Language / The Dative Case [62]


osiołowi is wrong, the correct form is osłowi


kotowi, bratowi - these sound really bad - of course it can happen by mistake (by analogy to the words with the -owi ending, which is more common in celownik), but if someone uses these forms on a regular basis, it hurts the ears of the listener :)

Language / Polish Language Pronunciation - Example Words and Phrases [178]


It's the only one, but Poles often use abbreviated or diminutive forms of their names, so you may have heard for example Cezar or (mostly for children) Czarek [pronounced Chah-reck] or simply a conjugated form (different grammatical cases require different endings to a word)

Language / Using państwo and surnames. [8]


probably this word order would be better:
Państwa Kowalczyków nie ma [w domu],

but it depends on the conversation context, for exemple, if you want to say that most people arrived at a meeting/gathering with the exception of Mr and Mrs Kowalczyk, then the word order suggested by you is more natural:

(Przyszli prawie wszyscy: państwo Nowakowie, Kowalscy, Wiśniewscy, nie ma [tylko] [państwa] Kowalczyków i Woźniaków.)

Language / Polish Language Pronunciation - Example Words and Phrases [178]


and wouldn't it be too similar to "biliśmy / biłyśmy"?

Work / Do you think I could manage on a salary of 1,500 zł - 2,000 zł a month? [14]


Well, that's what we did. We told you that this kind of salary would be a borderline in a city like Warsaw.
I don't think anyone was trying to discourage you, just to warn you.
I could probably survive on that money, and in case of necessity I have family that would help me, but you'd be new here, so you always have to take into account some unexpected circumstances. Of course if you have some savings to spend for the first year of your stay in Warsaw, you'd be fine, but what I meant is that this kind of income would probably leave you losing each month, so it could be a temporary solution - before you find a better paid job.

Work / Do you think I could manage on a salary of 1,500 zł - 2,000 zł a month? [14]

With 1,500 (net) zł/month you'd rather struggle in Warsaw.
If it's 1,500-2,000 zł before taxes - then forget it, even if the restaurant you work for feeds you.
Remember that coming to a new place to live means also some extra (and unexpected) expenses, so you may find yourself in a position where you can't even save money for a return ticket to the U.S.


Is "flat" only used in the British English, not in American?

Block of flats:

Travel / Need assistance planning my travel in Poland [11]


I don't know.


First of all, there's a chance that your train stops at Warsaw Wschodnia too. Most long-distance trains stop at Warsaw Wschodnia/Centralna/Zachodnia.
If not, then the easiest way is to walk from Centralna to Warszawa Śródmieście (200 meters walk, underground - you exit the Centralna train station directly from the platform where your train arrives - don't go upstairs to the main hall; then choose the correct platform of the Śródmieście station - there should be signs - "kierunek Warszawa Wschodnia" and "kierunek Warszawa Zachodnia").

From Warszawa Śródmieście there's a train every 5-10 minutes in both directions - west and east (you have to buy a ticket).

I assume you'll be arriving in the daytime, because in the night there are few trains from Śródmieście, if any, and going those 200 meters underground can be dangerous too :(

News / Chairman of TVP flies the racist flag for Poland [51]



so was it "monkeys" or "black monkeys"?
the first one, while being offensive, isn't racial at all, you can hear it addressed to Polish people by other Polish people (ty małpo), just like any other similar insult with animals names (ty świnio - you swine - being the most popular, but also "głupia krowa" - "stupid cow" etc.)

Language / Polish for look and see [13]


słuchać / słyszeć
Słyszała, co mówiłem, ale chyba nie słuchała mnie uważnie (She heard what I was saying, but she rather wasn't listening carefully). (past tense)


dotknąć - dotykać (imperfective aspect)/ poczuć - czuć (imperfective aspect)
Dotykam kamienia i czuję jego tysiącletni chłód (I'm touching the stone and I (can) feel/sense its thousand years' cold)

czuć (to feel/sense), often with the reflexive pronoun się [oneself] shares also many nuances of meaning of the word feel in English - not only about palpable things - what you touch, but also about:

physical conditions - I feel exhausted = Czuję się wykończony,
I feel sick = -le się czuję (only in the medical sense of this expression, when you feel unwell/unhealthy),
perceiving your situation - I feel conned = Czuję się oszukany,
emotions - to feel pleasure = odczuwać przyjemność,
I feel regret = Czuję żal.

czuć in Polish also is used for olfaction (to smell something)

Poczułem dym - I smelt [smelled] smoke
Czuję silny zapach - I can smell a strong odour/scent.

When you want to say that something smells (= is emiting an odour) you have to use other verbs:
pachnieć (neutral or nice)
śmierdzieć (foul smell, stink)
The flowers smelt great - Kwiaty pięknie pachniały
This room smells odd - Pokój dziwnie pachnie (odd, but it's not stinky, just strange)
The pipes stinked/smelt badly - Śmierdziało z rur.

When you describe a voluntary action of recongizing/learning/memorizing an odour, you have to use the verb wachąć / powąchać:
The police dog approach the suitcased, smelt / sniffed [or is it "snuff" in the past tense?] it and started barking.
Pies policyjny podszedł do walizki, powąchał ją i zaczął szczekać.

to taste - smakować, but mostly used as an intransite verb (the food tastes good - jedzenie dobrze smakuje)
This tastes like chicken = Smakuje jak kurczak/

In other situations it's often replaced with different verbs:

próbować / spróbować (literally "to try / to sample", but not in all contexts - for clothes, you'd say "Where can I try this dress on?" = "Gdzie mogę przymierzyć sukienkę?")

Would you like a taste of this wine? - Chciałbyś spróbować (more common) / posmakować (less common) tego wina?

I tasted a little cinnamon in the cake. Poczułem trochę cynamonu w cieście (so literally "I felt a little cinnamon in the cake")

=========
the sense of smell is called węch
sight (vision, visual sense) is wzrok
hearing (audition, auditory sense, sense of hearing) is słuch
sense of touch is dotyk
taste (gustation, sense of taste) is smak (also used in figurative meanings, but often replaced with "gust")
he really has a bad taste - on ma naprawdę zły smak / gust
a joke in bad taste - niesmaczny dowcip (literally "untasteful" joke)

6th sense = szósty zmysł
intuition = intuicja

History / An apology to Poland from Australia [55]


Well, he was basically right. With no TV news 24 hrs/day and the distance, and of course much longer travel time (still by ships) and no real attachment to Poland (unlike to the UK), what an average Australian could have known about Poland - absent on the maps of the world for over 100 years - nothing.

It was just an empty name, a spot on the map, with no real meaning to Australians.

Of course we can laugh now or criticize him to no end, because he was a political fool (what Hitler proved by invading France and trying to conquer Britain and Russia), but politicians are not clairvoyants and most of them fail in predicting the future anyways.

As a Polish citizen, I'd never expect from today's and Australians (or even from people who lived in the 30's and 40's) any kind of apology, after all Australia DID fight on the right side, but even if they remained neutral (like Sweden or Switzerland) or allied with Germany (like Romania or Hungary, even like Italy) it's not a problem for Poles, really and I doubt that people in Poland hold some WWII grudges against any nations other than the Germans and the Russians.


So was it Poles who first used those terms:


en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phoney_War

Of course the communist propaganda used this fact many times and with pleasure to compromise the image of Poland's Western allies - they needed this after cutting Poland off with the Iron Curtain, but for anyone who knows anything about history the biggest "sins" of Britain, France and USA happened at Yalta. And that's the only thing about WWII Brits could be ashamed of. At least those who care about such distant events (i.e. a small percentage).

History / Heretics Asylum - The First Republic of Poland [50]


20th century changes in population structure played a big part in this.
"We" had the Holocaust on our lands, and then the Big Brothers shifted our borders, taking all the regions inhabitated by Ukrainians, Belorussians, Lithuanians. On the western lands (handed to Poland after WWII) the Germans were expelled, and those living in other parts of Poland simply preferred not to stay here or were expelled too. Some smaller groups (like Ukrainians and Lemko from Bieszczady) were re-settled (with brute force) shortly after the war to different parts of the western Poland, so the comunity was dispersed.

When there are no large centers of some ethnic group, the assimilation is probably faster - you'll rather meet mostly Catholics - want to marry one, you change your religion or not, but you raise your children as Catholics, because it's the dominant religion/tradition in the place you now live.

History / Polish Jews we are (Poles) proud of [30]

Well, I guess everyone was/is entitled to his own decissions and emigration is always a big decision.

Other famous people:
Stefan Kisielewski ("Kisiel") (maybe he was half Jewish, after his mother only, not sure about his father)
Tadeusz Kantor (Jewish father, Catholic mother if I'm not mistaken).
Jan Brzechwa (famous mostly for his books for children)

It's hard to name them all, before WWII about 10% of Polish citizens were Jews, but in big cities it was even close to 30%, so

it's really hard to tell who of the Polish people of culture, politics ect. was/is of Jewish origin, unless it was explicitely underlined - like in case of Polański (if you're not obsessed about ethnicity, you simply don't classify writers, directors etc. by who they are, but by how good their works are)

History / Polish Jews we are (Poles) proud of [30]

Bruno Schulz was 100% Jewish, killed for that by Germans, but he was writing in Polish.
Isaac Bashevis Singer (Noble prize winner, writing in Yiddish), I only read one of his books (The Magician of Lublin), but I liked it.

And one interesting fact (details from Wikipedia):


I remember reading that Edelman was often criticized by other Jews for not leaving Poland in 1945 or in 1968.

Travel / WE ARE BACK FROM POLAND AND HERE IS OUR REPORT [96]


I think Poznań Zoo should be your priority this time: polishforums.com/gay_elephants_useless-47_34157_0.html

Travel / Looking for GPS address of lake near Warsaw. [7]


What is near for you? Do you mean Mazury (about 150 km north of Warsaw) or some place much closer?

Travel / Buying a Motorbike in Poland! Work Camp in Warsaw. [2]

Wait for opinions from foreigners who bought a vehicle in Poland, but for me it looks like a very difficult task. If you know Polish bureaucracy, you can say it's a "Mission Impossible".

You should start all the process from the day you arrive to Warsaw, not wait till the end of the WorkCamp.

Also the prices of used cars and motorbikes are rather high here (it's not like in American movies, where you buy a car for 1000 dollars, drive 3000 km and sell the car again, for 500 bucks. In Poland you'd rather have to pay a lot, if the bike is in good condition, and you have only 2 days, so no time for doing any repairs).

I'm afraid the registering process takes much longer than 2 days (they are printing the registering cards in one place, probably in Warsaw, then they send it by mail to your local office), and if the seller is from another district (or city), then your office has to wait for all the papers to arrive by mail - it also takes time.

In this case you could have 2 solutions:
1/ Temporary registering card and plates, but I'm not sure if it will be easy to sell the bike - it's legal, but the buyer in Madrid might be hesitant

2/ Using the previous owner's registering card and plates, according to Polish law you can do it for some time (but I'm not sure if it's one week or two weeks, or maybe something have changed), probably a new insurance might be needed (issued for your name).

In this case you should rather have your buying contract with you all the time, but then again the language might be a problem if you travel accross the Europe - the contract will be in one language (probably Polish) and you'll be visiting several countries, with different official languages. Selling it in Madrid would be still legal, but you better have at least the Spanish translation (made by a sworn translator - you can use a translation agency in Warsaw, they usually offer express services for a higher price, and there shouldn't be a problem with finding a sworn Spanish translator. And you might also use additional validation of the translation - in Spanish Embassy in Warsaw - a sworn translator in Poland is an official job, but in Spain people don't have to know it, so with a stamp from the Spanish Embassy it would be easier - it's important if you don't have much time in Madrid - the potential buyer must be sure that all the documents are legally in order).

Study / Studying Polish with a view to becoming a Translator or Interpreter [4]

have you checked this offer: Collegium Polonicum in Słubice.

Food / [Quiz] And you thought you knew Polish cuisine? (in Polish language) [27]

Someone found a really old thread of mine, I was a member of PF for only 3 days when I created it :)
Anyways, I seem to be at the age when people don't learn anymore :(


After almost 2 years my score was exactly the same - still knew only 3 and guessed successfully other 2.

Language / Correct Way to Write Polish Address on Envelope [14]


I don't think it's necessary, but it probably be like this:

Sz.P. John Doe
ul. Roosevelta 124/37
00-800 Warszawa-Mokotów
Poland / Polska

UK, Ireland / 13,000 Polish births this year, in the UK [180]


Just a genaralization as good (or rather as bad) as any other.
I can still see much of the rubbish left here in Poland :)

History / 1981 Ziemowit Coal Mine strike in Tychy - Lędziny [2]

(edited version)
Well, I don't know the specific case, but workers strikes in 1980-1981 were common accross the whole country, mainly coal mines, shipyard, steelworks as they were employing lots of people, so the strike was more visible (and dangerous - in Poland electricity is produced mainly from coal, so those strikes could literally paralyse the country), but also in academic centres, among actors and other people of culture/art etc.

Just read about Solidarność (Solidarity) movement in 1980-81 and the martial law introduced by the communist regime on 13th December 1981.
Reasons? Poverty, food shortages, oppressions (violations of citizen and human rights: censorship, no passports for most citizens, no freedom of speach, the leading role of PZPR - communist party - written down in the Constitution of Poland, very limited rights to public manifastations, in short - every aspect of social life ruled or at least controlled by the government. And did I mention no free election?)

Ziemowit coal mine strike was started shortly after the martial law was proclaimed, and it lasted till 22nd December 2009. It was a part of a big wave of strikes accross the country in response to the martial law.

You can read also some shorts articles on Wiki on similar subjects:
"Wujek coalmine - 9 people were killed"

Martial law in Poland

and maybe check the external links belows those short articles to find out more on the subject

Life / I'll soon move to Warsaw, Questions about early days, [5]

- searching is one thing (with a bit of luck you'll find real estate agancies that might have English versions of their websites), signing documents is other thing, if an agency has a standard contract in 2 languages (Polish + English), then you should be fine, but if you find a flat to rent directly from the owner (not through an agent), then you probably need a good translation of the contract, so a translation agency (biuro tłumaczeń) might be helpful.

I advise you requesting a sworn translation (tłumaczenie przysięgłe) if some bigger money is involved (you can even find 9 sworn translators from Turkish in Warsaw), you can request it at an agency or you can try to get in touch with the translator

- go to tlumacze.ms.gov.pl
choose "mazowieckie" as "województwo,
type "Warszawa" as "miasto"
and choose "angielski" [English] or "turecki" [Turkish] as "język" - you'll see a list with names, addresses, phone numbers and (sometimes) e-mail addresses, so you may contact some translators earlier and make some arrangements (asking about their availabilty in a certain period, prices per hour/page of text)

Travel / Travel Time By Train - Warsaw to Wroclaw. [15]

try this site: rozklad-pkp.pl/?q=en/node/143
(4 language versions available, Polish, English, German, French).

On Saturday evening, 18th July 2009, the best trains are, as Lori wrote, 22:50 (the only direct connection) and 0:30 (usually at 0:35, but on Saturdays 5 minutes earlier)
prices around 52-54 PLN for 2nd class (the earlier train has also 1st class compartments which cost about 77 PLN), so you'll pay more for a taxi from the airport to the city center (if you're not careful) :(

Btw, try to use one of those "radio-taxi" companies (usually a short, 4 digit phone number, like 5656 or 5912) their prices are much more reasonable

Travel / Sailing by ferry to and from Poland. Ferries between Poland and Sweden [7]


Well, you need a good map and some planning before such a trip. I hope you wouldn't like to go the shortest way (inhalating the exhaust gases from the cars on the motorways and generally risking your life/health). Trains are a good option on some stretches, but cycling through the National Parks (Woliński - with Polish bison, żubr, at Międzyzdroje, and Drawieński - with kayaking trails, if you really want to row, row, row your boat).


No, "ujście" is the final part of a river (like delta, estuary, firth etc.) before entering a larger body of water (like another river, sea, ocean) and "Świna" (not "świnia" is the name of the local river or more precisely strait. The Odra river estuary enters the Baltic Sea through 3 straits (which are sometimes consiedered 3 short rivers, 16-20 kms long) and Świna is one of them.

Travel / Sailing by ferry to and from Poland. Ferries between Poland and Sweden [7]

Wouldn't Copenhagen - Świnoujście route be faster (and probably cheaper) than Karlskrona - Gdynia? If you don't mind landing in the north-western Poland (Świnoujście is about 80 kms, 2 hours on train or 3 hours by bike, from Szczecin).

Another route operated by Polferries is Ystad (south of Malmo in Sweden) - Świnoujście.

Travel / Anyone know a pub in Poznan that shows English football matches? [13]

Woźna is a short (about 250 meters) street starting in the Eastern part of Stary Rynek, it's the middle one (there are 3 streets on each part of Rynek).

Language / Affectionate endings to guys' names in Polish... [16]


btw, augmentative names/nouns in the function of regular names/nouns are quite popular in Poznań (Wielkopolska region), they tend to say for example Krzychu, córa (for "córka" - daughter) etc.

Language / Affectionate endings to guys' names in Polish... [16]

it's really hard to say, Krzysiek seems more "normal" or regular dimunitive (just like Jarosław>Jarek, Zbigniew>Zbyszek), but unfortunally it has something unattainable to it that makes it (unlike Jarek, Zbyszek etc.) a little odd, that's why many people (including me) don't like the sound of "Krzysiek", so they prefer to use "Krzysiu" instead (it's indeed a Vocative form of "Krzysio", but such diminutives are often used in colloquial, spoken language in Vocative case with the function of the Nominative).

And I agree with tulipan:



Krzysiu sounds much more childish (it's totally OK to call kids with this form) and tough guys won't say it, they don't want to sound like they were displaying too much affection, in my life I've had a very few male friends/family members that were using "Krzysiu" while among women, even just friends (not girlfriends), it's much more popular.

Life / Beware When Buying a Computer in Poland [28]


Great news, I already suspended all my works, cancelled all orders and took 1-year long holidays and I'm waiting ... not.

Travel / Any suggestions about taking taxi at night in Poland/Katowice? [11]

I once did some research and the taxis were supposed to cost about 200 złotych which is really much for that short distance, maybe it has changed :)

Here you can find links to timetables of different bus companies, maybe at 23.00 they will be still going.