misleading differences between Polish and English languages

isthatu2:

oh lmao mali,like it,reminds me of a time in Warsaw when I asked to see a "First"armored division badge in a shop,I tried to show off and asked in Polish,much to the hilarity of the Polish girl with me and the embaresment of the shopkeepr I actualy asked to see his "Breasts" :)

JustysiaSThreads: 15 Posts: 2,869 Joined: Oct 14, 07 MEMBER	Mar 18, 08, 14:05 / #
polishgirltx wrote: ok...could you give me a few more examples? no i co? - and what? well? no nie - oh no no nie? - isn't it? isn't that right? no co jest? - what's going on? "No" in Polish is also used to make things you say sound more like an order, for example no idź (move it!) or no już (now!)

tornado2007Threads: 20 Posts: 3,497 Joined: Jul 11, 07	Mar 18, 08, 14:15 / #
JustysiaS wrote: no i co? - and what? well? no nie - oh no no nie? - isn't it? isn't that right? no co jest? - what's going on? "No" in Polish is also used to make things you say sound more like an order, for example no idź (move it!) or no już (now!) my goodness so many ways to say no, theres nothing wrong with P*ss off if you ask me :) or even just good old no :)

MarekThreads: 4 Posts: 1,120 Joined: Feb 15, 07	Mar 18, 08, 16:56 / #
'No' in Polish is actually almost identical to 'Na' in German, even 'Naa' in Danish: Na, wie geht's?, Naa, hvordan gaar det? = No, co słychać? = So/Well, so what's up?

panienkaThreads: 2 Posts: 215 Joined: Mar 4, 08	Mar 18, 08, 16:56 / #
another: eventually and ewentualnie :)

MaliThreads: - Posts: 333 Joined: Mar 3, 08	Mar 18, 08, 17:36 / #
polishgirltx wrote: yes....i checked.... 'no' itself means yes or well... but when combined with other words, means different stuff.... 'No' means 'yes' has got to be my fave Polish mistake. I do this sometimes after speaking to my parents or relatives in Polish and forget to 'turn off the switch' and sometimes say no to non-Polish people when I mean yes. Oops :) panienka wrote: When Polish says absolutnie it means no When English says actually it means in fact My mom does this all the time :)

tornado2007Threads: 20 Posts: 3,497 Joined: Jul 11, 07	Mar 18, 08, 17:40 / #
Mali wrote: When Polish says absolutnie it means no When English says actually it means in fact My mom does this all the time :) lol, but she's living in canada, i didn't know they spoke english there :):):):):)

MaliThreads: - Posts: 333 Joined: Mar 3, 08	Mar 18, 08, 17:58 / #
tornado2007 wrote: lol, but she's living in canada, i didn't know they spoke english there :):):):):) Its not like we call it 'Canadian' lol. Didn't you know that Canada was a former colony? :) Quebec is a different animal altogether :)

tornado2007Threads: 20 Posts: 3,497 Joined: Jul 11, 07	Mar 18, 08, 18:26 / #
Mali wrote: Its not like we call it 'Canadian' lol. Didn't you know that Canada was a former colony? :) lol, of course i did :) i was just kidding around thats all, you know the talking english properly and all that :) Mali wrote: Quebec is a different animal altogether :) no thats something i don't quite understand, isn't the yeti hides out???

MaliThreads: - Posts: 333 Joined: Mar 3, 08	Mar 18, 08, 18:40 / #
tornado2007 wrote: lol, of course i did :) i was just kidding around thats all, you know the talking english properly and all that :) I was kidding too lol. I figured with all those smileys that you have to be kidding :) Computer 'speak' is so messy sometimes! tornado2007 wrote: no thats something i don't quite understand, isn't the yeti hides out??? Among other things....LOL

tornado2007Threads: 20 Posts: 3,497 Joined: Jul 11, 07	Mar 18, 08, 18:42 / #
Mali wrote: Computer 'speak' is so messy sometimes! i know sometimes you can misread or even mistype something and even if you do neither of what i have just said people can still mistake it as being meant in another way Mali wrote: Among other things....LOL like what??? lol

BondiThreads: 4 Posts: 148 Joined: Sep 11, 07	Edited by: Bondi Mar 22, 08, 05:26 / #
tornado2007 wrote: there must be more of these, i wonder it its in Polish only!! No, actually. :D Even in a non-Indo-European language like mine, we have Latin loan-words but they can mean completely different things than their English counterparts. Something I have to add to the misleading differences: I was confused when I first heard "priceless". I always thought it had the same derogatory meaning as "worthless", e.g. "something that isn't worth half a penny". But in reality it is the complete opposite: something so precious that its price can't even be estimated! Marek wrote: 'No' in Polish is actually almost identical to 'Na' in German, even 'Naa' in Danish: Na, wie geht's?, Naa, hvordan gaar det? = No, co słychać? = So/Well, so what's up? Strange, looks like the Saxons left behind this useful little word when they moved to the islands, then! :) Po węgiersku, "na" is of a similar use! Na, I'm off now.

Mafketis	Mar 22, 08, 06:10 / #
Also, "w życiu" (lliterally 'in/during life(time)) = never "bo ja wiem" (literally 'because I know') = I have no idea. "dziękuję" (literally 'thank you') = No, thank you. And (not on the phone) if someone says "Hallo!" it's not a greeting, it's just to get your attention (in the US I'd say "Excuse me!" maybe with sir or ma'am at the end. In American "that's okay" (w porządku, może być) = dziękuję "I'm fine, I'm okay" (nic mi nie jest) = dziękuję In the area of pragmatics: Naprawdę! ("Really!" with exaggerated intonation) = I'm lying to you, but trying to be polite about it. X kłania się (X bows (to you)) = I'm about to make an inconvenient request

sapphireThreads: 28 Posts: 1,418 Joined: Dec 7, 06	Mar 22, 08, 06:59 / #
I love the fact that Gary means saucepans in Polish. There are lots of names that mean something in other languages. (e.g.) Linda = beautiful in Spanish. My bf has a friend whose Polish name means something really rude in English, but I cant remember what it is right now. Maybe we could get some other egs. In the middle of England a bonk is a place where you keep your money and a fake is a cigarette.

Czarne OczyThreads: 21 Posts: 75 Joined: Feb 7, 08	Mar 22, 08, 10:08 / #
I was so confused when I started learning because I would hear my friend say "NO JA!" the phonetics in English really upset me lol.

MaliThreads: - Posts: 333 Joined: Mar 3, 08	Mar 18, 08, 18:52 / #
tornado2007 wrote: i know sometimes you can misread or even mistype something and even if you do neither of what i have just said people can still mistake it as being meant in another way Its kind of weird (and sometimes funny!) when you type something 'innocent' and it p*sses people off, and you're like 'WTF?'. Gotta love forums for that. tornado2007 wrote: like what??? lol crazy separatist Frenchies. They want to be their own country, in the middle of Canada. Actually, I do like the Quebecers. Still, its so easy to make fun of them.

panienkaThreads: 2 Posts: 215 Joined: Mar 4, 08	Mar 22, 08, 07:57 / #
me too, it's funny heh

Wyspianska	Mar 22, 08, 08:03 / #
tornado2007 wrote: no thats something i don't quite understand, isn't the yeti hides out??? no, it's just another picture of you

panienkaThreads: 2 Posts: 215 Joined: Mar 4, 08	Mar 24, 08, 07:13 / #
indoor , indor :)

MelusineThreads: 6 Posts: 20 Joined: Oct 15, 07	Apr 3, 08, 14:21 / #
sapphire: In the middle of England a bonk is a place where you keep your money and a fake is a cigarette. My French students will never forget how to pronounce bank after I told them that they were pronouncing it like a vulgar word (it's banque in French: sounds like "bonk"). In fact a lot of the examples quoted as being confusing between Polish and English are the same between French and English: eventually = in the end eventuallement = perhaps actually = in fact actuellement= now important (French) often means a large number or quantity, whereas important (ENG) is more to do with the quality of the thing discussed. un charge de travail important: a lot of work important work: it is vital, for some reason the thing with "combine" works in French too: "un combine" can be a trick or a fraud other examples: offrir = give someone a present to offer = to propose sensible is sensé in French whereas sensible in French is sensative in English Mel (who speaks French a lot better than she does Polish!)

MarekThreads: 4 Posts: 1,120 Joined: Feb 15, 07	Apr 3, 08, 16:00 / #
Apropos this topic thread, 'noga' means 'leg' in Polish, but 'Noga' (capital N) is a Hebrew female first name, of biblical origin, named after an Old Testament king, or something. How's that for an odd coincedence?!

isthatu2Threads: 13 Posts: 5,225 Joined: Apr 3, 08	Apr 3, 08, 16:33 / #
I still like Wino =in english pronuntation it means a drunk who drinks wine,where as Wino=in Poland,with english pronuntiation means,er,what winos probably do :) not Wino=Vino....if that makes sense :)

MaliThreads: - Posts: 333 Joined: Mar 3, 08	Apr 3, 08, 17:17 / #
Polish and Croatian: Polish - ćipka -> polite way of saying pussy/vagina Croatian - ćipka (not sure how its actually spelled but the pronunciation is the same) -> a hand knitted doily. My brother went to HR with his girlfriend (she's hrvatska) and her grandmother asked my brother if he wanted to buy a ćipka from some old lady. Its safe to say that he was more than a little bit 'confused' until his gf explained it to him. LOL

isthatu2Threads: 13 Posts: 5,225 Joined: Apr 3, 08	Apr 3, 08, 17:30 / #
oh lmao mali,like it,reminds me of a time in Warsaw when I asked to see a "First"armored division badge in a shop,I tried to show off and asked in Polish,much to the hilarity of the Polish girl with me and the embaresment of the shopkeepr I actualy asked to see his "Breasts" :)

MaliThreads: - Posts: 333 Joined: Mar 3, 08	Apr 3, 08, 17:37 / #
isthatu2: oh lmao mali,like it,reminds me of a time in Warsaw when I asked to see a "First"armored division badge in a shop,I tried to show off and asked in Polish,much to the hilarity of the Polish girl with me and the embaresment of the shopkeepr I actualy asked to see his "Breasts" :) LOL! Maybe this should be in the 'gay tolerance' thread...;) another one Polish - być - a form of 'to be' English - b*tch - no explanation necessary :)

mamayeThreads: 2 Posts: 40 Joined: Mar 31, 08	Apr 3, 08, 17:43 / #
I remember my English friends here (in Poland) always complaining why kupować doesn't mean robić kupę...;)

osiolThreads: 59 Posts: 4,714 Joined: Jul 25, 07	Apr 3, 08, 17:50 / #
(Mini) Cooper - a car someone at work has. Kupa - What someone else at work thinks of that car.

z_dariusThreads: 22 Posts: 5,091 Joined: Oct 18, 07	Apr 3, 08, 19:47 / #
osiol: (Mini) Cooper - a car someone at work has. Kupa - What someone else at work thinks of that car. or "kuper" - bird's rear end, also human ass, I mean arse ;)

King SobieskiThreads: 7 Posts: 1,106 Joined: Jan 22, 07	Apr 3, 08, 22:04 / #
indonesian: kaka = sister polish: kaka = sh*t

steve08Threads: - Posts: 3 Joined: Feb 2, 08	Apr 4, 08, 06:53 / #
this thread is very interesting, where i come from in england people call each other "cock" which could mean "mate" for example, so when i said it to a polish friend of mine he got upset because he thought it meant the same as "kutas" lol

panienkaThreads: 2 Posts: 215 Joined: Mar 4, 08	Apr 4, 08, 13:13 / #
steve08: this thread is very interesting, where i come from in england people call each other "cock" which could mean "mate" for example, so when i said it to a polish friend of mine he got upset because he thought it meant the same as "kutas" lol i would think the same hehe