Do you think that Polish people are rude?

i dont think polish people are stupid because first one i am an polish person, two english people wouldnt like it if they would go to poland and they would be treated nasty as they did to me and third how you say thay england is a free countery so you can do what you want so that means that if someone is nasty to you you can be nasty back.

i understan when i was in poland and all of the people say please and thank you but when i came in here i thought that no one in here knows a world please or thank you, that happend when i was in year 8. when i was in year 10 english people started to bully me, WHY???? just because im polish,well i know the boys sometimes are mean but this time it wasnt just the boy, it was girls too,i felt bad.it was horrible,every day you go to school you think " oh, what are they gonna do today???".big question mark how am i supposed to know.

i am really getting sick of this... now this is to you people from englang and this time really listen and think how you would you felt if you had to go to the other countery, where you dont know anybody and then being bullied nearly hole of your life.how would you feal,come on how would you feal.i know this is a letter different to every one elses but this one is still the best for me because it is from inside my heart, telling you how i feal........... :(

So you have been there a couple of times and had a bad time?
London is the centre of civilisation in the UK, compared to whichever provincial hellhole you have the misfortune of hailing from, full of fantastic people and amazing random conversations. And yes plenty of English people. Thank you.

To me, you sound rude and aggressive. is this a case of projection?

I dont think Polish people are rude they have a different culture and there is less insincere "Please" and "thank you"

Neither Polish nor English is my native language and I have lived in both the UK and Poland... I must say that the two languages translates badly on this point, if translated directly.

In Poland you often find that a clerk will start the conversation with "słucham" - and if this person does so in English it will surely sound rude. On the other hand to a pole the the drilled "how are you/are you O.K" approach might sound pretentious or fake. Manners should be judged in context.

PS: I prefer the shorter approach myself though.

Totally right. I hate that. I just do not respond.

Oh, that's rude...why would you assume that the person who asked does not mean it? Let's say I tripped and fell on the street and someone asked me 'Are you all right?' I'd be happy to respond either I'm OK or I think I twisted my ankle...instead of the instant negative approach...you don't know me, why do you care.

Ehhh, the good old polish rudeness...

in NYC they would just answer with a friendly "back off or I'll shoot you in a face" thing.

I read somewhere, that when Americans see a smiling person, they think he is happy. Polish people assume he's an idiot.
:)

It certainly was true when I lived there(PRL days). I would constantly be asked "what are you smiling for? are you stupid"?? Hahaha I quickly learned to do as the natives and just furrow my eyebrows and scowl lol

LOL - a scowl.
I think there are basically two approaches to strangers: as an optimist or as a pessimist. Polish people certainly have enough reasons not to assume that everyone they meet has their best interests at heart. But also, and more importantly, once they know you, they honor frienship to a fault.

Thats totally different

Absolutely! That was my experience to a person.

While visiting Poland after many years i was greeting everyone who was looking at me with a friendly "Hi, what's up"... My family explained that i needed to stop doing that immediately because i could get punch in a face by someone less tolerant. Well, i thought that was totally rude of them! bunch of fucktards :(

that will teach 'em how to be polite! ;)

If you went around asking a bunch of complete strangers how they were anywhere in the world, you would be seen as a smiling idiot. Do you seriously smile at and greet random people you meet on the streets in the US? I have come across this "Polish people don't respond to my friendly gestures" myth many times and I think it's a question of you seeing yourself as a major attraction in the Polish town / village you had graced with your presence. You think everyone must be soooo excited to see you and terribly happy to be spoken to and greeted by the great American tourist - yourself. When the locals are not impressed, you of course feel let down and irritated.

In small communities, tiny villages etc. it is of course good manners to greet people you meet, even in Poland. You greet people you share the lift with, or people in a shop / institution you are entering. Etc. But I can't imagine saying hello and smiling at total strangers in the street, it's not polite, it's actually intrusive! I've been to and lived in several countries and can't imagine that going down well in any of them.

yes! throw a smile here and there doesn't hurt, and for sure makes you feel good, because Americans smile back at you, often say HI, and sometimes start a nice quick casual conversation... i can only wish that whenever i'm in Poland, less people would give me "WTF!" look when i give them a smile... :)

I've got to know people that way, simply by smiling and saying hello to people I meet on my walk to work each morning, you get to know people and soon you are stopping for a chat. I also have lots of doggy friends, I meet as part of my walk to work takes me through the park.

Honestly, this thread is ridiculous. I smile all the time when in shops, or just talking to people...it it is very well received. I've met plenty of friends through random encounters like that...

They're hurriedly trying to figure out who the hell you are ;-)
It's rude not to respond to a friend's greeting, so they try to recall your face, but can't - the stuff nightmares are made of...

But seriously now - you are walking somewhere, in the middle of a busy city, and yet you find the time to pick random strangers out for a smile and a greeting? And you have time to stop and actually chat? Because "saying hello to people I know from sight in my immediate neighbourhood, or whom I meet when walking my dog" is a completely different kettle of fish. Polish people do that all of the time. But remember, we're supposed to be talking about strangers here.

I guess, it really depends where you live, but mostly yes, everyone does it here to some extend.
When someone looks at me and I notice it, I would look back at them and say Hi or something. That is widely accepted “custom” by everyone in a community, at school, work etc.

…Just a simple way of politely acknowledging the other person.
I can tell you didn’t grow up here.

Edit:

But don't do it the "polish way" like you wanna start a conversation or something... That's strange.

well it's kind of hard to explain... don't do it if you don't know how... whatever. forgetit.

Well, I definitely did not grow up in the States - if that's what "here" is.
I have never even been to the States.

Apology accepted

???

Does the level of politeness in Poland vary from region to region? Here in the USA it does. A young lady attending my university was from the Midwest and upon arrival she greeted and introduced herself to the first people she met on the street and they were quite bewildered, and even contemptuous, because such amiability towards perfect strangers is completely alien to Santa Barbara, where scowls and furrowed brows are very much comme il faut.

in the dating game plenty people find themselves speaking to strangers.

isn't there some old custom of doffing your cap to a lady. a stranger at that.

i think we exchange smiles, words and actions more than we realize.

Some are and some aren't :) Des Ess, to some extent, yes. There is still no getting away from the fact that people are people but I'd say that there is a harsher edge to people in the east of the country. Conditions are harder there so there is less to smile about.

What foreigners may find rude is Polish peeps use of the imperative. It sounds rude to a refined Englishman, for example, but that is not the intention.

Please remember to do a broad sweep and not look for results confirming that Poles are this or that. I haven't really noticed much rudeness lately tbh.

Hey wassup negroid? where have you been?

Is it a shoosh dont tell the missus, jobby?

As in?

Oh, I just had a break from things. Hopefully will have a few new takes on sth threads here, a fresher perspective so to speak.

I have to say that I have noticed more chilled-out folk recently, esp in shops. I was in Biedronka today and I cringed when I saw the checkouts and queues. However, I wasn't put off (I was going for alcohol so...) and I was pleasantly surprised that everything was done in a calm manner, no trolleys ramming up my backside as I was getting my things scanned. I think the weather has had a positive effect on people. The stillness has gone and there is more life in people.

Good to see you still posting, WB. Hope you are avoiding rudeness and enjoying the things that made you come back to Polska :) Always some fire on the board when you are around. Nice one :)

As in the command structure, Magda. Like 'siadaj' or 'rozkładaj' etc

I think that is not only a Polish problem, but has to do something with all Slavic languages. I heard the similar complaint about Serbian imperative from foreigners, nobody is offended for its use here, and we have some temperament issues :))

There are different ways to differentiate when it is a command, and when it is a form of asking. Paralanguage.

So, to defend my Polish brothers I think that our use of imperative is implying more direct way of communication (preferred), most of the language means are not allowing evasiveness (words used to hide, not to say), like in English :p

Welcome back Seanus ;)

Hi Natasa :)

I think you have a valid point there. Sometimes things need to be done at a certain tempo and the imperative then fits the bill. The Balkan temperament tends to be stronger than here from what I've heard. Very often the Polish imperative has a positive meaning, e.g 'poczęstuj się/częstuj się' and signals intention clearly.

Yeah, another good point. British politicians prevaricate all the time. The English language allows them to bend things to their own needs, rather than just spit it out. Ducking and dodging is part of politics but I think that Slavic languages, as you said, are more to the point. Not rude, just frank/candid.