznąć - to freeze) | morze (sea) |
| si | ɕ or ɕi | sh | soft/palatalized (tongue against roof of mouth), as in sheet (same pronunciation as "ś") | siedem (seven) |
| sz | ʂ | sh | hard/unpalatalized, as in show | szynka (ham) |
| zi | ʑ or ʑi | zh | soft/palatalized (tongue against roof of mouth), as in Indonesia (same pronunciation as "ź") | zielony (green) |
