Language / Capitalisation in Polish language; uncapitalised car marques (fiat, buick, honda)? [17]


I wouldn't day it's bad. You don't need to remember when to use capitals because you always do.

Cinek

Love / My Polish girlfriend's mother called her a prostitute because we live together [113]


I thought the same. Maybe she just sad:

Kurwa, dziewczyno, ale znalazłaś zajebistego gacha!

If so, then you don't need to worry at all ;-)

Cinek

Language / Need advice on how to improve Polish language skills [134]


Of course, but the initial question was whether szcz differ from ść at all... This is not a question to ask after 1,5 y of learning. This is a very basic knowledge of the sounds used in the lang. The lerner should know it and be aware of the difference, even though mastering the pronuntiation may take many years.

Cinek

Language / The verb "to stay" [6]


Avoid such one to one translation pitfalls. Polish 'Mieszkać' is not the same as English 'to live'. Both 'to live' and 'to stay' can be translated as 'mieszkać' if you're saying about the place which you occupy during your life/stay.

e.g.

Mieszkam w ładnym domu - I live in a nice house
I stayed in a hotel during my last visit to... - mieszkałem w hotelu podczas mojej ostatnie wizyty w...

However, when you're talking about other aspects of your life (e.g. your social status, lenght etc.) you usually translate 'to live' as 'żyć'

e.g.
My grandma lived longer than I would be - moja babcia żyła dłużej niż ja będę żyć... (because she lived healthier)

During the war people lived as rats - podczas wojny ludzie żyli jak szczury (whatever that can mean ;-)

Cinek

Language / Dzwoniono / Czytano [22]



So it turns out that dzwonić can be either transitive or not, depending on the context, and we can have e.g.:

Dwie melodie były dzwonione palcami o szkło.


shame on me :-(

Cinek

Language / What's a Polish equivalent of hardware store? [9]


There're no such shops in Poland any more. Maybe you could find some in rural areas, but not in cities.
We (people where I live) usually call it sklep metalowy.

Cinek

Language / The usage and future of the special Polish letters: ą, ć, ę, ł, ń, ó, ś, ż, ź (Polish language) [203]


I think most borrowings in Polish was from IndoEuropean in fact (Latin, German, English, French). From non-IE there may be just a few (from Turkish, Tatar, Magyar, Suomi maybe some Hebrew)

Cinek

Language / Dzwoniono / Czytano [22]


This is because passive adjectival participle requires a transitive verb. Dzwonić is not.

Cinek

Language / Need advice on how to improve Polish language skills [134]


Congratulations! This was just a small step for you and one giant leap for your Polish skills ;-)

But anytime you feel unsure about the pronuntiation, ivona.com will always help you. Try it. It's really good!

Cinek

Language / Need advice on how to improve Polish language skills [134]


How did you do that? Did you say it yourself? It might be the reason (I mean not only Polish ear but also Polish mouth is needed ;-) )

Cinek

Language / Need advice on how to improve Polish language skills [134]


Out ot these only ż=rz and ó=u ar ambiguous for a native speaker (also h=ch). The other can be always (but maybe a few exceptions) easily distinguished. Especially the ś-sz, ć-cz, etc, are only difficult for foreigners. Polish ear doesn't have any problem with that (btw. the English sh, ch sound also completely different for Poles).

Cinek

Language / Can anyone tell if this phrase is right: Zestrat sie a nie Podat sie [5]



Hmmm, think twice before doing it...

Cinek

Language / Adjective endings and masculine-personal in the Polish language [22]


The specific usage of biernik/dopełniacz as well as making a inanimate nouns animate (which is very similar to the former) allows for creating a whole palette of different 'colors' of your language but requires very good feeling of the language. You can make yourself sound old fasioned or very coloquial or slangy just by the selection of the case.

But dont' worry about it now, it will come to you later :-) You just need to know that when you see a case that is different to what you've been taught it's not necessarily a mistake.

Cinek

History / Russians 'tortured to death' in Polish camps? [58]


How many of them Russians raised for Germans in Stalingrad?

History / Russians 'tortured to death' in Polish camps? [58]


Hold on, which war are we talking about? The camp in Strzalkow was built during the war of 1919-21, when Soviets attacked newly released Poland. They didn't lose anyting then...

History / Russians 'tortured to death' in Polish camps? [58]

So you expect that in the name of reconciliation we should start raising monuments for our aggressors?

History / Russians 'tortured to death' in Polish camps? [58]


Right, It was Poles who attacked the innocent Russians, closed them all in the camp and shot in head then took their country and made it a colony for 180 years...

Language / Adjective endings and masculine-personal in the Polish language [22]

I'd like to add to Koala's explanation my 3 grosze.
If you're saying: 'chcę coś' (biernik) you generally mean that you want it as a whole and you're not saying what is it needed you for.

On the other hand, saying 'chcę czegoś' (dopełniacz) usually indicates a part (or a portion) of it or suggests your intention of the usage (usually the most typical usage for given thing).

Some examples:
You're entering a store and saying:
Poproszę wodę. -> you mean that you want to buy a bottle of water.
Poproszę wody. -> you mean that you want to DRINK some water, e.g. because you're feeling bad

You're asking someone:
Potrzebuję młotek -> you mean you want someone to give you a hammer
Potrzebuję młotka -> you mean you're doing something that requires using a hammer to do it

a girl enters a room full of people and says:
potrzebuję mężczyznę -> she means a man (not a woman) is needed
potrzebuję mężczyzny -> she means she want's a man to... (so boys, get prepared if she's pretty, and beware otherwise ;-) )

Cinek

Language / Państwo macie ..., pan masz ... [5]


In contemporary language, using second p. in sing is not polite, however it used to be ok in the past (see. e.g. texts like Bible or historical novels or movies e.g. Sienkiewicz's). In today's language in singular we use it only the way Koala described (to express annoyance or disprespect), but it can be felt as strongly impolite.

On the other hand, in the past using plural with sec. pers. (Wy) was a polite way to refer to other person or persons in both sing an plural (instead of Pan/Pani/Państwo). This is still visible in e.g. commies era movies, and some older people still use it when talking to e.g. priests or elders (I often heard my grandma using it when talking to her mum).

I suspect that this is why using second person in plural is felt as acceptable. Probably it just reminds that old way of referrig the interlocutor (Wy).

Cinek

Language / Pomidor - Tomato (intimate saying) [14]


Pomidorek

It's not slang, it's standard Polish.

Cinek

Language / się - explanation needed ? [13]


Of course it has. e.g:

Ta plama nie chce się zmyć.

Cinek

Language / Do I have these Polish word cases right? [16]


Not sure I deserve... anyways thanks :-)

Cinek

Language / Do I have these Polish word cases right? [16]

Chaza,

I think you should take a regular class, and give up self teaching before you get frustrated and give up the language at all. I see self teaching doesn't work for you. You need someone (a good teacher) who will switch that little switch in you mind to change yor way of thinking. Dictionary won't do that.

Cinek

Language / Perfective vs Imperfective - grammar [150]


I'd say:

Pozdawałem wszystkie egzaminy, codziennie jeden.


Yes, it's a gap in out otherwise perfect grammar system he he ;-)

We usually don't notice things like that unless trying to teach someone speaking Polish. I observerd my daughter when she was learning speaking and noticed many interesting things. Children, in general easily adopt all rules and often extend them and use beyond what is allowed in 'official' grammar, so sometimes they fix gaps like this one. I think a smart kid would say here: 'zdawywałem'. It's of course incorrect from 'official' grammar poit of view, but personally I think it perfectly expresses what you need :-)

Cinek

Language / Pożyczyć vs. wypożyczyć, etc. [5]


Yes. We don't use dopełniacz any more, use biernik instead. Unless in negative sentences, where dopełniacz must be used.


Usually, the place you 'wypożyczasz' things from is called 'wypożyczalnia' (which is also a part of library - usually a 'biblioteka' consists of 'wypożyczalnia' and 'czytelnia').

e.g.
Wypożyczalnia sprzętu sportowego - you can often find ones next to ski tracks, ice rinks etc.
Wypożyczalnia kaset wideo - very popular in late 80th and 90th :-)
Wypożyczalnia rowerów - more and more popular, especially in bigger cities and all places good for biking.
etc.

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 / "nazywam sie" to introduce yourself. [8]


Piękne - singular neuter or plural non-personal masc.
Piękna - singular feminine

:-)

Cinek

Language / "nazywam sie" to introduce yourself. [8]


Nazywam się requires the surname, but you can also give both first and surname (the latter is just required, the former is optional).
"Jestem" means "I am" and you can give anything or anyone you are ;-)
If you want to give just your first name you can say: "Mam na imię ..." which means "My first name is...."

Cinek

Language / Polish word "Dom" and its similarities in different languages [46]


Yeah, show them that they are stupid and reveal the real truth...
Man, what you did was just taking a random (and unfortunate) Polish word because it happened to be similar to a Turkich word, then blamed all around that they dont see your point. Is this what you mean by "diving to the ground"?

Cinek