Learn a Few Words in Polish

05/11/2012 21:22

 

The Slavic languages belong to those that are really a pain in the butt to learn for native English speakers. I think I once read that they are exceeded in terms of difficulty only by Asian languages like Chinese, Korean, etc. One good thing is that Polish doesn’t use the Cyrillic alphabet, the way that some other Slavic languages do. This comes in handy for things like reading street signs or finding the “toaleta.” In any case, while Polish can seem a little daunting, Poles will usually take a liking to you if you try to say even a few words in the language. So, here are a few things that would be good to know, if for no other reason than to thank someone for the tasty kielbasa that you just inhaled, or to excuse yourself when you turn and burp some of it on the person next to you. Don’t forget to trill the letter “R.”

Dziękuję. (Jane – koo – yeh)                            Thank you.

Przepraszam (Pshe - pra - sham)                     Excuse me.

Proszę (Pro - sheh)                                         Please.

Piwo (Pi – vo)                                                 Beer

Wódka (Vood - kah)                                        Vodka

Woda mineralna (Voh – dah mean – er - al - nah)      Mineral Water

Sok (Soak)                                                    Juice

Gdzie jest toaleta? Gjay yest toe – a – le- ta)   Where is the toilet?

Co za ciacha! (Tso za cha - ha)                      Ladies can say this when they want to say that a guy is hot.

                                                                    Roughly translated: Check out that piece of candy!

Ładna pupeczka! (Wadna poo - petch - ka)      Nice butt!

Learn it. Know it. Live it. You never know when any of these might come in handy.