Expressing "happiness" in Polish

Poles are naturally happy people, aren't they? There must be loads of ways of describing this particular emotional trait, so...

Following on from my last thread, talking about everything and everyone, I now need to know about describing how happy everyone is and how everything that could possibly make people happy does indeed make them happy. But what kind of happy? Pleased, cheerful, overjoyed, chuffed, grinning like a Cheshire cat, not bad, jovial, etc.



Wszyscy szczęśliwy?

Apparently "szczęśliwy" translates as something more like "delighted" rather than just happy.
Now, team, give me some words. It would fill me with joy if you could also explain any "happy" words with examples. Maybe even diagrams.

Super, ekstra, Spoko, bomba, fantasticinie, rewalacia, fijnia and OK in Polish is not the same as in English, it means good

Can you tell me about the last time you experienced any of the aforementioned sensations? I need information! Okej?

This morning when my baby boy looked at me and gave me one of those big open mouthed baby smiles....

And other highlights:

10 September 2008 at 12:25 PM - My baby boy popped out into this world and I watched him take his first breaths and turn from a greyish color to bright pink. I had a feeling of utter joy even though there were tears coming down my cheeks.

17 September 2007 at 3:10 PM. I was standing in the front of the church and I saw my fiancee coming down the aisle to become my wife. Another feeling of utter joy comingled with some tears on my face because she was absolutely radiant.

that's very sweet kman67
:)

Thank you! Those things stand out in my mind the most. I actually thought very hard about it. I thought about all things that have made me happy - Buying my first brand new car, getting a bonus at work, and I find that I have always been most happy when I have had the human touch and not material ones.

Hitting the snooze button on the alrm clock in the morning and cuddling with my wife.
Looking at my boy, playing with him, changing his diaper, feeding him, etc.
Helping my father with the yard work
Doing a bit of car repair work with my father
Hearing my niece yell "UNCLE KARL" in a crowded room and running towards me with open arms.

Nothing material can compare with things like that. I really consider myself to be lucky and all those things make me happy

"Happiness is a warm gun" said John Lennon. I wonder if Russ Abbott had the right idea with his Hamlets

I was going to retell the tale of the conversation between the American ambassador's wife and the wife of the then retiring president De Gaulle, in which there was an 'umourous pismronunciation of the word 'appiness. But that's another story for another time. Why?

Because I want some Polish words!

Jovialny, wesoły (merry), zadowolony (glad)

jowialny ;) but i don't think that word is very popular, i haven't heard anyone using it for years!

happy=szczęśliwy
delighted=zachwycony
Pleased=zadowolony
cheerful=wesoły
overjoyed=rozradowany
jovial=wesoły

rapturous = wniebowzięty

be tickled pink = szaleć z radości
jump for joy = skakać z radości
rejoice = radować się, cieszyć się

I'm so zadowolony having read all those new words. I might even remember one or two of them tomorrow.

good luck :)

Thanks.

Just one little question about this:

I know the familar Christmas and New Year greetings
"Wesołych świat"
"Szczęśliwego nowego roku"

Why are the word endings the way they are? What sort of grammatical thing is going on there?

it's genitive
święta - świąt
rok - roku

zajebiście ~ fucking great (could be used ironically as well)

=)

It's genitive because you say it as if you were saying 'Zyczę Ci szczęśliwego nowego roku'

I think this is what you mean Osiol.
My understanding of these words works like this.

Super = Super, used the same as in English but much more frequently.

Ekstra= exceptionally good but does not have the meaning of extra
E.g., how was your trip? Ekstra (if it was exceptional)

Spoko= Has two meanings,
1) How are you? Spoko, meaning relaxed and plodding along nicely.
2) In a fight, Spoko!, meaning calm down! or chill!
This word is very popular, I use it quite often.

Bomba= Bomb, (like a grenade of daisies exploding in your head :))
e.g. how was the gig last night? Bomba (cool)

Fantastycznie= Fantastic, I find I ues this a lot also but Polish people i meet do not.

Rewalacja=Revelation. If somebody says something that hits the nail on the head, you can say rewalacia!

Fajnia= A bit different to "fine" in English, with the meaning of "nice" or "very good". This is used a lot in everyday conversation for good things.

What do you think of my new dress? car?
How was the gig?
etc etc
fijnia

(And anybody who can correct my understanding please correct where necessary).

Thanks RJ_cdn,
I have corrected them accordingly :)
Would you agree with the my interpretation of these words?

I have never used "spoko" so can't comment on that, otherwise you explanations seem fine to me.
The word I would add is:
Rewelacyjnie = extraordinary

This word is a young cool trendy city word.
I hear it a lot and use it (even though I am not young cool trendy or live in a city) ha ha ha

Sorry, in post#21 it should be:
Rewelacyjnie = sensationally
Extraordinary means nadzwyczajny, niezwykły.

If I find any young, trendy city types working with me amongst all the gnarled looking old Poles with our shovels and mud, then I shall try to remember spoko.


My brain has been updated.

Thanks for your help.

I said that


Hhhhhmmmm.... see above

I answered you as I understood it, just out of curiosity how far away was I from what you meant?

RJ definately said the second thing I quoted.


You gave me a good list, but I did require a bit more information.

For example, if someone said

The last time I was szczęśliwy was on a Saturday morning in early August when I had just finished some DIY - fitting a new headboard to the bed, when the girl from over the road came over and offered to help me test it out, even passing me a letter that I had left on the doorstep that just happened to contain an unexpected cheque for 500 Euros. Then a man in a giant cat costume walked past with a small dog on a lead, followed by a fat man on a tiny unicycle which he folded up and put in the inside pocket of his raincoat just as my favourite song came on the radio.

The last time things were spoko, the greengrocers I work in received a delivery of cucumbers that all perfectly complied to EU straightness standards and that seemed to keep all the customers happy.

The last time I was wesoły, I also happened to be podchmielony.

That kind of thing.

Well that is what i ferment of course, read between the lines.

I am only ever wesoły kiedy jestem goła or after a few drinks, which ever comes first ;)

Two words i would like to add are fart and snot, both for any particular, just cause in the eyes of the law, which is 90% of property.

Spoko is a little more versatile than that, and it can be compared to English cool. We

some examples:

- "spoko z niego koleś" (he's a cool fella)
- "widziales to juz" (have you seen it yet?)
tak, spoko film (yes, cool movie) [not bad no super awesome]
- spoko imprezka (cool party)

The word is not really all that new. It has been in use since early 1980's.

spoko, we got it....