First, let's make one thing clear: the word ‘pan’ here is neither the Greek prefix used in words like pantheism or Pan-Slavism, nor the Greek demi-god famous for his musical instrument, let alone the genus of apes incorporating chimpanzees and bonobos.
The Polish pan has surely little to do with all of the above. The history of the Polish word goes back to the old Czech hpan but otherwise its etymology is far from clear. The original word is sometimes reconstructed as meaning ‘owner’ or ‘ruler’.
In contemporary Polish, pan (and its feminine version pani) is the most important element of the Polish honorific system. Used in addressing people, and variously translated into English as 'sir', 'mister', or sometimes simply 'you', pan remains one of the most characteristic words of the Polish language, sharply differentiating it from other Slavic and non-Slavic languages.
In practice, the word is used as an almost obligatory way of addressing another person (actually any person unless it's a child or someone you know privately). But the correct usage of pan/pani requires some linguistic proficiency and can be quite tricky.
First of all, one needs to remember that the addressive form pan/pani is used in Polish with verbs in the 3rd person singular. This essentially means that whenever you're talking face to face to someone, you are addressing them as he or she, even though the person is physically present. This may be quite confusing but is also a matter of pure linguistic convention and certainly doesn't imply any perceptive distortion suffered by Poles. Other languages surely have a similar distinction, compare the French vous or the German Sie forms which go with the 2nd person plural and 3rd person plural, respectively.
Here are a couple of examples with Polish pan/pani:
- Czy może mi pan pomóc? – Can you help me?
- Jak się pani nazywa? – What's your name?
- Czym się pan zajmuje? – What do you do for living?
The plural variant państwo(one which you're probably less likely to hear in daily life) also follows this rule, combined with the 3rd person plural:
- Kiedy wrócili państwo do kraju? – When did you (two) return to the country?
As you can see in all of the above examples the English has you as its translation.
In Polish the second person singular, ty, can also be used for addressing people, but it is generally restricted to addressing someone you already know or a child/young person (by a much older person). Compare:
vs.
- Jak podobał się panu/pani film?
In both cases the English translation would be the same: How did you like the film?
Another possible problem in using Polish pan is that the Polish form doesn't really follow the English honorific usage. While Polish pan/pani can be used before the name (either first name and surname, only first name, or only surname), using it with the surname is generally considered rude and disrespectful. This is in stark contrast with, say, Czech use of this word. As a result, Panie Twardowski and Pane Hrabal have a very different stylistic undertone (derogative vs respectful).
In a similar fashion, addressing someone in an email as, say, Szanowny Panie Gliński, looks to the Polish eye as a rather offensiveor only clumsy statement (even though the literal English translation ‘Dear Mr Glinski’ is perfectly fine). So a hint for all those writing formal e-mails in Polish is just to write Szanowny Panie / Szanowna Pani.
At the same time, it is perfectly fine to talk in this way (pan + surname) about somebody who’s not around, compare:
- Pan Twardowski był tu wczoraj – Mr Twardowski was here yesterday
To make it even more complicated, other forms of address combining pan, like pan + first name, e.g. Panie Stanisławie, would be considered as presupposing some level of intimacy, and are not recommended unless you know the person already.
And now for some history. While the form pan/pani is also used to varying degrees in other Slavic languages, like Czech, Slovak, Belarusian, and Ukrainian, it's definitely not as widespread, and usually has a tinge of class distinction in these languages. In fact all these languages in their honorific system use another form, the second person plural, wy.
The wy form was once also used in Poland (primarily by peasants) but it got supplanted by pan which initially was reserved for the Polish gentry (szlachta) and as such was seen a marker of social position. In fact, the contemporary form of address pan dates back only to the mid-18th century, and is an abbreviated form of the Old Polish form: wasza miłość mój miłościwy panie, which implies a formal, courteous relation.
The traditional culture of the Polish upper classes, called Sarmatism, was very fond of contrasting the word pan with the word cham, which was a derogative term denoting peasants, thus contributing to the symbolical reproduction of the class system.
Over time, this originally class-tinted word made its way down the social ladder and started circulating in all society.
In Poland under communist regime attempts were made to repress the usage of pan which was seen as a relict of a class society and supplant it with the more democratic form wy used with the 2nd person plural. Although the form had some tradition in rural Poland, the word was perceived as a foreign (Communist) import, and never caught on. It seems pan for Poles is more than a relict of class society but an indispensable trait of Polishness.
In addition, in Poland today and especially in big cities (particularly in restaurants and cafés), you're ever more likely to be addressed as ty (you) which supplants the traditional pan form. This is a fairly new linguistic development, and one likely influenced by the English usage.
Poland Word by Word allows foreigners to familiarise themselves with everyday Polish words by explaining their cultural context and significance. For more pronunciation tips, explore our Foreigner’s Guide to the Polish Alphabet.