Language / kiedy i tam [15]

Can you show us the sentence you saw them in?
Saying just 'kiedy i tam' doesn't make much sense so translation is not possible without knowing the context they were used in.

I suspect it could be something like:

when (something happened) there too, then (something else happened)...

Cinek

Travel / Can I make payments by credit card in Poland's Biedronka stores etc,? [25]

Hi,

It all depends on what you want to buy. If only food then you probably will have to go to supermarkets. You will be able to use your credit card in all supermarkets, but Biedronka won't accept it (they only accept cash).

Most smaller local shops also accept debit cards only (not credit cards).
Reg. public transportation, subway is only in Warszawa, but there are trams an buses in all major cities in Poland, and they work very well (you can get almost everywhere). Usually, you must buy tickets for public transportation before you get on (no way to get the ticket in the car). There are many 'kiosks' and sometimes also ticket machines to buy the ticket, but probably also no credit card will be accepted.

In general, it's always a good idea to have some cash in the pocket as credit cards are not as popular in Poland as in other western countries (as opposed to debit cards).

Cinek

Language / Polish baby talk [20]


Just use many diminutives and short sentences, and should be ok.

Cinek

Language / I would like to make a collection of beautiful and/or funny polish quotes [30]

Don't use 'to' before adjectives or possessive pronouns (only before nouns)

Zima wasza, wiosna nasza.

Cinek

Language / "Hilarious" Mistakes? (Esp. Across Polish and other Slavic Languages) [74]


I don't agree. If you mix both forms (Pan/ty) it'll be obvious for everyone that you're trying to be polite but you have just a language problem. But if you just use 'ty' then most people will assume that that's your intention, so some may feel offended.

Cinek

Language / Why is the Polish language so difficult? [309]


No, it won't work no most cases (unless in some simple expressions).

Cinek

USA, Canada / To move back to Poland from the USA or not to move back....that is the question [119]


A house 170 m2. Plus some wood for the fireplace.

Cinek

USA, Canada / To move back to Poland from the USA or not to move back....that is the question [119]


It's not true. Some things like cothing, toys, electronics, computers, cars etc. are cheaper in US. Every time I visit US I always buy much clothing and electronics there. Though, the price difference may not be that much now, as $ went up compared to zł recently.

Food is only slightly cheaper in Poland when you compare prices in big markets, but it's true that you can buy goot cheap food in Poland if you know where (I guess, in US you can also do, but I wasn't there long enough to learn).

Cinek

Language / Differences in Polish and English idioms [69]

Chineese (Dla mnie to chińszczyzna)

Cinek

USA, Canada / To move back to Poland from the USA or not to move back....that is the question [119]


I dont think Warszawa is a good place to move to spend the rest of your life after retirement. Big, noisy, smelly, jammed, difficult to drive (especially for someone used to American streets) and EXPENSIVE (belive me, your 300000 zł. won't be enough to find anything good to live in there unless 50km from the city center).


I agree. And there are also English lang schools there, so shouldn't be a big problem to find a job, and you'll be able to buy a decent flat or even a small house.

As the others, I recommend you to rent out your current house out (so you can pay for your living in Poland) for a few months, e.g. one school year, and give it a try.

Cinek

Language / 'much better' expression in Polish? [8]


What? Of course there is difference between much and more in Polish: dużo - więcej.
I think you were thinking about much / many.

Cinek

Language / Maria, what is the Polish form? [30]

No. Marynia is a diminutive of Maryna which is a dfferent name , of probably the same origin though.

Cinek

Language / Polish Swear Words [1242]


In Polish too.

Cinek

Language / The meaning of some Polish Diminutives [23]

You must remember that diminutives in Polish have also additional meaning. They are used to express some kind of affection, especially when used by lovers, or when talking to children. Using them for verbs usually doesn't add any information (like fast, faster etc.) but just indicate the affection towards the listener.

Sometimes this kind of speech is also used just to sound more polite (personally I don't like it).

Cinek

Travel / Visiting "naklo nad notecia" in Poland [10]


Why not? Krajan is still being brewed there and you can buy it in every pub there (I drank it last month in Spedycja).

Cinek

Travel / Visiting "naklo nad notecia" in Poland [10]


No! The local beer is Krajan. Kujawiak is from Bydgoszcz.
I was born in Nakło and lived there for 25 years. Not very many 'must see' things there. It's just a quiet north west Poland town with big unemployment.

See photos in panoramio:
panoramio.com/map/#lt=53.1417565&ln=17.6018342&z=4&k=2

Cinek

Language / Which preposition for 'at'? [58]


I have read this whole thread and I think your main problem is that you're trying to see a language as a set of words that can be translated one to one between diferent languages. This is definitely wrong. You must understand that a language is more like a 'way of thinking' and words are just tools to express it. There are some elements in every language which are more important and some that are less (or even not existent at all) e.g. in Polish there are things like verb aspect, noun gender, cases, making new words by prefixing, which are completely unknown for an English speaking people. And, what's worse, those things are crucial elements of the language.

So, first of all, stop translating single words and read a book which explains the phylosophy of the language (i.e. the grammar). You must be prapared for learning not new words (because they can be always easily found in a dictionary) but new logical concepts which must be 'felt' before you can start making proper use of the words.

Cinek

Language / It is not possible to translate names into English or Polish! [52]


There's also a village "Jaszcz" in north-west Poland. I also heard this word to mean 'bushes' (more often 'chaszcze')

Cinek

Po polsku / Staram się polepszać się po polsku :) [85]

Mam zamiar nauczyć się polskiego, ale jeszcze muszę często korzystać z pomocy słownika i Google.

btw. the name 'Google' is getting polonised more and more so you can often find it declined like Googla, Googlami etc. Though it's hard to give the strict rule for creating the Polish cases of this word, but I observe that 2 diferent approaches are common.

1. 'Google' pronounced as 'gugle' which sounds as a pl masc. word, so the cases are created as:
M google
D googli
C googlom
B google
N googlami
Mc googlach
W google

2. 'Google' pronounced as "gugel' (or gugl) which sounds as sng. masc word, so the cases are created as:
M google
D googla
C googlowi
B googla
N googlem
Mc googlu
W googlu

Cinek

Language / Funny/strange/deviant words in the Polish language [35]


Not only this one...

Language / Funny/strange/deviant words in the Polish language [35]


'Rower' (bicycle) is derived from name of a manufacturer of bicycles (Rover).

Cinek