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What does 'panna' mean?



markinlondonThreads: 2
Posts: 5
Joined: Dec 27, 07 		  Sep 10, 09, 18:51 /  #
I've been contacted by a Polish girl who describes herself as a 'panna', rather than a 'Polka', which I understood to mean a Polish girl/woman.

I get the impression that it may mean something like a virgin or a girl who hasn't married or lived with a man, she seems to be either proud or embarrassed about it, I'm not sure which. Or maybe I'm reading too much into it?

Anyway, some guidance on what this means would be appreciated :-)
JustysiaSThreads: 15
Posts: 2,869
Joined: Oct 14, 07  Gold Member MEMBER  Pictures: 2 		  Sep 10, 09, 18:56 /  #
it can be translated as Miss, can mean that she's single or that her zodiac sign is Virgo
MichalThreads: -
Posts: 2,408
Joined: Feb 27, 07 		  Sep 10, 09, 19:13 /  #
markinlondon:
ething like a virgin or a girl who hasn't married

Yes, a virgin is also the dictionary translation of this word. Mind you, knowing Polish women like I do, this is very rarely the case once they reach sixteen!!
JustysiaSThreads: 15
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Joined: Oct 14, 07  Gold Member MEMBER  Pictures: 2 		  Sep 10, 09, 19:51 /  #
Michal:
Mind you, knowing Polish women like I do, this is very rarely the case once they reach sixteen

you mean you've been you've been fooling around with underage virgins?
NikaThreads: 3
Posts: 651
Joined: Jul 21, 09 		  Sep 10, 09, 19:59 /  #
JustysiaS:
it can be translated as Miss, can mean that she's single or that her zodiac sign is Virgo

that's exact.
In this case I think this girl means that her civil status is single.
OsiedleRuda   Sep 10, 09, 20:05 /  #
Michal:
Yes, a virgin is also the dictionary translation of this word

Dziewica is better, in this sense panna generally means an unmarried woman, i.e. a "spinster".


JustysiaS:
you mean you've been you've been fooling around with underage virgins?

I think he's just disrespecting Polish women again, as always ;)
JustysiaSThreads: 15
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Joined: Oct 14, 07  Gold Member MEMBER  Pictures: 2 		  Sep 10, 09, 20:20 /  #
Nika:
In this case I think this girl means that her civil status is single.

exactly, then you have panna z dzieckiem which kind of creates a paradox if you insist on calling a virgin 'panna'. Panna can also be a young lady, or little madam.

OsiedleRuda:
I think he's just disrespecting Polish women again, as always ;)

i know he's into that sort of abuse, but didn't know he was also into lolitas...
mafketisThreads: 17
Posts: 1,880
Joined: Mar 31, 08 		  Sep 10, 09, 21:19 /  #
Panna isn't used much anymore and is never used as a title (with a person's name).

When I've heard it, it's usually used ironically and/or self-deprecatingly so I would assume that's what she meant unless she was telling you her sign (Virgo).
NikaThreads: 3
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Joined: Jul 21, 09 		  Sep 10, 09, 21:31 /  #
mafketis:
Panna isn't used much anymore

yes it is commonly used, and it means single, unmarried woman.
Stara panna is ironic but panna isn't.
I am pretty sure that the girl meant single/unmarried when she described herself as a panna.
space_rebelThreads: 2
Posts: 40
Joined: Sep 6, 09 		Edited by: space_rebel   Sep 10, 09, 21:50 /  #
I think "panna" is comparable to "maid" as well. But when calling someone it would translate with "miss" indeed.
There is a Polish book with the title "Panna nikt". In English the title is translated as "Miss Nobody".
mafketisThreads: 17
Posts: 1,880
Joined: Mar 31, 08 		  Sep 10, 09, 22:26 /  #
Nika:
Stara panna is ironic but panna isn't.

Stara panna about a 25 year old is ironic, is it ironic about a 60 year old woman who's never been married? (I really don't know, I'm not a native speaker so that's the kind of gap I have).

I have the impression that a woman might call herself panna but wouldn't appreciate other people doing so (maybe very close friends and family excepted).

I have heard panna used about young girls (less than 10 years old) by their parents and less often by guys about their girlfriend.

But it's not really equivalent to Miss in that it wouldn't be used in official documents or newspapers.

A weird thing about English (at least American) is that Miss seems to be more neutral than Mrs. In other languages (Polish, German, Spanish) the title for married women (Pani, Frau, Senora) was extended to single women, in English it works the other way around and (sometimes) married woman can be referred to as Miss Lastname.
NikaThreads: 3
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Joined: Jul 21, 09 		  Sep 10, 09, 22:33 /  #
mafketis:
Stara panna about a 25 year old is ironic, is it ironic about a 60 year old woman who's never been married?

It wouldn't be ironic about a 60 years old woman, but about 30-40 years old yes.

mafketis:
But it's not really equivalent to Miss in that it wouldn't be used in official documents or newspapers.

mafketis

yes it is used in official documents (panna is a civil status for unmarried/single woman, the contrarty of mężatka).
mafketisThreads: 17
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Joined: Mar 31, 08 		  Sep 10, 09, 22:46 /  #
Nika:
it is used in official documents (panna is a civil status for unmarried/single woman, the contrarty of mężatka).

yeah, it's used in asking marital status along with kawaler and others, but not as a title (as far as I know)

I've seen official documents that have Pan/Pani NAME or Pan(i) NAME or Pan/i NAME but never Pan/Pani/Panna NAME, are there such documents?
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