Language / (part 2) Polish Language Pronunciation - Sample Words and Phrases [311]

Merged: Pronunciation of ę at the end of words..

Hi everyone im new here!! I'm trying to learn Polish as i think its a beautiful language and i have lots of Polish friends (and a lovely Polish boyfriend). So my very first question.... :-D

i notice differences in pronunciation of -ę all the time... For example most often when i hear 'się' it has that nasal sound.. but other times.. like if someone says 'naprawdę' the nasal sound is not pronounced so much and it just sounds like a normal '-e' at the end. Another example is 'Kocham Cię' which to me, always sounds like the normal '-e' sound at the end of Cię.. I think i read something before about not making it sound so nasal when its at the end of the word but then what about się??

Am i imagining this?? And does it sound very bad to native Polish speakers if someone doesn't pronounce it properly?

Language / (part 2) Polish Language Pronunciation - Sample Words and Phrases [311]

Oops I didn't see that thread :) Dziękuje za pomoc ;-)

Love / Kocham Cię vs I love you - which sounds more sexy? [55]

I always say 'I love you' because when im saying 'Kocham Cię' im always thinking about that ę and like 'should i make it sound more nasal??? maybe a little less nasal??? lol :-) so easier for me to say I love you but i always txt or write Kocham Cię because i want to use his language too..

and i think Buziaczki sounds sooooo much nicer than kisses :) Polish is beautiful but the ę/ą ' s are hard for me!

Love / Advice for an Irish girl meeting mother of Polish boyfriend [21]

HI!! Ok its been a while since anyone posted on this thread so i hope people will see this.. im in almost the exact same position :-) im Irish too and my Polish boyfriend's mum will be coming here maybe next month to visit him so i'll meet her for the first time! She seems nice, i've said hello to her on the phone and she's asked about me before :) But she doesn't speak English and me? TROCHE mowię po polsku.. but i will be nervous no doubt!

So any advice on what i can say to her and how to make a nice impression, despite the fact that we won't understand a word the other is saying?? :-)

Also what is the first thing I should say to her - maybe "Miło mi cię poznać" ?? or maybe thats not the most appropriate form for addressing his mother..? And also is it traditional for us to shake hands or kiss on the cheek?? Yes, i've thought this over quite a bit....... any opinions? hehe :-D

Would really appreciate some guidance!!

Love / Advice for an Irish girl meeting mother of Polish boyfriend [21]

Tak to prawda, tylko trocheczka :-D ale moj chlopak powiedz mi ze jestem dobra studentka!! My speciality is diminutives haha :-P i love them i think they're so sweet!!! i say EVERYTHING in diminutives hehe.. eg mleczko, domek, smska.. whether its big or not :-D

And thanks miranda that was exactly what i was looking for :) So happy to be on this site now!! You all give really good help :)

Language / (part 2) Polish Language Pronunciation - Sample Words and Phrases [311]

Thanks Kamil_pl :-) yes the się thing was what was really confusing me.. now its all cleared up though dzięki :-)

i dont see much of ą at the ends of words... i wonder if there is some rule like that for pronunciation about ą.. like where ą changes to a normal 'a' sound..... i know są keeps the nasal sound... actually come to think of it, did i just use the word 'rule' a minute ago?? lol :-) Polish is a naughty language!! It does not always follow the rules!!!!! ;) It seems like Irish - if there is a rule, there are more exceptions than cases that actually follow the rule!

Love / Kocham Cię vs I love you - which sounds more sexy? [55]

hm.. how do you pronounce Lubliu tebia?? Do you pronounce the second 'l' in lubliu? I like to say it in every language haha..

except in Irish it sounds HORRIBLE ;-) "táim i ngrá leat.." and if i were to write that in a way that it could be pronounced in Polish it would be - To-ym yngrał lat.. and the 'ng' bit you dont pronounce the 'n' its just 100% pure nasal work there ;-) how sexy lol <3

Language / Things Polish people who speak English language say [180]

Other common mistakes i noticed also are :
e.g. 'i wait for the bus' or 'i waiting' instead of 'i am waiting/i'm waiting'..
also of course the lack of definite or indefinite articles (which i personally think is quite catchy lol - who needs 'em anyway!!) and.. 'why you won't go?' instead of 'why won't you go?'.. but these are all totally understandable given the fact that in Polish you can use the same version of the present tense both ways, def/indef articles dont exist and that you can ask a question with the same structure as 'why you won't go?'..

Actually its a little bit helpful when my boyfriend/friends say something not quite right in English.. cos im thinking.. hm what's the Polish equivalent, and its helping me learn! :-D

Language / Any sweet Polish phrases [255]

Love this thread! I love cute Polish nicknames.. my boyfriend and i joke a lot and we sometimes call each other żabsko or żabisko.. big ugly smelly froggy.. i call him that cos i think it sounds even cuter and he just thinks its so funny that i find it cute! Probably not a good idea for anyone else to say this to their gf/bf though... hmm.. Also we went swimming one day and i had just learned that szybko means fast so i called him my szybko rybko (fast fishy) which kinda stuck :)

Other nicknames..
Tygrysek [/b](or Tygrysku when addressing him) - little tiger
Serduszko - sweetheart
Malpko - little monkey!
Pocieszny - (someone may possibly correct me on spelling of this but...) we dont have a word for it in English, you can call him that if you were upset and he made you feel better :)

Language / Common mistakes made by foreigners in Polish [90]

Here's one of my many mistakes.. The thing about Polish is there's lots of slang! I can never be 100% sure of what im saying especially since this incident.. I was trying to ask a question about grammatical structures so i decided to use (what i thought was a..) nice simple phrase.. i said 'Moj chlopak ma kota' which translates directly as 'my boyfriend has a cat' .... But actually i said 'my boyfriend is a lunatic' :-D

Language / (part 2) Polish Language Pronunciation - Sample Words and Phrases [311]

Oh thanks so much z_darius! :-) That was such a great help!! I totally get it now :-D

Language / Things Polish people who speak English language say [180]


This reminds me of a kinda similar pronunciation type situation..... coke and c*ck !! Sometimes i just have to laugh when my boyfriend asks me if i want some "c*ck" *blush* !! He's very innocent and sweet so its extra funny :-P Also - 'want' and 'won't'...

Language / Common mistakes made by foreigners in Polish [90]

No, fortunately he's not ;-) wanna hear another of my embarrassing 'attempting to speak my lover's language' moments??????

I was in his house but i did the cooking and cleaning cos he was tired after work, then i put on a movie and gave him a massage.. and i wanted to joke and say something like 'i'm your little housewife' . So anyway i knew that 'dom' means home and lots of feminine things end in 'a' and i must have heard the word before (dont ask me where!) and assumed that it meant housewife so ..... as i was giving him a massage i said 'jestem twoja domina!!' = 'I'm your dominatrix' :-/ Haha :-P never been so embarrassed...

I could go on.... In my attempt to learn Polish sometimes i use sentences half in English and half in Polish and i asked him one time if he wanted some 'lody'.... I meant ICE CREAM of course! Thank God he knows im innocent really!!!!!!!!!

P.S. that's the end of my embarrassing stories for now cos im a newbie and i probably should try to avoid ruining my reputation just yet ;-) lol

Language / Any sweet Polish phrases [255]

my dearest is Moj Najdrozsze... but im not sure about how that works with a name.. like if it would become Moja Najdrozsza.. cos its a woman's name.. hmm... someone will know, no doubt!! :)

Language / Any sweet Polish phrases [255]


It means big kiss :-* aww!!!

Language / Any sweet Polish phrases [255]

oh yes oopsy :-o would duży bużiak be big kiss then? or does that sound completely weird..?