Polish word "no". Is it a slang word?

I'm trying to find out more about the Polish word "no". Is it a slang word? What exactly does it mean? Some dictionaries say it means "well", but I know it also means "yes". I would really appreciate your comments. Wixer

Nie (phonetically nye) is no, sometimes Poles say 'no' in conversation as in "yes i understand and agree" carry on. Its a statement as in keeping with the conversation, a literal English translation maybe "uhh ha", when you say "uhh ha" when somebody is telling of an event or story.

WB - he's referring to the Polish word "no", which can mean "well", "yeah", "indeed", or "innit", depending on how it's used ;)


Example:

Me: idziemy do łóżka?

Polish girlfriend: no, jesteś niesamowity

Me: are we going to bed?

PG: innit, you're incredible

lol

Polish "no" means "yes" in English.

"No" is sort of like "Well"

No, jak się masz? = Well how's it going?

thanks for all your answers, seems like it's one of those words that you can only use when you have a real feel for the language

For anyone browsing this thread new to Polish, it sounds to my ears at least a lot like the French for no, non.

on the contrary wixer it's a really handy 'word' for learners to throw into the conversation, it convinces people you know what the hell is going on when you have no idea at all...

Nice one! Sounds like my kind a word

Dear NorthMancPolak
Thanks for the clarification and example. I nearly fell off my chair from laughing so much...Not.

I find the Polish word 'no' very annoying, and it is mainly used by uneducated people who have nothing better to say for themselves.

Regards
John

Interesting comment. By the way, this expression ' innit ,' which has crept into the English language over recent years, is an awful expression. It's mainly used by young people and in my opinion makes those who use it appear both ignorant and uneducated. It's by far the worst word to come into general use in English in living memory. That's my view anyway

Innit dates back to the 70s or 80s. Over the last 10 or 15 years, it has become more commonly used, particularly in London.

imdb.com/title/tt0648655/

I hope your sarcasm isn't trying to imply that I'm uneducated.

The best illustration on the use of "no" has been included in the exchange between Zazulka and me. Unfortunately, it has been binned, so please look in Random.

And no, it's not true that only uneducated simpletons use the word. Overuse, maybe, but phrases like "no i co?" are part of the general language and are used by everybody.

Indeed.

My closest Polish-born family includes a doctor, a pharmacist, an art teacher, and several language graduates. All use/used this word, but not frequently.

Overuse of "po prostu" annoys me far more :D

nom ;)

nom is the next stage in evolution of no
affirmatiwe response

- byłeś po samochód?
- nom
- no i co?
- jeszcze nie zrobiony

There was an old joke about a policeman instructing his colleague that only the uneducated people say "no" while the educated ones use "tak".

The colleague then asks him: "And which one do you use?"
"Tak".
"That means that you're educated?"
"No".

it has evolved even further.... into: niom. But that was too camp and has by now died out, mostly, as well as nom itself.

No is OK. It is simply an emphatic particle. Can replace "tak" here and there in spoken language. Totally acceptable.

There is this old joke (in Polish "suchar" ;)) about no:

"Turysta uliczny pyta przechodnia:
-Czy ta budowla, to Pałac Kultury?
-No!
Po chwili pyta drugiego przechodnia:
-Czy to Hotel Forum?
-Tak!
Turysta zaczepia policjanta:
-Czy tędy dojadę do Zamku Królewskiego?
-Oczywiście!
-Proszę mi powiedzieć, dlaczego w tym kraju jedni mówią "no", drudzy "tak", a jeszcze inni "oczywiście"?
-"No" mówią ci, którzy skończyli podstawówkę, "tak" - ci, którzy skończyli szkołę średnią, a "oczywiście" - ci, którzy skończyli studia.

-Aha, to pan skończył studia?
-No!"

anyway, this word can be used in couple kinds of contexts

Agree totally that "no" is a lazyman's yes.
Phonetically it takes more effort to say "tak"

Just like babies usually say "ma" before "da" since it is easier to say.

Anyway I have to wonder if this is part if the reason for the "you know how stupid" polish jokes.

Regrettably, Polish jokes have existed long before the "You know how stupid..?" variety were even known. Poland until quite recently (read the article from the cover story of two weeks ago in "Wprost" - KRAKÓW: CUD NAD WIS£Ą) was seen as a backwater, rather rustic, territory, conquered by superior armies and intellects, who managed to subjugate the Polish people easily as a result of the latter's technological primitiveness!! This being said, Germans, English, Americans and other industrially successful nations maligned Poland as a land of lazy, corrupt drunkards who'd never contributed any civilization to the West, cf. with say, France or the Italian Renaissance.

Poles therefore, like the Swedes in America at one time, came to be the butt of jokes aimed at their supposed lack of major scientific know-how (Kopernikus and Mme. Curie etc. notwithstanding)

:-)

The reason of the Polish jokes are the Germans who immigrated to USA after second world war mr. misinformed :-)