Terms of endearment in Polish

Thanks both for the suggestions,

The ever dubious google translate suggests Ładnie wyglądasz pronounced something like 'wad-nee v-glon-dash', does that sound about right?

Also does 'bardzo sliczna' (bard-zo sleech-na?) work standalone or do I need to combine it?

For example translate shows that as 'very lovely', do I therefore say 'bardzo sliczna wyglądasz' ?

My polish mother would call her babies chu chu lanka anyone kno what this might mean Summary

My grandmother used to call me something that sounded like "hunushka" I'm not sure what it was though, my father said he thinks it meant honey but the google translated version doesn't sound like it. Maybe it wasn't honey?

Hanushka = (most likely) "my little" Anna / Hania (Polish first female name)

My husband used to call me a "goovashke" -- that is what it sounded like.
It might have been Polish or Russian. Would anyone know the meaning?
He said I was his awkward little girl.

Merged:

Don't know affectionate name - "tree-ka" or "tray-ka?

My grandfather is first generation American born Polish, and he is quickly losing his mind to dementia. He used to call me something that sounded like "tree-ka" or "tray-ka" when I was a kid, and into my teens, but fell off as I got older, and I never asked him what it meant, and now that I can't anymore I can't find like, a term of endearment that's even close. The closest word I've found is "trajka," I guess, but we never...had one...

I dunno, I didn't know where else to ask. Could be trajka, could be chlaike or something, could be something misremembered or mispronounced, could be something he just made up, but...I thought I'd ask.

A lot of messages typed but many are not clear whether the endearment words given are for both mail or female....would it be OK if this can be clarified in all examples replied, please??? Thank you so much!!

Because...i am still confused!!

My uncle would call me " my little Pochaha..... what does that mean..... my uncle was Polish.... sorry about spelling

it's spelled pociecha in Polish - and it means something like a cross between joy and solace

Yes, gumi, also it is used to call kids in the sense of kiddie.

If a Polish man calls you his 'witch' does mean he's under your spell and will do anything for you or has it an additional more negative meaning? He's told me it's a common as a term of endearment but to me it sounds rather ambivalent and I feel rather uncomfortable with it....

@Londongirl4
Depends on the word I reckon
Wiedżma/baba Jaga has a more pagan/sinister maliscious sounding to it (witch)

While czarownica has more the resemblance of the word "enchantress" as being "zaczarowanym" is basically being enchanted.

Shortly... He is probably in love and has difficulty of thinking about anything else then you, and considers you to be the source of his affections and hormones going wild

My mom used to refer to my son as "boo-bek". She said this meant a little/baby boy. Can anyone help with what Polish word she was saying?

You mean boobek uttered as in book? Then I have no good news for you. Bubek is a pejorative word in Polish.

pl.wiktionary.org/wiki/bubek

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bubek can have positive meaning in the Silesian dialect of Polish

I was going to write something like that, if the mom in question was from a part of Poland with heavy German influence (like Silesia or maybe Wielkopolska) then it could be a Polonized loan from German Bube (boy though IINM can be negative or positive depending on who's using to who and why etc)

This shows again that there is no standard Polish language and that every Pole feels entitled to his or her own version and its ad hoc contortions. To the point that expert decoding becomes necessary - the service you just performed. Thanks for making my point in advance.

There is, of course, but not only. Poland is big enough to host a dozen dialects. It is perfectly natural that living in southern Poland I didn`t know about positive meaning of bubek in Silesia.

If not "boo-beck", how about "boo-busch"? My mom used the two interchangeably and said they both mean Little Boy. Any ideas?
And I want to add that she loved my son dearly and would have meant anything other than a term of endearment.

Yes, bubuś is a good one for a small child. I read it in the Polish translation of Le Petit Nicolas stories.

Yes and no. Those contortions you mean are basically a parody of infant`s first utterings. Boo - boo, goo - goo, are the easiest sounds to produce. Foo foo is more difficult that is why it isn`t in the list that you proposed.

That is why we can say bubuś to a baby but not fufuś. Do you get the drift?
Have you ever taken care of a baby longer than on hour, e.g,, when your wife was ill or sth? Probably not. :):):)

How come no one here has mentioned sloczootky ? Eng prncd: swochootky . I also didn't get any results for this as a translation of sweetie. The blabla dictionary gave me kochane, which I wuld take for dear one. I speak a little polish from parents but nowhere near fluent. 0 polish friends growing up in so cal.

It's spelt Słodziutko. People sometimes still use it.

Kids like compliments for what they did well. They know that słodziutko and similar are meaningless bs. They may not know how to spell bulls*hit but can spot it instantly.

"Swochootky" would be "słodziutki", not "słodziutko". It's something a grandma would call her little grandson, for example ("słodziutka" for a female).

Very sweet.

My dad calls my son something that sounds like shmouda? Any ideas?

Maybe żmuda (bother, something difficult, waste of time) in which case it's kind of a teasing nick name.

If you put it in google translate (cut and paste, you need the dot over the z) you can hear the pronunciation.

The only żmuda which I hear in Polish from time to time is Władysław Żmuda, a known football player from 1970s and 80s, later a coach. So, the grandson probably reminds the old man about the glorious days of Polish football.

żmudny - tedious - is more popular than żmuda.

Mayby smutas? But it is not funny. I don't know.