Greetings & Formality

ty vs. Pan/Pani ≈ நீ vs. நீங்கள்

Just like Tamil switches from நீ to நீங்கள் for elders, strangers, or formal settings, Polish switches from ty to Pan (to a man) or Pani (to a woman). Use Pan/Pani with anyone you'd address as நீங்கள் — shopkeepers, teachers, officials — and ty with friends, family, and children, same as நீ. Pan and Pani literally mean 'Mister' and 'Madam', and — unlike நீங்கள் — they pair with third-person verb forms, as if you were politely talking about the person rather than to them: 'Czy Pan ma czas?' is literally 'Does Mister have time?', meaning 'Do you have time?'.