Polish inscription in a book for a loved one

Hi there,

I bought a book for my Polish sweetheart and want to make sure that I get the language right, as I like to write on the inside cover of books that are given as gifts. I was going to start with 'moja ukochana, Her Name..' and end with 'na zawsze twój, My Name'

I'd just like to check that it means 'My darling, xxxxx' and 'forever yours, xxxxx'.

Many thanks and if I've got it wrong, what would you suggest that translates the sentiment well in Polish?

No. You have to write....Dla mojej ukochanej (name) na zawsze twoj (name) . However when you put her name, you also have to be careful. If she is called Ewa, you have to write 'Ewy', if she is called Elzbieta, you have to write 'Elzbiety'. Tell us her name and someone will give you the correct name you should put.

Moja ukochana Basiu, Kasiu, Jolu, Olu, Elu, Marzenko, Irenko, Krysiu, Marysiu...
Dla mojej ukochanej Basi, Kasi, Joli, Oli, Eli, Marzenki, Irenki, Krysi, Marysi...
;)

Thanks for the responses. Her name ends in 'i'. Sorry for my vagueness. I'm just a really private person and with the relationship being in the tentative stages, I don't want to risk it being out in the open just yet (although I do realise that's unlikely, but it only takes that one mutual friend to be on here).

Would you mind explaining to me why your suggestions are completely different to my initial translation? I do find Polish a baffling language when it comes to all the different word endings for the same thing.

Thanks

Is this a Polish name? I don't think any female Polish name ends in "i"...


When you're giving a book in Poland as a present with a dedication then you write in Polish:

"Dla mojej ukochanej (Her Name),
na zawsze Twój, (Your Name)."

It means:

"For my darling (Her Name),
forever yours, (Your Name)."

Oh come on bro. We dying with curiosity. I always thought there is no Polish name ending in i

Thanks for all your input. This is great. As for her name, it's her nickname. Her birth name ends in 'a'. Once again, thanks. She's going to love the book - even moreso with a dedication in her mother tongue.

Because of grammatical cases.
Tricky part is if her name is Maria, then you should write "Marii". I'd google the genitive form of her name, it's called dopelniacz.

We're not spying dumbαss, get over yourself. The ending of her name (in this context) might be -y, -i or -ii if you won't give the last few letters then you're on your own.


Not if you screw it up cause your too weird to give people who know enough informaton to actually help you....

Lots of luck in the relationship: Polish people in relationships tend to be nosy (not obsessive or jealous but they want to know your business - it's a cultural thing)

I do believe (and someone can correct me if I'm wrong), but currently in the UK there are more than 2 girls with the name of Maria, and no one will ever know which of the 2 girls you are addressing. :-)

But if he just writes her nickname (which as he's told us about it, I assume is what he intends to do) he would be ok? I would think that in that case it would be treated like any other foreign female name not ending in an 'a' and wouldn't be declined.

So if, for example, if the lady in question is called Teresa but goes by the nickname 'Terri" then writing either:

Dla mojej ukochanej Terri

Or

Dla mojej ukochanej Teresy

Would be correct? This is the sort of thing that I'm far from certain about...

Yeah, foriegn female names ending in anything but -a are not declined. But his weird secrecy fetish makes it hard to tell....

There's nothing weird or fetishistic about not wanting to plaster someones name all over a public forum without their permission, especially when addressing a pretty personal topic. What I consider respectful you consider weird. As we say - horses for courses. To be honest, I'm quite taken aback by some of the attitudes expressed. I would never dream of insulting someone online without just cause, as I believe in engaging with strangers on the internet in exactly the same way I would in real life, and I certainly wouldn't stand for someone coming up to me in a bar and calling me an dumbass (unlikely in the UK as that's not a term we use). I came here for help, not judgement.

To those of you have taken the time to help me out, massive thanks to you, and yes, it is her nickname and not her Polish name so in this case it wouldn't be declined. Thanks.

You just did! First you asked for help and then would not give enough information so that people could actually help by you and you clearly implied we're a bunch of snoops for asking for the necessary information.

I find that highly rude and presumptive. If you're going to ask for help, be cooperative!

Sorry for my vagueness. I'm just a really private person and with the relationship being in the tentative stages, I don't want to risk it being out in the open just yet (although I do realise that's unlikely, but it only takes that one mutual friend to be on here).

I'd love to know how you could possibly infer that I was clearly implying you're all a bunch of snoops from that? The reason for my discretion should be obvious from my statement. If you choose to read between the lines and invent a narrative that permits you to be ill-mannered in your response, then that says more about you than me.

Contrary to popular belief, we are not mind readers. Just regard your treatment here as desensitization. If you think we're prying and nosy, then just wait till you meet her freinds and family (or her for that matter - once she's decided she's locked you down).

Just don't say you weren't warned....

EuroBrit - hope you have the advice you need. just one more piece :) i think if you are not yet in a relationship the kochany and zawsze can be quite heavy in Polish context - if she is into you then no problem as Poles like romance, but if you are more in a chatting and flirting phase (i.e. Before you have done the deed) then it might freak her out a bit.

My impression is that he's chasing her until she catches him.... (It's a common dynamic between Polish women and foreign men).


Mentioning the last few letters of her name is a stretch - how do you think he'll react to that?! You've probably just undone weeks of work for her...

Thanks, cms. We've gone past the freak-out stage so heavy is good. The information on here has been great (with the exception of one persons contribution).



I think you'd do well to stop trying to be what you claim you are not (on behalf of everyone, it would seem, judging by your use of the royal 'we'), and stop making assumptions based on nothing but your desire to find an alternative meaning to what I am writing. There's no catch and chase. I am merely wanting to present a gift to my sweetheart with a meaningful, personal message that reflects what we have. Words are powerful, moreso when heard in your own language. It really is that simple. You seem to have an axe to grind, and I can't help but wonder what experience you've had that has lead to your misplaced hostility. Either way, I wish you well and I hope your sort out your issues sooner rather than later.

Actually Mafketis is one of the nicer, more polite and reasonable people on this forum. Just make a random visit to any thread and see the vile insults flying through the air, the tears, the tantrums. It's like a South American soap opera.

By the way, you do come across as a wee bit precious and niminy piminy with all that 'discretion' business. Either that or a teenage girl 'OMG! I can't say the name on the forum, what if someone we both know is on here and says 'oh so-and-so fancies you and is like, really into you', I'd just die!!'. I mean apparently you've already embarked on some sort of 'thing' with the girl, so it would hardly come as a shock to her. I don't know, maybe she's as precious as you are and she'd be horrified that you asked a question on the old interweb. In which case you're probably ideally suited so it's a happy ending in any case :)

Come on! Give me a break. I came on here asking a simple thing for a simple reason. No ulterior motive. No nothing. My desire for anonymity stems from the simple reason that I don't want people who know us knowing our business. Not yet. Just to nip any more potential for reading between the lines in the bud, neither of us are married nor otherwise committed. Neither of us are 'precious' or 'niminy piminy' (is that a regional thing?) but we have our reasons. Please respect that. That's all I ask. I'm not questioning anyone's integrity on this forum. I'm just trying to get a little help with a gesture that I know would mean a lot to her, and in turn, to me.

How DARE you!??! I take great except... (hmmm reading again)..... never mind.

But you're right! Compared to some of the disreputable souls around here I'm a fr1ggin' prince! A prince I tells ya!

EuroBrit, you surprise me, you do really. Niminy piminy is an English expression (as in UK) meaning exaggeratedly prim or refined. I first heard it many years ago in Notting Hill Gate, used by a teenager actually, though in fairness her Pater was a proper toff :))


Or people who don't know you either it would seem! Are you sure you don't have Irish blood ' you'd want to be very careful now, you wouldn't want people knowin' your business'.


Well it is a very public place and sadly respect is in short supply around here to boot. I don't understand why you didn't just make up a name, something similar in spelling for the purposes of getting the grammatical case. You do come across as terribly stuffy and serious, perhaps you are, but you're probably a very nice person and I wish you the best of luck with your lady. By the way I also would think that 'ukochany' is over-egging the pudding a bit. It can translate as 'beloved' and only an established couple would tend to use that phrase.

EuroBrit, I hope your mysterious lady likes the book. I wouldn't take anything written here too much to heart.

Going back to the subject of foreign name declension, one thing I don't really understand is when to decline a foreign surname, particularly for women. Why, for example, is it:

Życie Baracka Obamy
Życie Michelle Obamy
Życie Johna Kennedy'ego
Życie Jackie Kennedy

If the feminine, ending in a 'a', surname is declined for males then why isn't it the same the other way around?

That's a confusing question, but...

Obama (declined like a feminine noun ending in -a, like the name Wajda) for both genders.

Kennedy (declined like a masculine adective without a feminine equivalent) that type of name isn't declined for women in Polish. In the past it might be possible to add -owa (wife of) but that sounds old fashioned or even kind of insulting now.

Neither Jackie nor Michelle gets declined either.

@Atch
Ah, a regional thing. Where I'm from we say 'namby pamby'. I do happen to have Irish blood in me although greatly diluted by the Scots' blood in me (my Scottish ancestors were settlers from Ireland).


Thanks, KiWo. I'm sure she will.


Duly noted! The last place I expected to find a dissection of my character was on a language forum. Very grateful for everyone's help, though.

I have to agree with EuroBrit on that. It isn't our business. I don't understand why you guys jumped on him like that.

I myself thought it's weird that he would write her name ended in "i" that's why I commented, but later on I remembered that a Polish girl I knew who's name was Gabriela was called "Gabi" for short and that there was a girl in our highschool who's name was nicknamed into "Sali" (both are rare names in Poland, btw, in fact - the second one is so rare that I'm not giving it here on purpose :)) so I suspected it can be a nickname in his girlfriend's case too. It doesn't have to be declined so it's all good.


Come on, maf, he didn't. He clearly wrote "it only takes that one mutual friend to be on here".


If it's a common name you probably don't have to be so careful, nevertheless, I respect your sentiment.


He didn't write he thinks we're prying and nosy. And you're generalising (not for the first time). Poles do differ among each other, we're not some identical robots from a factory line. You don't know her nor her friends or her family. I'm Polish and I'm a very private person, especially in certain matters like intimate relationships and I must say that EuroBrit comes off as a gentleman and as woman I would feel safe with such a respectful man. It wouldn't hurt if more men were like him, tbh.


But there's plenty of judgement, as we can see lol


He definitely seems more nice than "stuffy and serious".


True, but I wouldn't exaggerate with that... "Dla mojej kochanej (Name)" would be less heavy or "poetic", I guess, but also probably a little bit less elegant in this context (dedication in a book). I suspect that EuroBrit may be a more refined type and so maybe his lady is like that too so she may appreciate this kind of language.


This isn't a normal forum... Better avoid it like a plague, it may destroy your soul if you stay here for too long... lol :))

Well my grandparents used that word to describe a somewhat effeminate man and I'm certain you're not that! As for niminy piminy it isn't widely used, probably not in the last hundred years anyway, I just love vintage English expressions.


It's a bit of fun though isn't it? The old parry and thrust of the verbal exchange!
By the way as an ultra-refined lady (almost niminy piminy in fact) I would personally be delighted if I discovered through the grapevine that a gentleman was making tentative enquires about the correct way to inscribe a book to me and I wouldnt' think he was being at all indiscreet. (If I were single that is but I already 'gots me' a lovely Polish husband) Anyway as I said best of luck.

Yes, sorry, framing clear questions about things that confuse me isn't something I'm very good at!

Thanks for your help. I think something I'd failed to notice is that, for women, even Polish surnames that don't end in an 'a' don't seem to be declined either. Although, I do seem to remember references to the government of Ewy Kopacza - perhaps the authors were being a bit mischievous? Or maybe I'm just still confused!

I'm pretty sure you didn't.


The basic rule is last names for women that are adjectives or femine nouns are declined and others aren't. There might be an exception or two I'm unaware of....