The BEST Guide to POLAND
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Posts by cinek  

Joined: 16 Nov 2007 / Male ♂ 		Last Post: 17 Jul 2024
Threads: Total: 2 / Live: 0 / Archived: 2
Posts: Total: 347 / Live: 51 / Archived: 296 		From: Poland, Bydgoszcz
Speaks Polish?: Yes
Interests: whole Universe

Displayed posts: 51 / page 1 of 2
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cinek   
25 Aug 2009
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
cinek   
6 Jan 2010
Language / Which preposition for 'at'? [58]

where have i gone wrong

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
cinek   
8 Jan 2010
Travel / Visiting "naklo nad notecia" in Poland [10]

local beer- Kujawiak

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
cinek   
8 Jan 2010
Travel / Visiting "naklo nad notecia" in Poland [10]

here is no more 'local' beer than Kujawiak

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
cinek   
6 Feb 2010
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
cinek   
10 Mar 2010
Language / Polish Swear Words [1242]

"huj"in Russian is much "heavier" than f-words in English. That always bears a negative meaning and represents a person who says it the negative way.

In Polish too.

Cinek
cinek   
14 May 2010
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
cinek   
19 May 2010
Language / 'much better' expression in Polish? [8]

We have no difference between "more" and "much"

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

Cinek
cinek   
7 Jul 2010
USA, Canada / To move back to Poland from the USA or not to move back....that is the question [119]

if you're looking for a job Warsaw is the place to be

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).

The cities I recommend to consider are: Toruń (for me the best in the world), Poznań, Wrocław, Gdańsk. Smaller towns: Piła, Kołobrzeg, Tuchola.

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
cinek   
21 Mar 2011
USA, Canada / To move back to Poland from the USA or not to move back....that is the question [119]

The USA is about 200% to 300% more expensive than Poland for the same exact things.

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
cinek   
8 Jul 2011
Language / Why is the Polish language so difficult? [309]

I am wondering whether or not I can construct sentences like an English speaker does, only the words are in Polish?

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

Cinek
cinek   
7 Dec 2011
Language / "Hilarious" Mistakes? (Esp. Across Polish and other Slavic Languages) [74]

e) you have to be consistent when you start out with the formal register - shifting between the registers during a conversation can be cofusing and unpleasant for a Polish interlocutor

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
cinek   
14 Jun 2012
Language / Polish baby talk [20]

Are there any more?

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

Cinek
cinek   
2 Jul 2012
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
cinek   
28 Sep 2012
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
cinek   
25 Nov 2012
Po polsku / Życie pod wspólnym dachem. Jak to jest? [28]

bałam się utraty mojej, tak lubianej czasami przeze mnie, chęci spędzania czasu w samotności i realizacji własnych pasji.

Czy myślisz, ze on nie ma tego samego? Każdy potrzebuje czasem samotności. Mieszkanie razem nie oznacza od razu robienia zawsze wszystkiego wspólnie. Po prostu, daje się sobie na wzajem od czasu do czasu 'czas prywatny' kiedy każde zajmuje się swoimi sprawami i już. Inaczej sie nie da :-)

Cinek
cinek   
3 Dec 2012
Po polsku / Życie pod wspólnym dachem. Jak to jest? [28]

Według mnie, szanse są zawsze.Spróbuj to się przekonasz, a na pewno dowiesz się też co nieco o sobie. Może za miesiąc czy dwa dla kompromisu zaakceputjesz to co Cie teraz tak wkurza, kto wie.... :-)

Pamiętaj, nikt nie jest idealny, my też nie.

Cinek
cinek   
7 Jan 2013
Language / Fun with Polish ambiguous language [59]

You can disambiguate the two meanings by saying "zamknąć na klucz,"

We usually say 'zakluczyć' - to lock
It's probably a colloquial word but makes it less ambiguous.

Cinek
cinek   
7 Jan 2013
Language / Fun with Polish ambiguous language [59]

must be some kind of local neologism

Hmm, I live in kuj-pom area and it's quite popular here. Didn't know that people might have not ever heard it :-)

Cinek
cinek   
15 Jan 2013
Language / Fun with Polish ambiguous language [59]

"Dział kontroli luster to praca w której bym się widział"

from bash.org.pl: bash.org.pl/4847094

Cinek
cinek   
6 Aug 2013
Language / Polish slang phrases - most popular. [606]

They like to say 'siemanko' instead of 'good morning' at register time. I understand that this is slang for 'hello', but is it disrespectful?

When said to a teacher, especially in Poland, then I'd say yes. But again, I may be outdated... ;-)

Cinek
cinek   
4 Oct 2013
Language / Family members in Polish [8]

But my book says that 'stryjenka' is your father's brother's wife, and 'wujenka' is your mother's brother's wife.

Formally yes. But almost nobody uses those names any more. They both are just 'ciocie' (- pl., 'ciocia' - sing.).

Cinek