polish your polish

odległości/distances

2011-07-19T23:17:00.002+02:00

Something about distances. If you are in Poland for holidays, you might need something ;).

TU/TUTAJ [too/tootay]- here

Chodź tu. Come here.

STĄD [stont] - from here

Stąd zaczniemy. We will start from here.

TAM [tam] - there

Idź tam. Go there.

STAMTĄD [stamtont] - from there

Zaczniemy stamtąd. We will start from there.

BLISKO [blisko] - close

Jesteśmy blisko siebie. We are very close.

OBOK [obok] - next to

Stań obok mnie. Stand next to me.

NIEDALEKO [nyedaleko] - not so far away

To niedaleko. This is not so far away.

DALEKO [daleko] - far away

To daleko. That's far away.

Idiomy/Idioms

RZUT BERETEM [goot beretem] - stone's throw away.

O WŁOS [o vwos] - lit. by a hair. In the meaning that something was very close.

WYBIERAĆ SIĘ JAK SÓJKA ZA MORZE [vibyerati sye yak sooyka sa moje] - lit. to go away like a bird over the sea. In the meaning when somebody wants to go somewhere but it is not leaving at the end; somebody is preparing the leaving for a long time, but at the end stays at home.

About Nouns (Things) and Genders from My Point of View:)

2011-06-21T02:23:00.001+02:00

If I want to start with grammar, I have to start from the very beginning - that is from the NOUNS. You can already find some information about it HERE.
I will basically touch the same topic but from a more grammatical point of view, as you know I am a grammar freak:)

The Nouns (that is, all things = objects, touchable like table, chair, bicycle, and abstract like weather, feeling, dance; AND people, animals, living creatures, UFO, etc.) have all their own genders: masculine, feminine, or neutral. For instance, a table "stół" is masculine and we refer to it as "he", a chair "krzesło" is however neutral and we refer to it as "it" (so just like in English), but "kiełbasa" (that I don't have to translate) is female and we refer to it as "she". Think about it, as if every thing or creature had its own personality. In English, we actually have a few nouns as well, who have their genders (and almost personalities)! A boat is a lady, a car is a lady as well - for guys at least;), and I'm sure we could find a few more like that.

How do we know what has what gender? It's actually one of the easiest things in Polish, purly grammatical and like not that many phenomena, very logical:)

MASCULINE NOUNS:
- almost all nouns ending in a consonant* (kot=cat, pies=dog, rower=bicycle)
- a small group of nouns ended in - a (mężczyzna=man, kolega=male friend, poeta=poet) A very funny point of this group is that those nouns ended in - as you will see below - the most typical female ending "a"- are the most masculine nouns:)

FEMININE NOUNS:
- almost all nouns ended in - a (wiewiórka=squirrel, poduszka=pillow, malina=rasberry)
- a small group of nouns ended in a consonant* [a revenge?;)] (noc=night, twarz=face, rzecz=thing)
- just a few words ended in - i (pani=Mrs., m'am, gospodyni=hostess)

NEUTRAL NOUNS:
- all nouns ended in - e (serce=heart, słońce=sun, miejsce=place)
- all nouns ended in - o (masło=butter, wiadro=bucket, dziecko=child)
- all nouns ended in - ę (imię=name, prosię=piglet, źrebię=foal)
- all nouns ended in - um (muzeum, liceum=a kind of a high school, laboratorium)

Seems overwhelming? It's just a matter of practice.
EXERCISES:

On a big page draw a picture of a biiig woman, biiig man, and a biiig child. Then write inside all the nouns you can think of: all female nouns in the woman, all masculine ones in the man, and all neutral nouns in the child. You can also divide our "family members" in parts (or e.g. draw parts of their clothing) and put the nouns with certain endings in each part (e.g. all nouns ending in masculine go to man's sweater, and all ending in -a go to his pants;)).

Then, you can try to add the modifiers**: TEN, TA, TO (=this/that for respectively: masculine nouns, female nouns, neutral nouns), e.g. ten kot, ten kolega, ta wiewiórka, to masło, etc.

Not that complicated, right?

* Polish constants: b, c, ć, d, f, g, h, j, k, l, ł, m, n, ń, p, r, s, ś, t, w, z, ź, ż
* Polish vowels: a, ą, e, ę, o, ó, u, i
** Modifiers: anything that comes in front of a noun and gives us a little more information. As Polish DOES NOT HAVE ARTICLES (a, an, the) at all! we sometimes use some other words to describe the word further; it can be a possessive adjective (my, your, his), a demonstrative pronoun (this, that), an adjective (big, small, red) etc.

Questions?

Dzień Dobry!

2011-06-06T00:02:00.000+02:00

Hallo everybody! So, I thought I should introduce myself:) Sylwia invited me to pitch in to her wonderful blog and I'm happy to be a part of this project. Hopefully we can make it bigger and more helpful to you, and all of those who are truly fascinated with the Polish language - make fascinated even more!

I live in the US and my main job is developing a program and materials for mostly Americans who want to learn Polish and teaching it to them. I teach at a university and at a college, Polish that is, and also German. I'm a total language freak:), currently learning also Serbian and French.

My favorite part of a language is... grammarrrrr:) I just love the crazy rules, exceptions and mechanisms that rule the army of words. So, whenever you have questions of the type: why the number 2 has 14 possible variations in Polish, or why "mężczyzna" has a feminine ending but is the most masculine noun possible and it means almost the same that "mężczyźnie" or "mężczyzną" - feel free to email me! I never get tired of trying to find an explanation for the weirdest things in the Polish grammar:)

As I also teach a class for Polish native speakers, I like to dig out best of Polish movies, songs and most of all: literature. I will be posting links to free Polish movies or descriptions of the most interesting ones as well as a lot of literary stuff. And here as well, if you are interested in something specific please send me a note! I'll be happy to recommend, search for, or comment on anything.

So, that said, I'm looking forward to adding here something interesting and helpful and I'll be happy to hear your comments:)

W Szczebrzeszynie...

2011-05-28T18:05:00.004+02:00

I think this is the most famous Polish tongue twister!

Usually, we just need two first verses to show how twisted language Polish is, but today, I post whole poem by Jan Brzechwa.

W Szczebrzeszynie chrząszcz brzmi w trzcinie
[f shchebjeshinye hshonshch bjmi f tshchinye]
In Szczebrzeszyn (name of the town) cockchafer is in the reed
I Szczebrzeszyn z tego słynie.
[y shchebjeshin s tego swinye]
And Szczebrzeszyn is famous from that.

Wół go pyta: ”Panie chrząszczu,
[voow ko pita: panye hshonshchu,]
Ox asks him, "Mr cockchafer,
Po co pan tak brzęczy w gąszczu?”
[po so pan tac bjenchi f gonshchu]
Why do you give those sounds?
”Jak to – po co? To jest praca,
[yak to - po so? to yest prasa]
How come - why? it's my job
Każda praca się opłaca.”
[kajda prasa sye opwasa]
Each job is worthwhile.

”A cóż za to Pan dostaje?”
[a soosh za to pan dostaye?]
And what do you get from this?
”Też pytanie! Wszystkie gaje,
[tesh pitanye! wshistkye gaye,]
What a question! all groves
Wszystkie trzciny po wsze czasy,
[fshistkye tshchini po fshe chasi]
All the reeds for all time,
Łąki, pola oraz lasy,
[wonki, pola oras lasi]
Meadows, fields and forests,
Nawet rzeczki, nawet zdroje,
[navet shechki, navet stroye]
Even rivers, even ponds,
Wszystko to jest właśnie moje!”
[fshistko to yest fwashnye moye]
All this is mine!

Szczebrzeszyn is small town in the east-south part of Poland. And is famous mostly because of the poem.

(picture of monument of grasshopper is taken from City website)

ZMIANY/CHANGES

2011-05-28T10:36:00.001+02:00

Dear Readers, Friends!
As you can see we are doing some changes on the blog, just to make it better!
I decided to invite to create this blog my friend from US, who is a teacher of Polish language there.

Hope you will enjoy changes!

Animated History of Poland

2011-04-12T21:47:00.005+02:00

napoje/drinks

2011-01-26T11:03:00.003+01:00

there is no breakfast for me with no coffee ;-)

KAWA [kava] - coffee

HERBATA [herbata] - tea

MLEKO [mleko] - milk

posiłki/meals

2011-01-23T12:23:00.004+01:00

Cześć!
It's been new year already, January almost finished and nothing here. In Poland we say: PRZEPRASZAM ZA MILCZENIE [psheprasham sa milchneye] - sorry for the silence.

It's morning, so time for breakfast.

In the morning we eat ŚNIADANIE [sinydanye]. What do we need?

CHLEB [hlep] - bread

BUŁKA [buwka] - roll

MASŁO [maswo] - butter

WĘDLINY [vendlini] - sausage

SER BIAŁY [ser byawy] - cottage cheese

SER ŻÓŁTY [ser goowti] - cheese

DŻEM [gem] - jam

WARZYWA [vagiva] - vegetables

OWOCE [ovose] - fruits

OGÓREK [ocoorek] - cucumber

POMIDOR [pomidor] - tomatoe

So we can make KANAPKI [kanapki] - sandwiches

świątecznie

2010-12-25T14:04:00.002+01:00

Zdrowych, cudownych Świąt Bożego Narodzenia!

Happy Christmas!

choinka [hoinca]

prezenty [presenti] - gifts

Warszawa

2010-12-15T00:21:00.000+01:00

Warszawa [varshava] is my hometown and I love every piece of it. I enjoy Warszawa every time I am here, and every time I am here I see lot of changes.
There is many great songs about Warszawa, but tonight I want to present you the song of rock band called T.Love. The song is from 80's and it was created when leader of the band was working in some bar in London, and he was missing Warszawa very much.

Za oknem zimowo zaczyna się dzień
Zaczynam kolejny dzień życia
Wyglądam przez okno, na oczach mam sen
A Grochów się budzi z przepicia

Wypity alkohol uderza w tętnice
Autobus tapla się w śniegu
Przez szybę oglądam betonu stolicę
Już jestem na drugim jej brzegu

Gdy patrzę w twe oczy, zmęczone jak moje
To kocham to miasto, zmęczone jak ja
Gdzie Hitler i Stalin zrobili, co swoje
Gdzie wiosna spaliną oddycha

Krakowskie Przedmieście zalane jest słońcem
Wirujesz jak obłok, wynurzasz się z bramy
A ja jestem głodny, tak bardzo głodny
Kochanie, nakarmisz mnie snami

Zielony Żoliborz, pieprzony Żoliborz
Rozkwita na drzewach, na krzewach
Ściekami z rzeki kompletnie pijany
Chcę krzyczeć, chcę ryczeć, chcę śpiewać

Gdy patrzę w twe oczy, zmęczone jak moje
To kocham to miasto, zmęczone jak ja
Gdzie Hitler i Stalin zrobili, co swoje
Gdzie wiosna spaliną oddycha

Jesienią zawsze zaczyna się szkoła
A w knajpach zaczyna się picie
Jest tłoczno i duszno, olewa nas kelner
I tak skończymy o świcie

Jesienią zawsze myślę o latach
Tak starych, jak te kamienice
Jesienią o zmroku przechodzę z tobą
Przez pełne kasztanów ulice

Gdy patrzę w twe oczy, zmęczone jak moje
To kocham to miasto, zmęczone jak ja
Gdzie Hitler i Stalin zrobili, co swoje
Gdzie wiosna spaliną oddycha

Mikołajki

2010-12-06T21:58:00.000+01:00

We have very funny custom on 6th of December. This is Saint Mikołaj day and this day Mikołaj brings small gifts. Usually he leaves them in the shoes (but kids have to clean shoes before, if not they will receive just a patatoe) or under the pillow. I don't have to tell you how much kids likes this day.
In my home, me and my sister were writting letters to Santa Claus and we were leaving the letters under the pillow or in a shoe (clean one of course!) and in the morning we were finding sweets or small toys.

Mikołajki [micowayki] - is therefore the name of the custom and plural and diminutive form of the name Mikołaj.

again about body parts

2010-09-29T16:00:00.002+02:00

but in a little bit different way.
Polish idioms with body parts:

NOS [nos] - nose

Mieć (kogoś/coś) po dziurki w nosie [myeti (kogosi/cosi) po goorki f nosye] - lit. to have somebody/something up to the nose holes.
We say this when we have enough of something/somebody. To be cheesed off with something.

Mieć muchy w nosie [myeti moohi f nosye] - lit. to have flies in the nose.
We say this when somebody is changing the mood very quickly, no mood.

Coś idzie jak krew z nosa [cosi idye yak kref s nosa] - lit. something is going like blood from nose. In the sense that something is happening very slowly.

Czuć pismo nosem [chooci pismo nosem] - lit. to smell writting with a nose; in the sense of: to predict, to smell a rat.

OKO/OCZY [oko, ochi] - eye, eyes

Oko w oko [oko f oko] - lit. eye to eye; face to face.

Mydlić komuś oczy [midliti komoosi ochi] - lit. to wash/lather someone's eyes; to put the wool over somebody's eyes.

USZY [ooshi] - ears

Zakochać się po uszy [sakohati sye po ooshi] - lit. to fall in love up to the ears. To fall head over heels in love with somebody.

pory roku II/ seasons II

2010-08-22T23:35:00.012+02:00

WIOSNA [vyosna] - Spring

MARZEC [mashes] - March

KWIECIEŃ [kpfyetieni] - April

MAJ [may] - May

LATO [lato] - Summer

CZERWIEC [chervyes] - June

LIPIEC [lipyes] - July

SIERPIEŃ [syerpyeni] - August

JESIEŃ [yesyeni] - Autumn

WRZESIEŃ [vshesyeni] - September

PAŹDZIERNIK [pasicyernik] - October

LISTOPAD [listopad] - November

ZIMA [zima] - Winter

GRUDZIEŃ [groodyeni] - December

STYCZEŃ [sticheni] - January

LUTY [luti] - February

Photos source:
szkola-potarzyca.zzl.org
villagreta.pl
fotogalerie.pl
wroclawski.blog-ogrodniczy.pl

o Warszawie/ about Warsaw

2010-08-21T15:47:00.001+02:00

Below something or rather someone found in youtube. And his way to learn Polish. Maybe you can try like this as well? I have to add here that I am very VERY impressed with his pronoucation. And this video was made after 1 month of learning Polish. Wow.

- Proszę Państwa, jesteśmy w centrum historycznym Warszawy. Przed nami Stare Miasto. (Dear all, we are in historical center of Warsaw. This is Old Town)
- Co to jest? (what is this?)
- Zamek Królewski. (The Royal Castle)
- A ten pomnik? (and this monument?)
- Kolumna króla Zygmunta. Teraz jedziemy do centrum handlowego. (Zygmunt's Column. And now we go to shopping center)
- Co to za budynek? (what is this building?)
- Pałac Kultury i Nauki. (Palace od Culture and Science)
- Bardzo dziwny. Trudno powiedzieć czy ładny czy brzydki. (Very weird. It's hard to say if it is nice or if it is ugly).

Stare Miasto

Zamek Królewski

Kolumna Zygmunta

Pałac Kultury i Nauki

części ciała II - twarz/ body parts II - face

2010-08-18T10:46:00.002+02:00

TWARZ [tphash] - face

1. WŁOSY [vwosi]
2. CZOŁO [chowo]
3. BREW [brev] but BRWI [brvi] (plural)
4. RZĘSY [jensi]
5. POWIEKA [povyeka]
6. OKO [oko] but OCZY [ochi] (plural)
7. UCHO [uho] but USZY [ushi] (plural)
8. NOS [nos]
9. POLICZEK [polichek]
10. USTA [oosta]

11. WARGA [varka]
12. ZĘBY [ sembi]
13. JĘZYK [yensik]

Body parts I

1.08.1944

2010-08-01T13:29:00.013+02:00

day when Warsaw Rising started - at 5 p.m. From the 1st of August for 63 days, 66 years ago whole Warsaw was fighting for freedom of our country.

Every year, this day you can see on the streets of Warsaw the last uprisers.
My grandfather was also fighting for Warsaw. Once, he told me the story of one evening, when he and his detachment were very tired after the battle, so they decided to rest in the ruins of some house. They had put their backpacks under the heads and lay down alongside one another. My grandfather could not sleep, he needed to pee, but he was so tired that he was just lazy to stand up. Struggled with himself, finally he went to the side. At this moment the German aircraft had flew with a long series of machine guns and shot the detachement of grandfather. When he returned to the place, all were dead, and there was a hole in his backpack from the bullet.

My grandfather was not from Warsaw however, he was fighting for it. After war, he never came back to Warsaw, so he didn't see how beautiful is now, so he could be proud of it.

I was growing up in Warsaw, my mom is from here (father is from the south of Poland). We used to live in a house who remembered the times of Warsaw Rising, in Mokotów (this is one of the districts). From the yard, where I played with other kids, we could see a mound. This mound is made from the rubble of Warsaw - my mom said. Later, when we had moved to another flat, I could see the moud from the window.

Today, on the top of this moud you can see the monument of Poland Fighting (Polska Walcząca).

view from my window

After rising, Warsaw was complitely destroyed. Hitler did not like, that there was resistance, so he gave order to blow out whole city and kill everybody.

Below, song called March of Mokotów with my translation. This song is a perfect example of strong spirit residents of Warsaw.

Nie złamie wolnych żadna klęska,
(free people will not give up by any disaster)
Nie strwoży śmiałych żaden trud –
(brave people will not get scared from the effort)
Pójdziemy razem do zwycięstwa,
(we'll go together to victory)
Gdy ramię w ramię stanie lud.
(when people will stand up arm in arm).

Refren/chorus:
Warszawskie dzieci, pójdziemy w bój,
(Warsaw children, we go into battle)
Za każdy kamień Twój, Stolico, damy krew!
(for every your stone, Warsaw, we'll give the blood!)
Warszawskie dzieci, pójdziemy w bój,
(Warsaw children, we go into battle)
Gdy padnie rozkaz Twój, poniesiem wrogom gniew!
(when your order will be given, will bear the wrath to enemies!)

Powiśle, Wola i Mokotów,
(Powisle, Wola and Mokotow)
Ulica każda, każdy dom –
(every street, every house)
Gdy padnie pierwszy strzał, bądź gotów,
(when will be the first shot, be ready),
Jak w ręku Boga złoty grom.
(like golden thunderbolt in God's hands).

Od piły, dłuta, młota, kielni –
(from saws, chisels, hammer, trowel) -
Stolico, synów swoich sław,
(be proud from your sons, Warsaw)
Że stoją wraz przy Tobie wierni
(that they are together, faithful)
Na straży Twych żelaznych praw.
(in guards of your iron rights).

Poległym chwała, wolność żywym,
(glory for fallen, freedom for survivors)
Niech płynie w niebo dumny śpiew,
(let the proud singing fly into the sky)
Wierzymy, że nam Sprawiedliwy,
(we believe that our God),
Odpłaci za przelaną krew.
(will pay back for sheded blood).

Little explanation:
Stolica - this is how we call Warsaw, capital city
Powiśle, Wola and Mokotów - districts of Warsaw
Sprawiedliwy - lit. justice, in the sense of God

and another song about uprising by Sabaton

***
source of the picture of uprisers: www.mmszczecin.pl

imieniny Anny/Anna's name day

2010-07-25T17:09:00.023+02:00

Tomorrow (26th of July) is the most popular name day in Poland - Anna, in the remembrance of St. Anna - mother of Mary. And because of this I want to introduce to you this name and famous Polish women named Anna.

Anna comes from a hebrew name - Hannah and exists in Poland from 1229 in the form of Anna and from 1311 in the form of Hanna. It is the most popular name in Poland. There is more than 1 mln women in Poland with this name (March 2009) - it's 5,4% of the female population.
We have also different forms of this name like: Ania, Anka, Anula...

What is important and you should know - Anna as a name has also declination. We have 7 basic forms of declination for single and plural.
Anna (kto? co? - who? what is this?)
Anny (kogo? czego? - whom?/what?)
Annie (komu? czemu? - whom? what?)
Annę (kogo? co? - whom? what?)
(z) Anną (z kim? z czym? - with who? with what?)
(o) Annie (o kim? o czym? - about who?/what?)
Anno (o! - used when we called somebody)

plural declination looks different, however the questions are the same:
Anny (kto? co? - who? what is this?)

Ann (kogo? czego? - whom?/what?) - more often we use Anek or women with the name Anna, because Ann sounds weird ;-).

Annom (komu? czemu? - whom? what?)

Anny (kogo? co? - whom? what?)

(z) Annami (z kim? z czym? - with who? with what?)

(o) Annach (o kim? o czym? - about who?/what?)

Anny (o! - used when we called somebody)

And behold, our famous Anny:

ANIA DĄBROWSKA, singer. Song comes from the album AniaMovie. Ania usualy sings in Polish, but since this album is a compilation of famous film songs - hence the English.

Ania is young talented singer with great voice. If you like her singing check also her website.

ANNA DYMNA - actress. One of my favourite actresses - beautiful not even outside but also inside. She is associated for years with Kraków where she lives and teaches in Academy of Theatre. In 2003 she established foundation "Against the Odds".
One of the activities of the foundation is amazing The Marek Grechuta National Magical Song Festival. "The Festival Competitors cannot expect any leniency. Only their vocal abilities, personality and scenic expression count. This is because the event aims at discovering talents comparable with such stars as Ray Charles, Andrea Bocelli or Stevie Wonder" (quotation from the website).

To give you impression what The Magical Song Festival is, here is official video from 6th edition of the festival.

ANNA MARIA JOPEK - jazz, folk singer.
Well known in the jazz world, another beautiful Anna. This Anna is strongly associated with Warsaw ;-).
She is married to a music journalist and photographer and guitarist Marcin Kydryński and has two sons.
If you like to know more about her work - here is link to official website.
And again - sample of her work:

ANJA RUBIK - model.
She lives in New York where In 2010 she took 3rd place in he list of global models. She appeared on the catwalk include: Yves Saint-Laurent, Paco Rabanne, Carolina Herrera, D&G, Donna Karan, Karl Lagerfeld, Gucci, Moschino, etc. She participated in campaigns including: Valentino, Diesel, Dior, Versace... and many more.
And if you like to see more her pictures - visit Anja's official website.

And below one of the most beautiful songs about lost love - of course - Anna's love. And again with my translation. First lyrics and music below.

Nie mów nic, proszę Cię, no bo co można rzec,
w takiej chwili?
(don't say anything, please, what you can say
in the moment like this?)
Nie mów, że wrócisz tu, że odchodzisz na dni
tylko kilka
(don't tell me you will come back, you just leave
for few days)
Wyjdź ot tak, jakby nic, jakbyś szła kupić chleb
do sklepiku.
(just leave as nothing happened, like you go to buy
the bread to the little shop).
Anno,
nie mów nic, proszę Cię, nie mów: kiedyś wrócę tu.
(Anno,
don't say anything, please, don't tell me: I'll come back one day).
Chyba że głos drzew i ptaków
(or maybe sound of trees and birds)
Nasze dawne noce przypomni Ci,
(will remind you our past nights).
Chyba że twym oczom blasku
(or maybe the sun will give the shine)
słońce doda, wtedy wróć.
(to your eyes, then come back).

parlando
Gdy obdarowałaś mnie naszyjnikiem swoich rąk
(whe you have given me the necklace from your arms)
stałem się najbogatszym z ludzi
(I became the richest person)
gdy wstępowaliśmy na schody
(when we walked up the stairs)
aby miękko Ci było iść
(to make your walking soft)
kładłem pod twoje stopy poduszki dłoni
(I put under your feet, the pillows from my hands)
za poręcz miałaś moje ramiona
(the railing you had in my arms).
Mówiłaś "kocham" i stawało się okno prosto w słońce
(you said: "I love you" and there was a sun straight in my window)
Teraz krzyczę "kocham"
(now I shout "I love you")
i wschodzi słońce bez promieni...
(and the sun is not shining...)
Anno,
nie mów nic, proszę Cię, nie mów: kiedyś wrócę tu.
(Anno,
don't say anything, please, don't tell me: I'll come back one day).
Dokąd Anno, wracaj Anno!
(where did you go, Anno, come back, Anno!)
echo, Anno, odpowiada mi
(only echo answers me)
powiedz Anno, jak odnaleźć
(tell me, Anno, how can I find)
słowa "kocham" sens i treść?
(the sense and essence of the word "Love"?)

łamanie języka/polish tongue twisters

2010-07-20T23:51:00.005+02:00

It is not a secret that Polish language is very difficult to pronounciate for foreigners. We have a lot of sounds which do not exist in other languages - f. eks.: ż, dż, dź, ź, ą, ę...
Spelling the name can be a real nightmare for any of those who doesn't speak Polish. There is one famous scene from Polish movie - Jak rozpętałem drugą wojnę światową (How did I start second world war).

name: Grzegorz [kshekosz] Brzęczyszczykiewicz [bgenchishchikyevich]
born: Chrząszczyżewoszyce [hshchonshchishevoshise] powiat [povyat] Łękołody [wencowodi]

ufff, that's difficult, I know ;-), but it's not the end! below one of Polish tongue twister - poem that I used to repeat very fast:

Szczepan Szczygieł z GRZMIĄCYCH BYSTRZYC
Przed chrzcinami chciał się przystrzyc.
Sam się strzyc nie przywykł wszakże
Więc do szwagra rzecze - Szwagrze,
Szwagrze, przystrzyż mnie choć krztynę,
Bo mam chrzciny za godzinę.
Nic prostszego szwagier na to:
Żono, brzytwę daj szczerbatą
W rżysko będzie strzechę Szczygła
Ta szczerbata brzytwa strzygła !!!
Usłyszawszy straszną wieść
Szczepan Szczygieł wrzasnął: Cześć !
I przez rżysko i przez proso
Niestrzyżony czmychnął w proso.

Will YOU try to say it? ;-).
Remember to spell:
sz - like English sh (bush)
cz - like ch (chimney)
rz - like sh but more hard
ą - like o and a together
ę - like e and y together
ż - like sh but with the sound
ł - like w (window)
ch - like h (hair)
ń - like -ng (england)
ć - like ch but more soft
ś - like sh but more soft
ó - like oo (moon)

very helpfull video on youtube:

More tongue twisters in Polish:
Polish Tongue Twisters
Polish tongue twisters (wikiquotes)
tongue twisters from alpha dictionary

1410 - Battle of Grunwald

2010-07-14T12:00:00.006+02:00

1410 is very important date for Polish people. Sometimes we laugh that we (Polish) do not remember the date of Warsaw Uprising or partitions of Poland, but every little kid knows the year of the battle of Grunwald.
As this year we have 600th anniversary of this battle let me remind you as well as myself what was it about really.

This is the map of Królestwo Polskie [kroolestfo polskye] - Kingdom of Poland (red color on the left side) and Księstwo Litewskie [ksyenstwo litewskye] -Grand Duchy of Lithuania (pink color) in XIV/XV century. The green color belongs to Zakon Krzyżacki [sakon kshishasky] (Teutonic Knights).
In very shortcut:
We had union with Grand Duchy of Lithuania and there was a conflict (spring 1409) between Teutonic Knights and one of the Lithuanians regions - Żmudź [gmoochi]. Poland took side of Lithuania so Ulrich von Jungingen (the great master of Teutonic Knights) decided to attack Poland. Region close to the sea (green color on the map) was very important and almost all fights were about this part. However nowadays it's the part of Poland called Pomorze [pomoshe].
I will not describe you the battle or historical causes - you can read about it here. I remember from school very romantic - as I can see it now - stories about this battle. I pictured it many times - Polish king Władysław Jagiełło and his army waiting in the shadow when Teutonic Knights army was getting melted on the sun. Jagiełło was like a hero for us - kids - he was the one who had defeated dreadful knights.
I must emphasize here that this battle was one of the biggest in medieval times and we won it (in union with other countries). What does it prove? That we can do a lot together.

Below video by Tomasz Bagiński. Video is promoting the 600th anniversary celebration.

There is also one thing strongly associated with Grunwald - picture made by Jan Matejko.

Every year you can watch fight staging. More information here (unfortunatelly only in Polish).

OFFICIAL SITE of 600th aniversary of Battle of Grunwald.

This webside is dedicated to 600th anniversary celebration (unofficial and in Polish only).

***

source of the map - Wikipedia.

polish poet and songwriter

2010-07-06T19:47:00.010+02:00

it has been a long time since we had a song here.
today it will be Agnieszka Osiecka's song - Nie żałuję (I don't regret).

Agnieszka Osiecka was one of the greatest writers, poets, journalists and songwriters in Poland. She spent almost all her life in Warsaw on Saska Kępa (one of districts). She wrote more than 2000 lyrics and whole generations know her songs.
After her death in 1997, her daughter Agnieszka Passent founded The Agnieszka Osiecka Okularnicy Foundation, which manages Public Digital Archive of Agnieszka Osiecka.

And here is the song with lyrics and translation. Aha, song is performed by Edyta Geppert (another amazing artist).

Że nie dałaś mi mamo zielonookich snów.
That you didn't give me, mom, greeneyed dreams.
Nie, nie żałuję.
No, I don't regret.
Że nie znałam klejnotów ni koronkowych słów.
That I didn't know jewelery or laces words.
Nie żałuję.
I don't regret.
Że nie mówiłaś mi, jak szczęście kraść spod lady,
That you didn't tell me how to still luck,
i nie uczyłaś mnie życiowej maskarady.
and you didn't teach me life's masquerade.
Pieszczoty szarej tych umęczonych dni, nie żal mi,
Cares of those grey martyred days, I don't regret,
nie żal mi.
I don't regret.
Nie, nie żałuję.
No, I don't regret.
Przeciwnie, bardzo ci dziękuję, kochana,
In opposite, thank you very much darling,
żeś mi odejść pozwoliła, po to, bym żyła tak jak żyłam.
for this that you let me go, so I could live as I lived.
Że nie dałeś mi szczęścia, pierścionka ani psa.
That you didn't give me happiness, ring or dog.
Nie żałuję.
I don't regret.
Że nie dzwonisz po nocach: kochanie, tak to ja.
That you don't call me at night: honey, it's me.
Nie żałuję.
I don't regret.
Że nie załatwisz mi posady sekretarki,
That you will not settle me in secretary job,
i że nie noszę twojej szarej marynarki.
and that I will not wear your grey jacket.
Że patrzysz na mnie jak teatralny widz,
That you look at me as theater viewer,
to nic, to nic.
it's nothing, it's nothing.
Nie, nie żałuję.
No, I don't regret.
Przeciwnie, bardzo ci dziękuję, kochanie,
In opposite, thank you very much darling,
za to, że jesteś królem karo,
you are the king of diamonts,
że jesteś zbrodnią mą i karą.
you are my crime and punishment.
Że w tym kraju przeżyłam tych parę trudnych lat.
That I spent in this country few difficult years.
Nie żałuję.
I don't regret.
Że na koniec się dowiem: ot, tak się toczy świat.
That at the end I will known: well, this is how it is.
Nie żałuję.
I don't regret.
Że nie załatwią mi urlopu od pogardy,
That I will have no holidays from contempt
i że nie zwrócą mi uśmiechu jak kokardy.
and they will not give me back my smile.
Pieszczoty szarej tych umęczonych dni, nie żal mi,

Cares of those grey martyred days, I don't regret,
nie żal mi.

I don't regret.

Nie, nie żałuję.
No, I don't regret.
Przeciwnie, bardzo ci dziękuję, mój kraju,
In opposite, thank you very much my country,
za jakiś czwartek, jakiś piątek, jakiś wtorek,
for any Thursday, Friday, any Tuesday,
i za nadziei cały worek.
and for the whole bag of hope.
Nie, nie żałuję.
No, I don't regret.
Przeciwnie, bardzo ci dziękuję,
in opposite, thank you very much,
za to, że jesteś moim krajem,
that you are my country,
że jesteś piekłem mym i rajem.
that you are my hell and heaven.
Nie żałuję.
I don't regret.
Nie żałuję.
I don't regret.
Nie żałuję.
I don't regret.

autor: Agnieszka Osiecka
kompozytor: Seweryn Krajewski

pytania od Was/questions from you

2010-05-13T14:34:00.003+02:00

Sometimes I receive from you questions on my prv mail - thank you for this! This way I know that somebody read and enjoy my blog.

However I thought that maybe some of those questions I can bring into public view.

Do you know if there is a saying in Polish like "Can you dig it?"

Its a slang version of saying 'You Understand' or 'You get it'

In Polish we have following sayings which are slang version of "You understand":

KUMASZ? [qmash] = do you understand? did you get it?

KMINISZ? [kminish] = kumasz = do you understand? did you get it?

CZAISZ? [chaish] - we say also - CZAISZ BAZĘ? [chaish base] - when something is impossible but its happening.

ALE CZAD [ale chat] - when somebody is saying something increddible/or something happened/ and its just like the admiration of it.

National Day of Polish Flag

2010-05-01T11:06:00.004+02:00

2nd of May is National Day of Polish Flag

(Dzień Flagi Narodowej)

[dyen flagi narodovey]

Katyn Crime

2010-04-23T22:25:00.014+02:00

Tonight I want to share with you the parts of the movie "Katyń" compiled with the song about massacre. With my translation below.

Jacek Kaczmarski - Ballada katyńska

Ciśnie się do światła niby warstwa skóry

(It's coming to the light like a layer of skin)

Tłok patrzących twarzy spod ruszonej darni

(Crowd of faces looking from the moved turf)

Spoglądają jedna znad drugiej - do góry

(They look one above the another - to up)

Ale nie ma ruin. To nie gród wymarły...

(But no ruins. This city does not become extinct...)

Raz odkryte - krzyczą zatęchłymi usty

(Once discovered - they scream with musty mouths)

Lecą sobie przez ręce wypróchniałe w środku

(They fall through the hands decayed inside)

W rów, co nigdy więcej nie będzie już pusty

(To the trench, which will not be empty anymore)

Ale nie ma krzyży. To nie groby przodków...

(But there are not crosses. There is no graves of ancestors...)

Sprzączki i guziki z orzełkiem ze rdzy

(... and buttons with the eagle of the rust)

Po miskach czerepów - robaków gonitwy

(on the sculls - worms races)

Zgniłe zdjęcia, pamiątki, mapy miast i wsi

(rotten pictures, memorabilia, maps od towns and villages)

Ale nie ma broni. To nie pole bitwy...

(but no weapons. This is not a battlefield...)

Może wszyscy byli na to samo chorzy?

(maybe there were all on the same patients?)

Te same nad karkiem okrągłe urazy

(the same rounded injuries on the neck)

Przez które do ziemi dar odpłynął Boży

(through which the God's gift sailed to the ground...)

Ale nie ma znaków, że to grób zarazy...

(but there are no signs, that it was a grave of plague...)

Jeszcze rosną drzewa, które to widziały

(even the trees are growing, which saw it)

Jeszcze ziemia pamięta kształt buta, smak krwi

(even the ground remembers shape of shoe, taste of blood)

Niebo zna język, w którym komendy padały

(heaven knows the language of the commends, spoken)

Nim padły wystrzały, którymi wciąż brzmi

(before the shoots which sound is still there)

Ale to świadkowie żywi - więc stronniczy

(but those witnesses are still alive - and they biased)

Zresztą, by ich słuchać trzeba wejść do zony

(but even, to listen them, you must go to the zone)

Na milczenie tych świadków może pan ich liczyć

(the master of those witnesses can relay on their silence)

Pan powietrza i ziemi i drzew uwięzionych.

(the master of the air and the ground and prisoned trees)

Oto świat bez śmierci. Świat śmierci bez mordu.

(this is the world without death. World of death without murder)

Świat mordu bez rozkazu, rozkazu bez głosu.

(world of murder with no commend, commend without the voice)

Świat głosu bez ciała i ciała bez Boga.

(world of voice with no body and body without God)

Świat Boga bez imienia, imienia - bez losu.

(world of God with no name, name - with no fate)

Jest tylko jedna taka świata strona,

(there is only one side of the world)

Gdzie coś, co nie istnieje - wciąż o pomstę woła

(where something, what does not exist - still cries for the vengeance)

Gdzie już śmiechem nawet mogiła nie czczona

(where the grave is not even honored with the laugh)

Dół nieominięty - dla orła sokoła...

(bottom is not passed - for eagle falcon...)

O pewnym brzasku w katyńskim lasku,

strzelali do nas Sowieci...

(about a dawn in Katyń forest,

the Soviets shot to us...)

Check also:

Katyń Crime

Remember. Katyń 1940.

Katyń Forest Massacre

Katyń Memorial Wall

10.04.2010

2010-04-10T17:45:00.012+02:00

Poland is shocked today. The death of the President and 88 key persons in the goverment made my country united - nobody can't believe in this what happend, everybody are in the sorrow and sadness.

There is no words to describe this tragedy.

The President and the Polish delegation went to Katyn to commemorate the tragedy that took place there during World War II.

Stay with us. We need your support.

President of the Republic of Poland

Muerte el presidente polaco

marzec/March

2010-03-05T19:56:00.005+01:00

and "w marcu jak w garncu" [w marsu jak w garnsu] - this is Polish saying, which means that in March the weather is changing and mixing (like in a pot).

But March in Poland is also anniversary of "March '68" - protests that took place all over Poland.

Read in Wikipedia

Official website of March 1968

zima/winter

2010-02-11T14:20:00.007+01:00

It is very cold outside and I started to remind myself the winters from my childhood... and from winters from my childhold it is very close to cartoons!

I hope you will like Bolek&Lolek - characters from the TV animated series (with the same title). That was very famous cartoon for kids, during the comunistic times in Poland. Everything there is black&white and there is no unecessary dilemas! I miss those times!

The title of this episode is: "Winter fun". Enjoy!

More about Bolek i Lolek cartoon.

Przysłowia/Polish sayings

2010-02-08T21:58:00.004+01:00

Can you imagine that LUTY already arrived? It is almost the middle of February! St. Valentines Day is just around the corner, singles are getting ready for the everyyearsnightmare ;-).

What's up with me?

Well I am still in Norway:

- taking Norwegian lessons (UCZĘ SIĘ NORWESKIEGO - ooche sye norveskyego),

- searching for the job (SZUKAM PRACY - shookam prasy),

- learning about Norwegian culture (POZNAJĘ NORWESKĄ KULTURĘ - posnaye norveskom cultoore),

- spending some time with my friends (SPĘDZAM CZAS Z PRZYJACIÓŁMI - spenzam chas s pshiyatyoowmi).

And of course I do more than that, but is there any sense to post it here? ;-)

Polish sayings about LUTY:

Gdy luty z burzami, prędko wiosna z nami [gdi looti s bushami, prentko viosna s nami] - when there are storms in February, the spring will come sooner

Gdy luty z ciepłem chodzi, to marzec wychłodzi [gdu looti s tyepwem chozi, to mashes wihwozi] - when February comes with warm, March will be cold.

Idzie luty, szykuj (ciepłe) buty [idye looti, shikooy (tyepwe) booti] - February is coming, prepare your (warm) shoes.

Kiedy luty nie wymrozi, to maj śniegiem nam pogrozi [kyedi looti nye wimrosi, to may sinyegyem nam pogrosi] - if there is no coldness in February, then snow will be in May.

I think those sayings are more for Poland than other parts of the world, aren't they?

urodziny/birthday

2009-11-24T22:07:00.005+01:00

Today is my birthday. In Polish we call it URODZINY [oorodini].

What kind of wishes you can send?

Here you have some tips:

WSZYSTKIEGO NAJLEPSZEGO [fshistkyego naylepshiego] - all the best!

DUŻO ZDROWIA [dusho strovya] - stay healthy

SPEŁNIENIA MARZEŃ [spewnyenya masheni] - let your dreams come true

DUŻO UŚMIECHU [dusho ooshimyehoo] - a lot of smile (in the meaning - lot of reasons to smile)

11th of November

2009-11-11T14:50:00.012+01:00

is Polish Independence Day.

We call it - Święto Niepodległości [sphiento nyepodlekloshchi].

It is a day to commemorate the anniversary of Poland's assumption of independent statehood after more than 120 years of being parted. In 1795, when the Third Partition of Poland took place, Poland dissapeared from the maps of Europe.

This event is strongly connected with Marshal Józef Piłsudski who was the leader of Second Polish Republic and is considered as one of the best Polish leaders ever!

For Polish people this is one of the most important days in our history and we are very proud to celebrate it with all its glory.

Wszystkich Świętych/ All Saints Day

2009-11-01T20:44:00.007+01:00

Today in Poland is holiday called Wszystkich Świętych (All Saints Day).

The day has its origin in pagan times but now is tighted with catholics. I don't know how this day looks like in other catholics countries, but in Poland is very traditonal. We light candles and visit the graves of our relatives. I like this day very much. It is a moment to stop and to reflect about the life. And the atmosfhere is great - you can see beautiful lights all over the cementary and people focused, whispering, sometimes crying...

Yesterday we had ZADUSZKI [sadushki] - All Souls Day, more about it you can read about it here.

Today we have WSZYSTKICH ŚWIĘTYCH [shishkih shphientih] -All Saints Day

We light candles - ZNICZE [sniche]

We visit cemetary - CMENTARZ [smentash]

jesień/autumn

2009-10-29T13:52:00.008+01:00

it's the middle of Autumn, my first Autumn in Norway. Full of colors, stunning views and cold - of course ;).

I haven't written here for a long time - probably too long. Today I will try to update you with some Polish songs related to Autumn...

As you will hear&read Autumn is very melancholic time in Poland.

Krzysztof Klenczon was one of the greatest composers and singers in the 60'&70'. He died in Chicago in car accident in 1981. Song which I want to present you is considered as one of the most beautiful songs in history of Czerwone Gitary band (Klenczon was the leader of this band). I will try to give you some sample of this song with my translation.

Jesień idzie przez park

Autumn is walking thru the park

Jesień ... Liść ostatni już spadł.

Autumn... Last leaf already felt down.
Jesień ... Deszcz zmył butów Twych ślad.

Autumn... The rain washed the trace of your shoes.
Jesień idzie ku mnie przez park.

Autumn is coming to me through the park.

Wczoraj minął miesiąc, jak list

A month passed yesterday, since
Przyniósł mi listonosz, a dziś

The postman brought a letter, and today
Tylko nosi liście tu wiatr.

The wind is bringing the leaves only.

To, to radosny był dzień,

It, it was joyful day,
Gdy zapewniałaś mnie, że

When you were convincing me, that

Nic nie rozdzieli nas już,

Nothing will separate us from now,
Że co dzień list będziesz słać do mnie.

That you will send letters every day.

Jesień ... Liść ostatni już spadł.

Autumn... Last leaf already felt down.
Popatrz - plaża jak biały kwiat.

Look - the beach is like a white flower.
Zima idzie ku mnie przez park.

Winter is coming to me through the park.

Szybko przyjdzie wiosna i żar ,

Spring and heat will come soon,
Lato, i wakacje, i park,

Summer, and holidays, and park
W którym znajdę cienie wśród drzew.

In which I'll find shadows among the trees.

Znów szybko miną nam dni,

The days will pass again,
Znów będziesz powtarzać mi,

And you will say again,
Że nie rozdzieli nas nic,

That nothing will separate us,
Że co dzień list będziesz słać do mnie.

That you will send letters to me every day.

Jesień ... Znowu czekam na list.

Autumn... I wait for the letter again.
Jesień ... Zamiast listu mam liść.

Autumn... I have a leaf instead of letter.
Jesień ... Z inną idę przez park ...

Autumn... I walk through the park with other girl...

***

Sława Przybylska - Polish singer who got famous with this song in 1958. The song was a track in a great movie from that times Farewells based on the novel of Stanislaw Dygat. And just to give you some idea of the movie or Poland from the end of 50' - video from the movie.

Pamiętasz była jesień

Do you remember... it was Autumn

Pamiętasz była jesień

Do you remember, it was Autumn
mały hotel "Pod różami", pokój numer 8

small hotel "The roses", room number 8
staruszek portier

gaffer porter
z uśmiechem dawał klucz

was smiling giving us the key
na schodach niecierpliwie

on the stairs, you were kissing
całowałeś po kryjomu moje włosy

my hairs impatiently
czy więcej złotych liści było

was there more gold leaves
czy Twych pieszczot miły

or your carresing my love,
dzisiaj nie wiem już.
today, I don't know anymore.

Odszedłeś potem nagle drzwi otwarte

Then you left, doors open, suddenly
liść powiewem wiatru padł mi do nóg

leaf felt down on my knees
i wtedy zrozumiałam - to się kończy

and then i understood - it is finishing
pożegnania czas już przekroczyć próg.

farewell time, we should cross it.
Pamiętasz była jesień

Do you remember, it was autumn
pokój numer 8, korytarza mrok

room number 8, darkness of the holl
już nigdy nie zapomnę hoteliku "Pod różami"

I will never forget small hotel "The roses"
choć już minął rok.

a year passed down.

Kochany wróć do mnie

My love, come back to me
ja tęsknię za Tobą

I miss you
i niech rozstania, kochany

and separation, my love,
nie dzielą nas już.

shouldn't divide us anynmore.
Pociągi wstrzymać

Stop the trains,
niech nigdy już listonosz

and the postman will not bring
złych listów nie przynosi

bad news anymore
pod hotelik róż.

to the roses' hotel.

Mimozami jesień się zaczyna,
złotawa, krucha i miła,
To ty, to ty jesteś ta dziewczyna,
która do mnie na ulicę wychodziła.

Od twoich listów pachniało w sieni,
gdym wracał zdyszany ze szkoły,
a po ulicach w lekkiej jesieni
fruwały za mną jasne anioły.

Mimozami zwiędłość przypomina
nieśmiertelnik żółty - październik.
To ty, to ty, moja jedyna,
przychodziłaś wieczorem do cukierni.

Z przemodlenia, z przeomdlenia senny,
w parku płakałem szeptanymi słowy.
Księżyc z chmurek prześwitywał jesienny,
od mimozy złotej majowy.

Ach czułymi, przemiłymi snami
zasypiałem z nim gasnącym o poranku,
w snach dawnymi bawiąc się wiosnami,
jak tą złotą, jak tą wonną wiązanką.

zwierzęta/animals

2009-09-14T22:03:00.006+02:00

To jest [to yest] - this is...

zając [sayonc]

ptak [ptak]

motyl [motil]

krowa [krova]

koń [koni]

kaczka [kachka]

szkoła/school

2009-08-31T13:12:00.012+02:00

Sierpień [syerpyeni] is finished. In Poland schools start their work on the 1st of September.

Dzieci [dyeti] - kids are coming back to their schools after holidays full of adventures ;)).

WAKACJE [vakasye] - holidays

SZKOŁA [shkowa] - school

KLASA [klasa] - classroom

TABLICA [tablisa] - blackboard

KREDA [kreda] - chalk

PRZERWA [psherfa] - recess

What DZIECI need for school?

TORNISTER [tornister] - schoolbag

PLECAK [plesak] - backpack

KSIĄŻKA [ksyoshka] - book

ZESZYT [seszit] - exercise book

Who they meet at school?

KOLEŻANKA [koleshanka] - girl friend

KOLEGA [koleka] - boy friend

NAUCZYCIEL [naoochityel] - teacher

What they learn at school?

JĘZYK POLSKI [yesik polski] - Polish language

MATEMATYKA [matematika] - math

HISTORIA [histroya] - history

BIOLOGIA [byolokya] - biology

GEOGRAFIA [keokrafya] - geography

W-F [vuef] - gimnastic

MUZYKA [musika] - music

PLASTYKA [plastika] - art

FIZYKA [fisika] - physics

CHEMIA [hemya] - chemistry

ETYKA [etika] - ethics

We have three levels of school in Poland.

SZKOŁA PODSTAWOWA [shkowa potstavova] - elementary school

Kids go to school at age of 7 years in Poland and they are in SZKOŁA PODSTAWOWA for six years.

Then they have some exams and they go to GIMNAZJUM [kimnasyoom] - gymnasium, where they go for 3 years.

Then in the age of 16/17 they can choose LICEUM [liseoom] - high school or TECHNIKUM [tehnikoom] - technical school

The system of education in Poland

emocje/emotions

2009-08-14T10:54:00.005+02:00

as emotions are very important part of our life, today some vocabulary about this:

ZŁOŚĆ [swoshch] - anger

STRACH [strah] - fear

ZAZDROŚĆ [sasdroshch] - jealousy

NIEPOKÓJ [nyepokooy] - anxiety

ZMARTWIENIE [smartwyenye] - worry

If you want to use these vocabulary in a sentence it will be like this:

JESTEM ZŁY (m.)/ZŁA (f.) [yestem swi/swa]- I am angry.

BOJĘ SIĘ [boye sye] - I am scared.

ON JEST BARDZO ZAZDROSNY [on yest barzo sasdrosni] - He is very jealous.

MARTWIĘ SIĘ [martvye sye] - I am worry.

63 dni/63 days

2009-08-01T12:09:00.008+02:00

of the Warsaw Rising.

Powstanie Warszawskie [povstanye varshafskye] - the Warsaw Rising

If you are in Warsaw, don't forget to visit the Warsaw Rising Museum

More about Warsaw Rising:

Warsaw Rising 1944

Polish Resistance in WWII

IŚĆ, CHODZIĆ - to go

2009-07-14T12:18:00.008+02:00

we need some verbs to improve a little bit your Polish.

sometimes, when I walk with my boyfriend we learn each other's language thru verbs we repeat.

so far we have known two important verbs - MIEĆ (to have) and BYĆ (to be).

I don't want to make Polish grammar more complicated as it is complicated by itself. So here it is:

PRESENT TIME

IŚĆ [eeshch]- to go

ja IDĘ [ya eede]

ty IDZIESZ [ti eedyesh]

on/ona/ono IDZIE [on/ona/ono eedye]

my IDZIEMY [mi eedyemi]

wy IDZIECIE [vi eedyetye]

oni/one IDĄ [oni/one eedom]

There is one verb which is very close to the one above - CHODZIĆ [hogech] - to go

ja CHODZĘ [ya hose]

ti CHODZISZ [ti hodish]

on/ona/ono CHODZI [hodi]

my CHODZIMY [mi hodeemi]

wy CHODZICIE [vi hoditye]

oni/one CHODZĄ [oni/one hosom]

I would say that the difference between them is that use the verb IŚĆ when I go now (present continuous) and CHODZIĆ as simple present (when the activity is repeating, when it is usual).

Some expamles of sentences.

Idę do sklepu [eede do sklepu] - I'm going to the shop.

Chodzę do szkoły [hose do shkowi] - I go to school.

Idziemy do parku na spacer [eedyemi do parkoo na spaser] - We are going to the park for a walk.

Chodzimy do kina w każdy poniedziałek [hodeemi do kina f kashdi ponyediawek] - We go to the cinema every Monday.

PAST TIME

now things are going to be more complicated :). When you use the verb in past time you have to use appropriate gender (fem. or masc.) and notice that the Polish verbs past have two aspects for action completed (perfect) and for actions uncomplete (imperfect). You should remember also that in past tense we use genders:

IŚĆ - to go

ja POSZEDŁEM [ya poshedwem] (masc.)/ ja POSZŁAM [ya poshwam] (fem.)

ty POSZEDŁEŚ [ti poshedweshi] (masc.)/ ty POSZŁAŚ [ti poshwashi] (fem.)

on/ona/ono POSZEDŁ/POSZŁA/ POSZŁO [on poshedw/ ona poshwa/ ono poshwo]

my POSZLIŚMY [mi poshilismi] (masc.)/ my POSZŁYŚMY[mi poshwismi] (fem.)

wy POSZLIŚCIE [vi eedyetye] (masc.)/ wy POSZŁYŚCIE [vi poshwishitye] (fem.)

oni/one POSZLI/ POSZŁY[oni poshli/one poshwi]

części ciała/body parts

2009-06-13T13:10:00.008+02:00

1. DŁOŃ [dwoni] - a palm, hand

2. BARK [barc] - a shoulder

3. GŁOWA [gwova] - a head; CZOŁO [chowo] - forehead

4. SZYJA [shiya] - a neck

5. PALEC [pales] - a finger; PALCE [palse] - fingers

6. KCIUK [ktyook] - a thumb

7. NADGARSTEK [natgarstek] -a wrist

8. ŁOKIEĆ [wocyeti] - an elbow

9. PIERŚ [pyers] - a breast; PIERSI [pyersi] - breasts

10. BRZUCH [bjooh] - a stomach

11. UDO [oodo] - a thigh

12. KOLANO [colano] - a knee

13. NOGA [noka] - a leg; NOGI [noki] - legs

14. PALCE [palse] - a toes

15. ŁYDKA [witka] - a calf

16. KOSTKA [costka] - a bone

17. STOPA [stopa] - a feet

18. POŚLADEK [posilatek] - a buttock; PUPA [poopa] -buttock (in a nice way)

19. PLECY [plesi] - a back

20. RAMIĘ [ramye] - an arm

21. RĘKA [renka] - a hand

małżeństwo / marriage

2009-06-10T19:39:00.044+02:00

Before marriage we have ZARĘCZYNY [sarenchini] - engagement

For this moment man needs PIERŚCIONEK [pyershchyonek] - ring

and KWIATY [kphiati] - flowers (for future wife's mom).

Traditional Polish wedding is a white wedding. Usually the ceremony takes place in the church and ceremony is performed by prist. Bride wears a long white dress with white viel and groom wears suit and a bow tie.

Before the wedding ceremony couple take the blessing from both parents.

Then in the church bride and groom after the words of traditional oath exchange rings.

OBRĄCZKI [opronchki] - wedding rings

***

How to ask the girl to marry her?

CZY ZOSTANIESZ MOJĄ ŻONĄ? [chi sostanyesh moyom shonom?] - will you be my wife?

CZY WYJDZIESZ ZA MNIE? [chi viydyesh sa mnye?] - will you marry me?

***

SŁÓWKA [swoofka] - vocabulary

ZARĘCZYNY [sarenchini] - engagement

BŁOGOSŁAWIEŃSTWO [bwogoswavyenistfo] - blessing

MAŁŻEŃSTWO [mawshenstfo] - marriage

ŚLUB [shlup] - wedding (ceremony)

WESELE [vesele] - wedding (party)

PAN MŁODY [pan mwodi] - groom

PANNA MŁODA [pana mwoda] - bride

MĄŻ [monsh] - husband

ŻONA [shona] - wife

TEŚCIOWA [teshchyova] - mother in law

TEŚĆ [teshchi] - father in law

More about Polish wedding

And of course a bit of Polish music for you ;)

Kayah and Goran Bregovic - mix of traditional Polish and Balkan music

There is no wedding party in Poland without this song :))

Słowa/lyrics (with bit of translation):

W dużej sali duży stół

[f dushey sali dushy stoow]

There is a big table in big room

A przy nim gości tłum

[a pshi nim goshchi twoom]

And a lot of guests around it

Gospodarz zgięty w pół

[gospodash sgienti f poow]

The host is stooped down

Bije łychą w szklanę

[biye wihom f shklane]

Whacking on the glass with the spoon

Cisza chciałbym toast wznieść

[cisha htyawbim toast vsnieshch]

Silence, I would like to make a toast

Jak można, to na cześć

[yak moshna, to na cheshchi]

In respect to, if you let me,

Ojczyzny, w której wieść

[oychisni, f ktoorey vieshch]

To our Motherland, in which

Przyszło życie nasze

[pshishwo shicye nashe]

We lead our lives.

Racja brachu,

[rasya brahoo]

You are right, my brother

Wypijmy za to,

[vipiymi sa to]

Let's drink for this

Kto z nami nie wypije

[kto s nami nye vipiye]

Who will not drink with us

Tego we dwa kije

[tego fe dfa kiye]

We bit him with two sticks

Prawy do lewego

[pravi to leveko]

Right to left

Wypij kolego

[vipiy kolego]

Drink my friend

Przecież wiemy,

[pshetyesh vyemi]

We know all,

Nigdy nie ma tego złego.

[nigdi nye ma tego sweko]

There is never bad thing.

A na stole śledzik był

[a na stole shletik biw]

There was herring on the table

Zobaczył go pan Zdzich

[sobachiw go pan Śchih]

Mr Zdzich saw him

I pojął dobrze w mig,

[i poyow dopshe f mik]

And understood very quickly

Że śledzik lubi pływać.

[she shledik loopi pwivati]

That herring likes to swim

Wstał by nowy toast wnieść

[fstaw bi novi toast vnyeshch]

He stood up to make another toast

Za rodzin świętą rzecz

[sa rojin shfyentom shech]

For the family - the saint thing

No i teściowych też

[no y teshchyovih tesh]

And for parents in law as well

Rodzina to jest siła

[rojina to yest siwa]

Family has a power

Racja brachu,

[rasya brahoo]

You are right, my brother

...

Dzisiaj młodzież już nie ta

[disyay mwojesh yoosh nye ta]

Young people are different now

Użalał się pan Stach

[oojalaw sye pan Stah]

Mr. Stach is bewailing

I ręką machnął tak,

[y renkom mahnow tak]

And he waved his hand that

Że wylał barszcz na panią.

[sh vilaw barshch na paniom]

He bounced the beat root soup on the lady.

Nic to jednak, przecież bo

[nis to yednak, pshetyesh bo]

Nothing happened because

Sukienkę można zdjąć

[soocyence moshna styonch]

The dress can be picked off

A toast wznosi ktoś

[i toast fsnoshi ktosh]

And someone it making a toast

Za dobre wychowanie

[sa dobre vihovanye]

For good parenting

Racja brachu,

[rasya brahoo]

You are right, my brother

...

Pana Kazia kolej to

[pana Kazya koley to]

Then there is a turn of Mr Kazio

Więc krawat ściągnął bo

[vyenc kravat shchyonknow bo]

So he took out his tie

Przecież postarza go

[pshetyesh postasha go]

(the tie) Which makes him to look older

I choć był już na bani

[i hoti biw jush na pani]

And even he was drunk

Bez pomocy z gracją wstał

[bes pomosi s grasyom fstaw]

He stood up without any help

Jąkając się dał znak

[yoncayons shye daw snak]

Stuttering he gave a sign

By wypić teraz za

[bi vipiti teras sa]

To drink now for

Balony pani Mani

[baloni pani Mani]

Baloons of Ms Mania (in the meaning of her breasts)

Racja brachu,

[rasya brahoo]

You are right, my brother

...

4th of June

2009-06-03T01:39:00.010+02:00

is one of the most important days in modern history of Poland. this day, in 1989 the comunism in Poland had been finished and we had first free elections after lots of years of dependency.

it has been 20th anniversary of this event this year and we have concerts, conferences and so on and also we have e-voting - we can chose the most important goals for next 20 years. and i plan to attend in this as well. you can read more about this action here.

Co ludzie myślą o Polsce?/ what do you think about Poland?

2009-05-17T19:27:00.004+02:00

This video is sweet :)

I really couldn't resist to upload it here, they talk about Poland from student's perspective and of course it's different, but it is better than nothing :).

I am curious what do YOU think about Poland :). I really would like to know, so do not hesitate, leave a comment what do you think about my country!

filmik o Polsce/ video about Poland

2009-05-17T19:18:00.003+02:00

Some facts about Poland, our history, culture and tradition.

Enjoy!

imieniny/name day

2009-05-15T16:38:00.022+02:00

Today, as it is 15th of May we celebrate Zofia's name day. I love this day not even because my mom's name is Zofia, but because for me it is like the essence of spring, especially when you can feel the smell of BEZ [bes] - lilac (Syringa vulgaris), which grows almost everywhere in Warsaw :).

In Poland name day is a day, that guests are coming without invitation, because everybody knows that e.g. today is Zofia's name day and we like to come with flowers or gifts unexpectly ;))). More about this custom...

How to say wishes in Polish? Try this:

WSZYSTKIEGO NAJLEPSZEGO [fshistkyego naylepshego] - all the best

STO LAT [sto lat] - 100 years! (of living" ;p)

SPEŁNIENIA MARZEŃ [spewnyenya masheni] - make your dreams come true

and remember:

IMIENINY [imyenini] - name day

PREZENT [present] - gift

ŻYCZENIA [shychenya] wishes

Below - video from one of the most popular comedy movie in Poland called Miś. And in the scene guy says:

- Panowie pozwolą, moja żona - Zofia (Gentlemen, let me introduce you my wife - Zofia)

wiosna/spring

2009-04-21T21:26:00.023+02:00

ok, I missed the opportunity to write about Wielkanoc/Easter time Poland but as the Spring came with all its beauty, let's learn some words about this time...

WIOSNA [vyoosna] - spring

KWIAT [kphyat] - flower

KWIATY [kphyati] - flowers

KWITNĄ KWIATY [kvitno kphyati] - flowers are thriving

KWIATY PACHNĄ [kphyati pahno] - flowers smell nice

PTAK [ptak] - bird

PTAKI [ptaki] - birds

ŚPIEWAJĄ PTAKI [sipyevayo ptaki] - birds are singing

ŚPIEWAĆ [sipyevati] - to sing

JA ŚPIEWAM [ya sipyevam] - I sing

TY ŚPIEWASZ [ti sipyevash] - you sing

ON/ONA/ONO ŚPIEWA [on/ona/ono sipyeva] - he/she/it sings

MY ŚPIEWAMY [mi sipyevami] - we sing

WY ŚPIEWACIE [vi sipyevatye] - you sing

ONI/ONE ŚPIEWAJĄ [oni/one sipyevajom] - they sing

ONI - is male plural

ONE - is female plural

Remember that in Poland we say "o" like "o" in English LOVE. And there is no matter if "o" is in the beginning, middle or the end of the word.

And of course... SONG for you :)

Wiosna, by Marek Grechuta

And lyrics (with my translation):

Dzisiaj rano niespodzianie zapukała do mych drzwi

[disiay rano nyespodyanye sapukawa do mich dgvi]

Today in the morning she knocked unexpectly to my doors

Wcześniej niż oczekiwałem przyszły te cieplejsze dni

[vchesnyey nish ichekivawem, pshiswi te tyepleyshe dni]

Warmer days came earlier than I have been waiting

Zdjąłem z niej zmoknięte palto, posadziłem vis a vis

[sdyowem s nyey smoknyete palto, posadiwem vis a vis]

I took off her wet coat, I asked her to sit vis a vis (in front of me)

Zapachniało, zajaśniało, wiosna, wiosna, ach to ty

[sapahnyawo, sayasniawo, vyosna, vyosna, ahh, to ti]

So it smacked, so it shined, spring, spring - it is you

Wiosna, wiosna, ach to ty

[vyosna, vyosna, ah to ti]

spring, spring - it is you

Dni mijały, coraz dłuższe, coraz cieplej było u mnie,

[dni miyawy, soras dwooshshe, soras tyepley biwo oo mnye]

Days were passing, days were longer, it was warmer in my house

Coraz lżejsze miała suknie, lekko płynął wiosny strumień

[soras lsheyshe myawa suknye, leko pwinow vyosni strumyen]

She was wearing lighten dresses, stream of spring was very light

Wreszcie, nocy raz czerwcowej zobaczyłem ją jak śpi

[freshtye, nosi ras cherfsovej sobachiwem jom jak sipi]

Finally, I have seen her sleeping at June's night

Bez niczego. Zrozumiałem lato, ech, że ty...

[bes nichyego. srosumyawem lato, eh, ge ti]

wearing nothing. I understood, summer, ehh, that's you...

Lato, lato, lato ech, że ty.

[lato, lato, eh, ge ti]

Summer, summer, ehh, it is you.

Od gorąca twych płomieni zapłonely liście drzew

[ot koronca twih pwomyeni sapwonewi lishtye tshef]

from your flames, leafs were burning

Od zieleni do czerwieni krążył lata senny lew

[ot zyeleni do chervyeni kronshiw lata seni lef]

There was sleepy lion of summer flying from green to red

Mała chmurka nad jej czołem, mała łezka, słony smak

[mawa hmoorka nat yey chowem, mawa weska, swoni smak]

Small cloud on her forehead, small tear, salty taste

Pociemniało, poszarzało - jesień jak to tak

[potyemniawo, poshashawo - yesyen, yak to tak]

It went dark, it went grey - autumn, how it is... (possible)

Jesień, jesień jak to tak...

[yesyen, yesyen, yak to tak...]

Autumn, autumn, how it is...

Białe wiatry już zawiały, wiosny, lata wszystkie znaki

[byawe vyatri jush savyawi, vyosni, lata, wshistkye snaki]

White winds are blowing, spring's, summer's all signs

Po niej tylko pozostały przymarznięte dwa leżaki

[po nyey tilko posostawi pshimarsnyete tva leshaki]

She left only two frozen deck chairs

Stoję w oknie, wypatruję, nagle dzwonek u mych drzwi

[stoye f oknye, vipatrooye, nakle dvonek oo mih dgvi]

I stay near the window, watching, suddenly rings on my doors

Zima, zima wchodźże szybciej, ogrzej się na parę chwil...

[Sima, sima, fhodge shiptyey, okshey sye na pare hfil]

Winter, winter, come faster, get warmer for a while...

Wiosna, wiosna, wiosna ach to ty...

[vyosna, vyosna ah to ti...]

Spring, spring it is you...

polskie toasty/ polish toasts

2009-03-23T21:04:00.011+01:00

tonight something special for you what will help you to impress your Polish friends :) especially if you drink vodka with them :)))

it will be difficult to translate the toasts in direct way, but i do my best :)

the most popular toast:

- NA ZDROWIE [na sdrovye] - cheers!

and another one: STO LAT! [sto lat] - 100 years! We have also a birthday song with those words (check below)

Other funny toasts:

- CHLUŚNIEM, BO UŚNIEM [hlooshnyem bo ooshnyem] - we drink, if not we gonna sleep

- ZDROWIE WASZE W GARDŁO NASZE! [sdrovye vashe f gardwo nashe] - your health, but throats are ours!

- RYBKA LUBI POPŁYWAĆ [ripka loobi popwivachi] - fish likes to swim. Poles like herrings and this toast is connected a little bit with this tradition of eating herrings :).

- DOBRZE GADA, DAĆ MU WÓDKI [dobje gada, dachi moo vootki] - he is right, he needs vodka (give him vodka)

- NO TO CYK [no to syk] - it is idiom of course, and i cannot find any similar sentence in English. It is like making special sound, tick, as a sign to drink.

- CZŁOWIEK NIE WIELBŁĄD, PIĆ MUSI [chwovyek nye vielpwont, pichi moosi] - fellow is not a camel, needs to drink (folk wisdom).

- NA DRUGĄ NOGĘ [na droogo noge] - for the second leg. In case when someone is drunk already and is not stabile - that is why needs support ;))

And of course if you drink vodka with Poles you should drink:

- ZA PIĘKNE PANIE [sa pyenkne panye] - for beatufil women

- ZA GOSPODARZA [sa gospodasha] - for the host (man)

- ZA TYCH, CO NA MORZU [sa tih so na moshu] - for sailors

- ZA TYCH, CO NIE MOGĄ [sa tih, so nye mogom] - for those who cannot drink

podstawy / basic words

2009-03-20T15:16:00.011+01:00

I receive very nice letters from you :) And they make me happy because this way I know you like my work. THANK YOU FOR ALL OF THEM!

Whenever you wish, if you agree or not with this what I wrote here - leave a comment! This way I can learn as well :)

I decided to teach you today some basic words and sentences. Well, my whole blog is about basic things in Polish but I hope you will appreciate also this :)

PROSZĘ [proshe] - please, but we use this word also to say: you're welcome! or when someone is knocking the door, then we shout (as the invitation to enter) - PROSZĘ!

DZIĘKUJĘ [dyenkooye] - thank you; sometimes you can hear people saying DZIĘKI [dyenki] what means - thanks.

DOBRZE [dobge] - good, ok. We also say DOBRA [dobra] if we agree for something. For example:

- MOŻESZ TO ZROBIĆ? [moshesh to srobichi?] - can you do this?

- DOBRA, ZROBIĘ! [dobra, srobye!] - sure, I will!

TAK [tak] - yes.

NIE [nye] - no.
My sister's Italian boyfriend is laughing because we say NO, when we agree for something; then we say: NO, OK or NO DOBRA, what is a little bit confusing for foreigners :). An example:

- MOŻESZ TO ZROBIĆ? [moshesh to srobichi?] - can you do this?

- NO DOBRA! [no dobra] - sure, ok!

PRZEPRASZAM [psheprasham] - I'm sorry, excuse me.

How to start and finish conversation.

Smok Wawelski / Dragon of Cracow

2009-03-07T18:09:00.026+01:00

Tonight I am going to tell you about another Polish legend - the Dragon of Cracow. Few weeks ago we went to Cracow to spend weekend there and of course, if you are in Cracow, you cannot miss visit the Dragon's Cave which is under the Wawel castle.

Wawel castle

There is also a legend connected with this place and there is no way - I am going to publish it here :).

Long time ago, when the King Krak was living in Wawel's castle on the hill near the River Vistula, there was a Dragon living in a deep cave on the side of Wawel Hill. Each day the dragon was killing the residents of beautiful Kraków, especially young girls, well to be honest the dragon was eating whatever he could get. King Krak was desperated as he has no cluse how to free his kingdom from the terror of the dragon. King has a daughter and he promised to give her as a wife and the half of the kingdom to man who will kill the beast. Knights from whole Poland were coming to kill the dragon, but no one was able to do this. Thus knights from surrounded countries were coming to kill the dragon, but still - there were only their bones left in front of the cave. Every day the dragon had been carried off a sheep or preferably young virgins. King Krak was woesome, people were scared. One day shoemaker appeared in the castle and he said that he is willing to kill the dragon. King Krak did not want his daughter to marry a villager, but he has no choice, he allowed the shoemaker to fight with dragon. But Dratewka (the name of shoemaker) did not have any armour nor even the sword. The only thing our shoemaker had was his brain. He got some sheep and mixed a thick, yellow paste from sulfur and he smeared it all over the animals. Then led them to a place where the dragon would see them. The dragon came out as expected, saw the sheep, roared, rushed down the hill and devoured the sheep. The dragon had a terrible fire within him, and a terrible thirst. It rushed to the River Vistula and started drinking. It drank and drank and could not stop. The dragon began to swell, but still it drank more and more. It went on drinking till suddenly there was a great explosion, and the dragon burst. There was great rejoicing by the people. King Krak gave him his daughter as a wife and half of the kingdom and of course Dratewka was rulling very good and people were happy to have smart king. The country prospered under the rule of Dratewka.

The large 200-foot-long cave in Wawel Hill, Krakow, which has been known for centuries as the monster’s den, now attracts thousands of visitors each year. Whatever the truth of the dragon legend, the Dragon’s Cave (Polish ‘Smocza Jama’) is Cracow’s oldest residence, inhabited by man from the Stone Age through the 16th century.

And we - visiting the Dragon :)

Small dictionary:

SMOK [smok] - dragon
SMOCZA JAMA [smocha yama] - Dragon's cave
WAWEL [vavel] - the name of the castle and the hill
KRAKÓW [cracoov] - Cracow
WISŁA [viswa] - Vistula river
SZEWCZYK DRATEWKA - [shephchik tratevka] - shoemaker Dratewka
KRÓL KRAK - [krool krak] - king Krak
OWCA [ophsa] - sheep

DRAGON OF WAWEL IN POLISH CARTOON

More about our visit in Kraków

Official website of Kraków

Dzień Kobiet / Women's Day

2009-03-03T21:06:00.016+01:00

This week we will celebrate all over the world the Women's Day. In Poland it is a special day. I would even take a risk to say that this day is more important or more celebrated than Valentine's Day.

Of course in Poland most of people link this day with comunistic times, even I remember the excitment and special celebration of this day at school: boys with gillyflowers/carnations and sweets for us, academy in school hall, men with box of chocolates on the streets... and my mom with pack of nylons (gift from company) :)

But as you can read - International Women's Day has long history.

For me with this day WIOSNA [vyosna] - spring begins. With beauty of this season, when the nature is waking up it is easier to celebrate this day :)

Women like flowers everyday, not only once or twice per year!

DZIEŃ KOBIET [dyeni kopyet] - Women's day

KOBIETA [kopyeta] - woman

KWIATY [kphyati] - flowers

GOŹDZIKI

[goshichiki] - carnations

TULIPANY

[toolipani] - tulips

RÓŻA [roosha] - rose

How to celebrate Women's Day?

Look around, find beautiful flowers, find your woman and celebrate this day everyday!

And say to your woman: Wszystkiego najlepszego z okazji Dnia Kobiet! [vshistkyego naylepshiego s okasyi tnia kopiet] - Best wishes!

8 marca [oosmi marsa] - 8th of March

kolory/colors

2009-02-21T20:26:00.012+01:00

KOLORY [colori] - colors

I was thinking today about colors, how i miss them in the winter. Sometimes I am just tired of white color and its dirty avatars (especially in the city).

so, let's play colors ;)

BIAŁY [byawy] - white
CZERWONY [chervoni] - red
NIEBIESKI [nyebyeski] - blue
ZIELONY [zyeloni] - green
BRĄZOWY [brausovi] - brown
SZARY [shari] - grey
CZARNY [charni] -black
FIOLETOWY [feuletovi] - violet
RÓŻOWY [rooshovi] - pink
POMARAŃCZOWY [pomaranichovi] - orange
ŻÓŁTY [shoowty] - yellow
BŁĘKITNY [bwenkitni] - azure

what colors do you miss here???

don't hesitate to let me know!

Tłusty Czwartek/Fat Thursday

2009-02-19T18:06:00.015+01:00

Today we have Fat Thursday in Poland. The holiday for those who love to eat PĄCZKI [pauchki] and other sweets! Yes, yes this is the day for me :)

In Poland we have tradition of eating PĄCZKI and FAWORKI [phavorki].

HOW TO MAKE PĄCZKI?

This is what you need:

1 kg MĄKI [mauki] - flour
100 g ŚWIEŻYCH DROŻDŻY [sphyezjih droshchi] - fresh yeast
50-75 g CUKRU [sukru] - sugar
CUKIER WANILIOWY [sukyer vanilyovi] - vanilla sugar
2 SZKLANKI MLEKA [shklanki mleka] - cups of milk
8 ŻÓŁTEK [shoowtek] - yolk eggs
100 g MASŁA [maswa] - butter (unsalted and melted)
STARTA SKÓRKA POMARAŃCZY [starta skoorka pomaranchi] candid grated orange rind (to decorate pączek)
SZCZYPTA SOLI [shchipta soli] pinch of salt
1 LITR OLEJU DO SMAŻENIA W GŁĘBOKIM TŁUSZCZU [hmm, that is very difficult to say ;) ] - liter of vegetable oil for deep frying

Pączki need filling. Real pączki are with marmolade or rose hip jam (aprox. 400 g). Real pączki are covered with LUKIER [lukyer] - icing. To make icing you need:

350 g CUKRU PUDRU [cukru pudru] - icing sugar
water

More how to make pączki.

How they do it in the bakery?

MORE ABOUT FAT THURSDAY:

Delicious food for Fat Thursday.

Fat Thursday - article from Warsaw Voice.

Today is Fat Thursday.

miejsce pracy / work place

2009-02-18T00:34:00.004+01:00

MONITOR [monitor]

KLAWIATURA [klavyatura] - keyboard

MYSZKA [mishka] - mouse

KOMPUTER [compooter]

BIURKO [byourko] - desk

PRACA [prasa] - work, job

TO MOJE MIEJSCE PRACY [to moye myeysse prasy] - this is my work place (this is the place where i work).

TU PRACUJĘ [too prasuye] - I work here.

zwierzęta /animals

2009-02-18T00:19:00.004+01:00

[pyes]

[kot]

rodzina/family

2009-02-16T22:58:00.007+01:00

tonight i'm going to give you some words connected with a family.

RODZINA [rodyna] - family

MOJA RODZINA [moya rodyna] - my family

MAM RODZINĘ [mam rodyne] - i have family

BABCIA [bapcya] - grandmother

DZIADEK [dyadek] -grandfather

i guess this is a word, which sounds the same in every language :)

in Poland we have also some other words to call our MAMA, like:

- MAMUSIA [mamusya]

- MAMUNIA [mamunya]

- MAMCIA [mamtya]

- MATKA [matka]

TATUŚ [tatushi]

OJCIEC [oytyet]

DZIECKO [dyesko]

DZIDZIUŚ [didyoushi]

BRAT [brat] - brother

BRACISZEK [bratyshek] - little brother

SIOSTRA [syostra] - sister

SIOSTRZYCZKA [syostsheechka] - little sister

RODZEŃSTWO [rotzenstvo] - siblings

Więcej o miłości / More about Love

2009-02-09T22:02:00.005+01:00

and below song based on the words from XIXth century. Song is performed by Michał Żebrowski - Polish actor and Kasia Stankiewicz - singer.

Poem has been written by Adam Mickiewicz and its title is: NIEPEWNOŚĆ [nyepevnoshchi] - uncertainty.

And again - forgive my translation, but I cannot resist to give you just a little piece of Polish poetry.

Gdy cię nie widzę, nie wzdycham, nie płaczę,

/when i don't see you, i don't yearn, i don't cry/

Nie tracę zmysłów, kiedy cię zobaczę;

/i don't lose my senses, when i see you/

Jednakże gdy cię długo nie oglądam,

/but if i don't see you for a longer time/

Czegoś mi braknie, kogoś widzieć żądam;

/i miss something, i wanna see someone/

I tęskniąc sobie zadaję pytanie:

/and then, missing, i asked myself:/

Czy to jest przyjaźń? czy to jest kochanie?

/is it the frienship? is it the love?/

Gdy z oczu znikniesz, nie mogę ni razu

/when you dissapeared i cannot even/

W myśli twojego odnowić obrazu.

/refresh your picture in my mind/

Jednakże nieraz czuję mimo chęci,

/but i feel sometimes, even i don't want/

Że on jest zawsze blisko mej pamięci.

/that it is close to my memory/

I znowu sobie powtarzam pytanie:

/and then i asked myself again:/

Czy to jest przyjaźń? czy to jest kochanie?

/is it the friendship? is the love?/

Cierpiałem nieraz, nie myślałem wcale,

/i suffer often, i didn't think even/

Abym przed tobą szedł wylewać żale;

/to go and cry in front of you/

Idąc bez celu, nie pilnując drogi,

/i walk without the aim nor keeping the way/

Sam nie pojmuję, jak w twe zajdę progi;

/i don't understand, how i could cross your doorstep/

I wchodząc sobie zadaję pytanie;

/and coming in i asked myself:/

Co tu mię wiodło? przyjaźń czy kochanie?

/what had brought me here? friendship or love?/

Dla twego zdrowia życia bym nie skąpił,

/for your healthy i would not keep my life/

Po twą spokojność do piekieł bym zstąpił;

/for your calm, i would step down to hell/

Choć śmiałej żądzy nie ma w sercu mojem,

/and even there is no seek in my heart/

Bym był dla ciebie zdrowiem i pokojem.

to be your health and calm/

I znowu sobie powtarzam pytanie:

/i ask myself again/

Czy to jest przyjaźń? czy to jest kochanie?

/is it the friendship? or maybe it is love?/

Kiedy położysz rękę na me dłonie,

/when you hold your hand on mine/

Luba mię jakaś spokojność owionie,

/i feel beloved calm on me/

Zda się, że lekkim snem zakończę życie;

/and i think i am going to die in beautiful dream/

Lecz mnie przebudza żywsze serca bicie,

/but then my heart beat is waking me up/

Które mi głośno zadaje pytanie:

/asking me loudly:/

Czy to jest przyjaźń? czyli też kochanie?

/is this the friendship? or maybe is it love?/

Kiedym dla ciebie tę piosenkę składał,

/when i had written this song for you/

Wieszczy duch mymi ustami nie władał;

/there was no bard's soul speaking with my mouth/

Pełen zdziwienia, sam się nie postrzegłem,

/full of surprise, i could not find even/

Skąd wziąłem myśli, jak na rymy wbiegłem;

/how i found the thoughts, how i found the rhymes/

I zapisałem na końcu pytanie:

/and then i have asked at the end:/

Co mię natchnęło? przyjaźń czy kochanie?

/what inspired me? friendship or love?/

and here you can find my favourite poem. Also about Love :).

Walentynki / Valentine's day

2009-02-09T21:18:00.008+01:00

On 14th of February probably in most countriest in the world people celebrate Valentine's day. Day to express love, to show affection; happy day for couples, day of hope for those who are in love, terrible day for singles.

How this day looks in Poland? Well, we do not have long tradition of this day. To be honest I rememeber when we started to implement this day in our culture and it was in 90's.

In Poland we have few names for this day:

WALENTYNKI [valentinki] - Valentine's day

DZIEŃ ZAKOCHANYCH [dyen sakohanih] - day for lovers/day of lovers

ŚWIĘTO ZAKOCHANYCH [swyento sakohanih]

Usually, and as throughout the world, we give cards, flowers and small presents. I think that we started to like this day, to show love - even to everybody :). Streets are becoming red, you can see flowers and hearts everywhere and of course couples in love ;)

What you can say to your Polish Valentine?

SZCZĘŚLIWYCH WALENTYNEK [shchenshilivih valentinek] - Happy Valentine's
CHCĘ BYĆ TWOJĄ WALENTYNKĄ [hse bych tphoyo valentinkau] - I want to be your Valentine - version for girls
CHCĘ BYĆ TWOIM WALENTYM [hse bych tphoym velentim] - I want to be your Valentine - version for guys

and of course, you can say:

-something from lesson 1 about love

-something from lesson 2 about love

I hope you will never find Valentine's day like this:

(there is no Valentine's day this year! )

Anyway I hope that Valentine's day will be happy for you!

SZCZĘŚLIWYCH WALENTYNEK!

Check this out:

liczby/numbers

2009-02-07T22:57:00.007+01:00

first lesson of counting:

zero [sero]

jeden [yeden]

dwa [dva]

trzy [tshi]

cztery [tshery]

pięć [pyench]

sześć [shest]

siedem [syedem]

osiem [osyem]

dziewięć [dyevyenti]

dziesięć [dyesyenti]

Here you can find funny game about counting!

Imiona/ Polish names

2009-02-01T19:11:00.005+01:00

tonight i'm going to tell you a little about names. how to introduce yourself, how to ask about the name and finally how to spell it.

JAK SIĘ NAZYWASZ? [yak sye nasivash?] - what's your name?

MAM NA IMIĘ ... [mam na ymye...] - my name is... (you can use it when you say your given name)

NAZYWAM SIĘ ... [ nasyvam sye...] - my name is... (you say it more often when you say your given name and surname)

JESTEM ... [yestem] - i am ...

CZY MOŻESZ POWTÓRZYĆ? [chi moshesh poftooshich?] - could you repeat, please?

in Poland we have lots and lots of names, but what is important you always know if it is female or male name. we also have IMIENINY [ymyenini] - name day and we celabrate it. always it is the same day in the year, usually it is the day of the saint patron. in every Polish calendar you can see whose IMIENINY are today :). the important thing is that - in our culture - we don't have to have an invitation (as guests) to celebrate IMIENINY, as we should have concerning the URODZINY [oorodyni] - birthday. we celebrate it even at work (with a cake and sweets, of course ;) ) especially such popular names as Zofia, Barbara, Jan, ...

the most popular names for Polish girls are:

- Anna - short forms: Ania, Anka, Aneczka [ana, anya, anka, anechka] - Ann

- Kasia - short form from Katarzyna [kasya, katashina] - Cate, Catharina/Kate, Katharina

- Magda - short form from Magdalena [makda, makdalena] - Magdalene

- Marta [marta]

- Ola - short form from Aleksandra [ola, aleksandra]

- Gosia - short form from Małgorzata [gosya, mawgoshata] - Margaret

- Beata, Beatka [beata] - Beatrix

and popular names among the guys are:

- Tomek - short form from Tomasz [tomek, tomash] - Tom

- Piotrek - short form from Piotr [pyotrek, pyotr] - Peter

- Adam [adam]

- Rafał [rafaw]

- Paweł [pavew] - Paul

- Karol [karol]

and many more.

what is behind the Polish name
something about Polish female names
polish name in Wiki
calendar of namedays (you can click the number of the month, and then you will see names in particular days)

any questions? suggestions?

feel free to comment! :)

take care!

Polska/Poland

2009-01-21T22:41:00.004+01:00

POLSKA [polska] - Poland

POLKA [polka] - Polish girl

POLAK [polak] - Polish guy

POLACY [polasy] - Poles

POLSKI [polskee] - Polish

POLSKIE [polskye] - Polish

Hymn Polski [ himn polskee] - Polish Anthem

Polskie słowa [polskye swova] - Polish lyrics

Jeszcze Polska nie zginęła

[yeshche polska nye zginewa]

Poland has not perished yet

Kiedy my żyjemy,

[kyedy mi sheeyemi]

So long as we still live

Co nam obca przemoc wzięła,

[so nam opsa pshemos vsyewa]

That which alien force has seized,

Szablą odbierzemy.

[shablom otbyeshemi]

We at sabrepoint shall retrieve.

Marsz, marsz Dąbrowski,

[marsh, marsh Dombrovsky]

Marsch, march, Dąbrowski,

Z ziemi włoskiej do Polski,

[s syemi vwoskey do Polski]

From Italy to Poland,

Za Twoim przewodem,

[sa towyeem pshevodem]

Let us now rejoin the nation

Złączym się z narodem!

[swonchim sye s narodem]

Under thy command.

More about Polish anthem.

More about Polish flag.

More about Polish national symbols.

Miłość / Love (again)

2009-01-10T17:59:00.008+01:00

Probably you know, if you follow also my other blog, that I am in permanent love since 6 months. I teach my boyfriend some polish words, actually this blog was inspired by him.

Anyway, today I am going to teach you some other words useful if there is polish girl/guy on your way :). Here you can check the first lesson about love.

Moje kochanie [moye kohanye] - my love, my darling, my dear

Mój aniele [mooy anyele] - my angel

Mój skarbie [mooy skarbye -my darling, my precious

Kotku [kotku] - kitty

Daj mi buzi [day mee busi] - give me a kiss

Pocałuj mnie [posawooy mye] - kiss me

Dobranoc kochanie [dobranos kohanye] - goodnight my love

Myślę o Tobie [mishle o tobye] - i think about you

Pragnę Cię [pragne chye] - i want you

Jesteś moim szczęściem [yestesh moym shcheshtyem] - you are my happines

Chcę być z Tobą [hse beech s tobau] - i want to be with you

Christmas time

2008-12-20T12:17:00.011+01:00

Christmas time is very special time in Poland. You can see how traditional we are and how much we are connected with our families.

We start our Christmas on 24th of December and we call this day: WIGILIA [vigilya]. This word comes from latin and it means "to watch", "to lamb". In my family there is tradition that we wear Christmas tree this day. My mom is preparing the food as in the tradition is to have 12 meals on the table and as every meal means 12 months. And if everything is ready we wait to see the first star on the sky. only then we can start our supper. But we start it with the sharing the wafer which is the symbol of bread. And when we share the wafer we share also the wishes.

It is very magical moment during the whole year even.

We also leave the plate for special guest who can come uninvited. We believe that this day no one should stay lonely that is why we have one extra place on the table - just in case someone would like to join unexpectly.

After the dinner we open gifts. I remember that when I was a kid, Santa Claus came to visit me :). And the moment I remember clearly is that I was preparing the green chair for him :).

Then we sing carols - KOLĘDY [kolendi].

And here you can find polish traditional carol performanced by choir.

There has to be hay -SIANKO [shyanko] on the table as it reminds that Jesus was born in the stable and of course wafer - OPŁATEK [opwatek].

We have BARSZCZ [barshch] - beatroot soup with special kind of dumplings, salads, herrings, dumplings with cabbage and mushrooms... well, tradition is that we should taste all of them so there will be no lack of them in following year.

25th of December we usually spend with the family, we go to the church... but the second day of Christmas we visit out further family, friends and again we eat :))). that is tradition and we should not be against, right? :))

I wish you to spend this Christmas with those you love, to stay healthy and to make your dreams come true. Stay in peace and share the love!

gramatyka 1 / grammar 1

2008-11-22T14:18:00.014+01:00

today i decided to put some grammar stuffs.

we will start from simple questions and answers, ok?

CO TO JEST? [co to yest?] - what is this?

liczba pojedyncza - singular

TO JEST DŁUGOPIS.

[to yest dwoogopis]

- this is a pen

CZY TO JEST DŁUGOPIS?

[chi to yest dwoogopis?]

- is this a pen?

TAK, TO JEST DŁUGOPIS.

[tak, to yest dwoogopis]

-yes, it is.

TO JEST PUDEŁKO.

[to yest poodewko]

- this is a box.

CZY TO JEST PUDEŁKO?

[chi to yest poodewko?]

- is this a box?

TAK, TO JEST PUDEŁKO.

[tak, to yest poodewko]

- yes, it is.

TO JEST ZAPAŁKA.

[to yest sapawka]

- this is a match.

CZY TO JEST ZAPAŁKA?

[chi to yest sapawka?]

- is this a match?

TAK, TO JEST ZAPAŁKA.

[tak, to yest sapawka]

- yes, it is.

liczba mnoga - plural

TO SĄ DŁUGOPISY.

[to sau dwoogopisi]

- these are pens.

CZY TO SĄ DŁUGOPISY?

[chi to sau dwoogopisi?]

- are these pens?

TAK, TO SĄ DŁUGOPISY.

[tak, to sau dwoogopisi]

-yes, they are.

TO SĄ PUDEŁKA.

[to sau poodewka]

- these are boxes.

CZY TO SĄ PUDEŁKA?

[chi to sau poodewka?]

- are these boxes?

TAK, TO SĄ PUDEŁKA.

[tak, to sau poodewka]

- yes, they are.

TO SĄ ZAPAŁKI.

[to sau sapawki]

- these are matches.

CZY TO SĄ ZAPAŁKI?

[chi to sau sapawki?]

- are these maches?

TAK, TO SĄ ZAPAŁKI.

[tak, to sau sapawki]

- yes, they are.

As you can see, there are three forms of noun in plural. Three different ends. So, how to guess which one is good?

Well, I can easily say - it's exactly the same like in Las Vegas, you win or you loose. But in Polish we have some rules. But to see the rules we need to get back to singular forms of those nouns.

(TEN) DŁUGOPIS - masculine form.

(TA) ZAPAŁKA - feminine form.

(TO) PUDEŁKO - neuter form.

to guess the "gender" of the noun we use three pronouns TEN, TA, TO. And usually nouns in feminine and neuter form have the ends like the pronoun -A and -O.

that is why it is easier for the begining to use these pronouns with nouns. OK, when we know the "gender" of the noun then we can create adjectives,w hich usually will have the same ends as nouns :). But we will not talk about this today. Let's come vack to plural form.

In plural form we have only two genders: masculine personal, virile and non-masculine, non-virile. And those three examples belongs to the group of non-masculine nouns. So we will use one Polish pronoun TE to say TE DŁUGOPISY, TE PUDEŁKA, TE ZAPAŁKI. but because they belong to different gropus in singular form they wil have different ends in plural form.

hmm, i have a feeling that i made it more complicated than it was on the begining...

legenda o powstaniu Polski / how Poland began

2008-11-15T13:47:00.010+01:00

and for Saturday afternoon legend about three brothers Lech, Czech i Rus who established three Slavian countries ... Poland, Russia and Czech Republic.

On the picture you can see three oaks called as three brothers. You can find them in Rogaliński Park Krajobrazowy.

The Polish White Eagle

A thousand years ago, or maybe even more, there lived three brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus. For many years they had been content in their villages, but the families grew larger and they needed more room to live.

The brothers decided to travel in different directions to search for new homes. Lech, Czech, and Rus traveled with their troops for many days. They rode their horses over mountains and rivers, through forests and wild country. There were no people to be found anywhere, not a town or tiny village. On the crest of a mountain top, they separated, each going in a different direction. Czech went to the left, Rus went to the right and Lech rode straight ahead, down the mountain and across vast plains. One day Lech saw a spendid sight. He and his troops had come to a place where a meadow surrounded a small lake. They stopped at the edge of the meadow as a great eagle flew over their heads. It flew around in great swooping circles, then perched on its nest, high on a craggy rock.

Lech stared in awe at the beautiful sight. As the eagle spread its wings and soared into the heavens again, a ray of sunshine from the red setting sun fell on the eagle's wings, so they appeared tipped with gold, the rest of the bird was pure white."Here is where we will stay!" declared Lech. "Here is our new home, and we will call this place GNIEZNO ... (the eagle's nest). He and his people built many houses and it became the center of his territory. They called themselves Polonians, which means "People of the Field". They made a banner with a white eagle on a red field and flew it over the town of Gniezno, which became the first historical capital of Poland.

that is why white eagle- BIAŁY ORZEŁ [byawy oshew] is symbol of Poland.

the source of the legend

miesiące / months

2008-11-15T10:27:00.010+01:00

before the end of this year i will try to teach you the names of the months and will try to explain what is their ethymology.

ROK [rok] - a year

MIESIĄC [myeshyonc] - a month

in Slavic times, miesiąc was also the name of the moon, that is why sometimes you can find in Polish this word as a description for the moon.

STYCZEŃ [sticheni] - January

this name comes from the Polish verb STYKAĆ [stikachi] - connect, contact, because it connect new year with the old one.

LUTY [luti] - February

in old Polish LUTY meant frosty, dour, that is why we chose this name to describe the most frosty month.

MARZEC [mashec] - March

the name comes from Roman - Mars; in Latin 'Martius' means 'the month of the Mars' - the month in which you can see that this planet shines very light. In Poland it is the start of spring time.

KWIECIEŃ [kphyetyeni] - April

KWIECIĆ[kphyetit] is the verb - bloom; in this month first flowers start to bloom the ground.

MAJ [may] - May

name of this month also comes from Roman's idol Maia- mother of Mercury; "majus" in Latin means full of joy, happiness, nice. Isn't this month full of joy? In Poland we also say that Maj is the month of lovers (don't ask me why ;) )

CZERWIEC [chervyes] - June

the name of this month is connected with the name of small polish bug - CZERWC POLSKI [chervs]. The name can also comes from bee's grub - CZERW [cherph].

LIPIEC [lipyes] - July

name comes from the name of Polish tree - LIPA [lipa] - lime-tree and they are blooming in this month.

SIERPIEŃ [shyerpyeni] - August

this is the month of harvests and farmers were using special kind of a tool called SIERP [syerp] - hook, crusp.

WRZESIEŃ [vshesyeni] - September

the name comes from the flower WRZOS [vshos] - heather.

PAŹDZIERNIK [pashdyernik] - October

hmm, that will be difficult to explain... I will try like this - PAŹDZIERZ [pashdyesh] is the name of the rests of harl and when Slavians were weaving those rests were flying in the air. Quite romantic view :).

LISTOPAD [listopat] - November

the name of this month comes from two words - LIŚĆ [lishch] - leaf and OPAD [opat] - felt down; so it is easy for you to recognize that the name of this month means that the leaves are feelling down.

GRUDZIEŃ [grudyeni] - December

the month took its name from the frozen ground - in old Polish GRUDA [grooda].

rozmówki / conversations

2008-11-15T08:49:00.008+01:00

let's try small conversation...

ROZMOWA [rosmova] - conversation

JAK ZACZĄĆ? [yak sachonchi] - how to start?

- DZIEŃ DOBRY [dyen dobri] - good morning

- DOBRY WIECZÓR [dobri viechoor] - good evening

- CZEŚĆ! [cheshch] - hi

- SIEMA! [shiyema] - another way to say hi, which i don't like personally, but sometimes you can hear this around

- HEJ! [hey] - hey

very often, especially young people start conversation saying - hello, hey :)

after "hi" you can ask:

CO SŁYCHAĆ? [so swyhachi] - how is the life?

JAK ŻYCIE? [yak shycye] - how is the life?

JAK SIĘ MASZ? [yak shee mash] - how are you?

CO TAM? [so tam] - what's up?

CO NOWEGO? [so novego] - what's new? but then you can hear a lot of things .... :) ehehehe

JAK SKOŃCZYĆ? [yak skonchich] - how to finish?

CZEŚĆ! [cheshch] - bye!

NA RAZIE [na razye] - see you! bye now!

TRZYMAJ SIĘ [tshimay shee] - take care

DO ZOBACZENIA [do sobachenya] - see you soon

DO WIDZENIA [do vizyenya] - good bye

DOBRANOC [dobranos] - good night

PA! [pa] - bye!

podróż /travel

2008-11-06T22:44:00.006+01:00

tomorrow i go to Norway. that is why i decided to give you some travel words ;) like:

BAGAŻ [bagage] - luggage

in this word - "g" is the same like in the word 'big' and "ż" is like 'ge' in the word 'luggage'

WALIZKA [valiska]

PAKUJĘ WALIZKĘ [paqye valiske] - i am packing my suitcase/ i pack my suitcase

LECĘ DO NORWEGII [lese do Norvegy] - i (take) fly to Norway

SAMOLOT [samolot]

POCIĄG [pochiyag]

MUSZĘ KUPIĆ BILET [mushe kupichi bilet] - i have to buy a ticket

BEZPIECZNEJ PODRÓŻY [bespyechney podrooshi] - have a safe trip

ciekawostki / interesting facts

2008-10-29T20:48:00.007+01:00

Interesting facts about Poland and Polish language found on some websites:

I - There are more than 46 million people who speak Polish in Poland. More than two million people speak Polish outside of Poland, in countries like Canada, the USA, the UK, and Germany. The United States alone has around one million Polish speakers!

II - Almost 99% of people living in Poland state that Polish is their mother tongue.

III - Polish includes many words taken from other languages. These include: Russian, Latin, French, German, Italian, and English.

IV - The Polish alphabet has 32 letters, 9 vowels and 23 consonants:a, ą, b, c, ć, d, e, ę, f, g, h, i, j, k, l, ł, m, n, ń, o, ó, p, r, s, ś, t, u, w, y, z, ź, żThe letters q, v, x are not normally used in the Polish language except in words taken from English and other languages, e.g., fax, veto, cv.

V - Polish is often said to be one of the most difficult languages for English speakers to learn. Particulary difficult is the pronunciation of sounds; and the complex gender system (with five genders!).

Source: Learn Polish online

MIEĆ - to have

2008-10-27T19:15:00.005+01:00

of course the difference between "to be" and "to have" is huge.

not only in philosophical way but also grammar :p

MIEĆ [myechi] - to have

JA MAM [ya mam]

TY MASZ [ti mashi]

ON/ONA/ONO MA [on/ona/ono ma]

MY MAMY [mi mami]

WY MACIE [vi machie]

ONI/ONE MAJĄ [oni/one mayo]

And now simple sentences with new verb:

Mam na imię Sylwia [mam na imye Silvya] - my name is Sylwia.

Mam 30 lat [mam tshidyeshchi lat] - i am 30.

Mam młodszą siostrę [mam mwodsho shiyostre] - i have younger sister.

Mam psa [mam psa] - i have a dog.

Nie mam samochodu [nye mam samohodu] - i don't have a car/i have no car.

and below polish song titled: Mieć czy być (to have or to be)

Mieć czy być - Myslowitz

Strach przed lataniem i głód doświadczeń.

fear from flying and hunger for experience.

Wstyd przed mówieniem sobie "nie wiem".

shame to say "i dont know" to myself.
Ogromna siła wyobrażeń,

huge power of images.
To nie przypadek, że jesteśmy razem.

it's not an accident we are together.

Już teraz wiem,

now i know,
Wszystko trwa, dopóki sam, tego chcesz.

everything lasts until you want it.
Wszystko trwa, sam dobrze wiesz,

everything lasts, you know that,
Że upadamy wtedy, gdy nasze życie przestaje być

we fall down, when our life stopped to be
codziennym zdumieniem...

everyday's amazement...

Kolejna strona: mieć czy być?

another side of to have or to be?
Czy Erich Fromm wiedział jak żyć?

did Erich Fromm know how to live?
W rzeczywistości ciągłej sprzedaży ,

in reality of continuous selling
Gdzie "być" przestaje cokolwiek znaczyć.
where "to be" is not meant anything.

Już teraz wiem,

now i know,
Wszystko trwa, dopóki sam, tego chcesz.

everything lasts until you want it.
Wszystko trwa, sam dobrze wiesz,

everything lasts, you know that,
Że upadamy wtedy, gdy nasze życie przestaje być

we fall down, when our life stopped to be
codziennym zdumieniem...

everyday's amazement...

Już teraz wiem...

now i know...

Już teraz wiem...

now i know...

hope you like it ;).

how to prounance crazy polish letters/sounds??? check this!

na dobranoc/for a good night

2008-10-26T23:04:00.004+01:00

DOBRY WIECZÓR! [dobri viechoor] - good evening!

JAK MINĘŁA NIEDZIELA? [yak minewa nyedyela?] - how was your Sunday?

JAK IDZIE NAUKA POLSKIEGO? [yak idye nawka polskyego?] - how is your polish?

i was wondering today if you have some progress with your polish language and i found by accident an advert about new easy ways of learning polish. so if you have some problems, maybe you should try like that? ;)

IDĘ SPAĆ [yde spachi] - i go sleep.

DOBRANOC- good night :))

tydzień/week

2008-10-25T10:39:00.009+02:00

i am still in my bed fighting with my lazyness :) i am very tired after the week fulfilled with my two jobs and emotions and i really don't want to move my body out ... ;)

but maybe it is a good idea to talk a little bit about a week?

TYDZIEŃ [tidyeni] - week

NIEDZIELA [nyedyela] - Sunday (spanish domingo)
in Poland - 7th day of the week, ususaly free from work;
in Polish the name of this day comes from the pre Slavic "ne dělatĭ " = nie działać [nye dyalachi] - not act/not work

PONIEDZIAŁEK [ponyedyawek] - Monday (spanish lunes)
the name of this day means that it comes after Sunday - po niedzieli [po nyedyeli] and it's similar for Slavic group of language

WTOREK [vtorek] - Tuesday (spanish martes)
Polish name comes from oldpolish word "wtóry", which means "drugi" [droogi] - second

ŚRODA [shiroda] - Wednesday (spanish miércoles)
in Slavic countries name of this day comes from the name of the middle of the week; in Polish "środek" [shirodek] - centre, middle

CZWARTEK [chvartek] - Thursday (spanish jueves)
czwarty [chvarty] means - fourth, in slavic countries is the name of fourth day of the week
(by the way, this is my favourite day of the week and i was born this day as well)

PIĄTEK [pyeatek] - Friday (spanish viernes)
the name of this day also comes from the number: pięć [pyeachi] - five, because it is for us fifth day of the week - piąty [pyeaty] the name looks like this - piątek

SOBOTA [sobota] - Saturday (spanish sábado)
in the Jewish religion this is the seveth day, free from work, called Sabbath. Polish name also comes from szabat [shabat]

Miłość / Love

2008-10-22T22:09:00.015+02:00

Hi,
it is almost the end of October and i was sooo busy that i could not find the time to give you some more polish :).

I had noticed that some of you were looking for simple polish sentences but related to love... so, let's talk about Love ;)

MIŁOŚĆ [miwoshichi] = Love

SERCE [serse] = Heart

DZIEWCZYNA [jevchina] = girl but also girlfriend

MOJA DZIEWCZYNA [moya jevchina] = my girlfriend

CHŁOPAK [hwopak] = boy but also boyfriend

MÓJ CHŁOPAK [mooy hwopak] - my boyfriend

PARA [para] = couple

JESTEM ZAKOCHANY (guy)/ JESTEM ZAKOCHANA (girl) = I am in love

KOCHAM CIĘ [koham chie] = i love you

JESTEŚ DLA MNIE WSZYSTKIM [yestesh dla mnye vshistkim] = you are my everything

TĘSKNIĘ ZA TOBĄ [tesknye za tobau] = i miss you

CAŁUJĘ [sawuyea] = i kiss you, kisses

_____________________________________

sometimes we can call our beloved like this:

KOCHANIE [kohanye] = honey, darling, babe
SŁONECZKO [swonechko] = sunshine, little sun
SKARBIE [skarbye] = precious
MISIU [mesyu] = miś precisly means (teddy) bear :-)

hmm, i think that it is all for tonight.
i am waiting for your suggestions.
don't hesitate to write what do you think about those lessons :-)

BUZIAKI [buzyaki] = kisses / besos!!!

o pogodzie / about the weather

2008-09-20T10:54:00.019+02:00

DZIEŃ DOBRY! [gyeni dobry] = good morning!

i wish i could start more enthusiastic, because of the sun outside, but nooo, weather is terrible here, that's why i decided to write some polish words & sentences describing weather ;)

JEST ZIMNO, PADA DESZCZ [yest gymno, pada deshch] - it's cold, it's raining...
WIEJE WIATR [vyeye vyatr] - it's windy

DESZCZ, WIATR

BRAKUJE MI SŁOŃCA [brakuye mi swonica] - i miss the sun

SŁOŃCE

BRAKUJE MI BŁĘKITNEGO NIEBA [brakuye mi bweakitnego nyeba] - i miss blue sky

BŁĘKITNE NIEBO

podsumowanie/small summary:

ZIMNO [gymno] = cold
DESZCZ [deshch] = rain
WIATR [wyatr] = wind
SŁOŃCE [swonice] = sun
NIEBO [nyebo] = sky
BŁĘKITNY = blue

PADA DESZCZ = it's raining

JEST ZIMNO = it's cold

WIEJE WIATR = it's windy

BRAKUJE MI = i miss

proste zdania / simple sentences

2008-09-19T17:52:00.008+02:00

ok, so let's try with simple sentences keeping in mind what we had in previous posts (simple nouns 1 and 2 and simple verbs)

BYĆ

I am - JA JESTEM
if you want to say - I am .... Sylwia ;) then you will say - JESTEM SYLWIA.

in this magic verb "JESTEM" we have also included the person who is saying this - in this case JA. thus there is no need to repeat: JA JESTEM SYLWIA, because using only JESTEM you give the information who are you talking about ;).

You are - TY JESTEŚ
if you talk to beautiful girl then you can impress her adding the polish adjective:
PIĘKNA [peakna] I know, again weird polish letter and weird polish sound ;) "ę" is something between "e" and "y", but because of "pi" in this word is like in the beginning of the word "beautiful" ... uffff ;)

TY JESTEŚ PIĘKNA SYLWIA ;) [ti yestesh peakna Sylvia]
(to be honest, i don't mind at all to hear something like this)

but if you want to say something like this to the guy then you have to change only the end of the word: PIĘKNY.

TY JESTEŚ PIĘKNY MĘŻCZYZNA, [ti yestesh peakny meshchisna]
so, woman (KOBIETA) is PIĘKNA but man (MĘŻCZYZNA) is PIĘKNY...

ON JEST PIĘKNY
ONA JEST PIĘKNA
ONO JEST PIĘKNE, like child (DZIECKO) or animal (ZWIERZĘ), or tree (DRZEWO). other time will tell you about living and unliving nouns

if you want to say - this is a table in polish you will say - TO JEST STÓŁ

to jest krzesło
to jest łóżko
to jest szafka

TO [to with "o" like in the word "open"] = THIS

how to pronounce polish crazy letters/sounds? check this!

POWODZENIA! /good luck!

proste rzeczowniki /simple nouns 2

2008-09-18T21:00:00.006+02:00

FOTEL [photel]

PÓŁKA [poowka]

wersalka [versalka]

BYĆ - to be

2008-09-18T20:31:00.010+02:00

BYĆ [beech] - to be ;)

one of the most important verbs: "to be or not to be" - BYĆ ALBO NIE BYĆ

polish language is crazy, yeah, that is true. why? hmmm, just look at this conjugation:

JA JESTEM [ya yestem]
TY JESTEŚ [ti yestesh]
ON/ONA/ONO JEST [on/ona/ono yest]

MY JESTEŚMY [mi yesteshmy]
WY JESTEŚCIE [wi yesteshche]
ONI/ONE SĄ [oni/one sau]

yeah, i know "ą" sounds really weird... ;)) it is something between "sooooo" and "aun" in the word "aunt" ...

or "ś" - it's like "sh" but very soft, like "shee" maybe...

ok, rest seems normal ;))

hope that you still have your tongue in good condition :)

how to prounance crazy polish letters? check this!

proste rzeczowniki / simple nouns 1

2008-09-18T17:37:00.014+02:00

STÓŁ [stoow]

1. BLAT [blat]
2. NOGA [noga]

KRZESŁO [ksheswo]

ŁÓŻKO [wooshko]

SZAFKA [shaphka]

starter :)

2008-09-17T21:12:00.000+02:00

polish is my native language and i love it with all its weird and difficult sounds ;)but sometimes i am wondering - if i could teach polish some foreigners, how would i do this?

so i will try to answer this question in this blog ;) i will appreciate all of your comments ;)

enjoy!