{"id":176596686,"date":"2019-11-20T12:22:08","date_gmt":"2019-11-20T20:22:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lingq.com\/blog-new\/?p=176596686"},"modified":"2025-05-19T11:26:10","modified_gmt":"2025-05-19T18:26:10","slug":"polish-audiobooks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lingq.com\/blog\/polish-audiobooks\/","title":{"rendered":"Polish Audiobooks: Take Your Skills to the Next Level"},"content":{"rendered":"

Growing up in Poland, books were always a large and significant part of my childhood. There are not many memories I cherish more fondly than being tucked in by my grandmother and having her read <\/span>Ma\u0142y Ksi\u0105\u017c\u0119<\/span><\/a>, or My Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exup\u00e9ry, <\/span>Hobbit<\/span><\/a> by J.R.R. Tolkien, short stories by Dostoevsky or poems by <\/span>Adam Mickiewicz<\/span><\/a>.\u00a0<\/span>
\nUnfortunately, as we grow up we do not always get to keep luxuries such as these; personal book readers whose voices are filled with love and faces full of expressions that manage to keep our attention until the story ends, until our eyelids give in to the fight to stay awake.\u00a0<\/span>
\nIf you are one of those people that seems to have read more in the past than you do now and you are struggling to get back into it, audiobooks are the perfect starting point, especially if you want to use them as a language learning tool.\u00a0<\/span>
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\nWhile I cannot teleport you back in time and share the evening I dozed off to my grandmother\u2019s voice reading \u201c<\/span>O krasnoludkach i sierotce Marysi<\/span><\/a>\u201d or About the Dwarfs and Little Orphan Mary, I can recommend and suggest Polish stories and audiobooks for you to check out on your language learning journey.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Where to find Polish Audiobooks<\/h2>\n

Since this format is becoming more and more popular nowadays, it is also becoming more easily accessible. To purchase audiobooks in Polish, head to <\/span>Empik<\/a>. The site has an excellent selection.<\/span>
\nOne of the best, if not the best, websites for audiobooks and Polish Literature in general is <\/span>Wolne Lektury<\/span><\/a> or “Free Readings”. Not only is the free online library filled with more than 5000 titles, it includes literature recommended by the Ministry of National Education. The website is easy to navigate and is available in nine languages. You can read poems and stories and follow along the text as you listen to professionally recorded audio.\u00a0<\/span>
\nFor example, <\/span>Ignacy Krasicki\u2019s <\/span><\/a>Fables and Parables are written in 13-syllable lines. They are short and sweet and they rhyme. Many centre around animals, plants and inanimate objects. <\/span>
\nYou can find some of Krasicki\u2019s fables as lessons on LingQ.<\/a> Work your way through the text, translating any words and phrases you don’t know as you go. You can then use the vocabulary activities to study those words and phrases, or even better, learn them through repeated exposure in more Polish lessons on LingQ.<\/span>
\n\"Learn
\nThe Polish used in Krasicki\u2019s fables is generally simple and straightforward, and therefore easy to follow. For example, here is one intermediate-level fable about <\/span>The Blind Man and the Lame<\/span><\/a>:<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cA blind man was carrying a lame man on his back,<\/span>
\nAnd everything was going well, everything’s on track,<\/span>
\nWhen the blind man decides to take it into his head<\/span>
\nThat he needn’t listen to all that the lame man said.<\/span>
\n“This stick I have will guide the two of us safe,” said he,<\/span>
\nAnd though warned by the lame man, he plowed into a tree.<\/span>
\nOn they proceeded; the lame man now warned of a brook;<\/span>
\nThe two survived, but their possessions a soaking took.<\/span>
\nAt last the blind man ignored the warning of a drop,<\/span>
\nAnd that was to turn out their final and fatal stop.<\/span>
\nWhich of the two travelers, you may ask, was to blame?<\/span>
\nWhy, ’twas both the heedless blind man and the trusting lame.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

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\"Learn<\/a><\/h3>\n

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Alternatively, check out the short story Dwa \u017b\u00f3\u0142wie ,or Two Turtles, <\/span>here<\/span><\/a>. It is about two turtles that make a bet to race each other, but since they are both too slow they lose all their spectators to boredom. A swallow flies by and says to them \u201cbefore you learn how to run, you need to first learn how to walk\u201d. Its\u2019 length and simplicity make it a good short story for beginners.\u00a0<\/span>
\nContinuing with the animal theme, The Jungle Book, is another great recommendation, despite not being Polish. It was written by Rudyard Kipling, and can be seen as well as heard <\/span>here<\/span><\/a> in beautifully spoken Polish.\u00a0<\/span>
\nIf you’re looking for something shorter to practice your Polish audio listening skills, Boles\u0142aw Le\u015bmian\u2019s poem about autumn, titled <\/span>Wiosna<\/span><\/a> is full of fun rhymes and colors. Like many other popular polish poems, it can also be found on Y<\/span>ouTube.\u00a0<\/span>
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