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misleading differences between Polish and English languages


panienka 1 | 205  
14 Mar 2008 /  #1
When English says absolutely it means yes
When Polish says absolutnie it means no
When English says actually it means in fact
When Polish says aktualnie it means currently
When English says accurate it means precise
When Polish says akurat it means no,you are wrong
When English says ordinary it means usual
When Polish says ordynarny it means rude,unkind
When English says curve it means bend
When Polish says kurwa it means....
Why it's so misleading
tornado2007 11 | 2,270  
14 Mar 2008 /  #2
what are you basing this on Panienka??? with respect you haven't been to england, lol :)
Vincent 9 | 892  
14 Mar 2008 /  #3
That is very interesting Panienka...do you know of any more?
tornado2007 11 | 2,270  
14 Mar 2008 /  #4
Ow right i see, what you mean, reading over them again i have noticed, lol. i can even finish this off for you, lol, kurwa is whore :) Before i didn't have a clue what it represented, i thought it was the same word written twice like in English then two different meanings,

a little like when men say yes it means yes and when women say yes it means maybe :)

there must be more of these, i wonder it its in Polish only!!
OP panienka 1 | 205  
15 Mar 2008 /  #5
do you know of any more?

combine - join
kombinować - contrive
Dublinjohn - | 38  
15 Mar 2008 /  #6
Ok in English means middle, neither good nor bad
Ok in Polish means good
my favorite though, is in Polish when "No" means yes
JustysiaS 13 | 2,239  
15 Mar 2008 /  #7
i remembered about one that sounds exactly the same both in English and Polish but it means something completely different...

whistle and łysol (a bald man)
szarlotka 8 | 2,208  
15 Mar 2008 /  #8
Brat is Polish for brother (I think), in English it's used to describe a nasty little spoilt child.

In my brother's case he used to fit both well
MareGaea 29 | 2,751  
15 Mar 2008 /  #9
Why it's so misleading

It's not misleading, that would imply that the evolution of languages had the sole purpose of deceiving you. It's just due to the fact that they are totally different languages, not even part of the same family. I myself wonder while learning Polish why there is absolutely no recognisable word (except the load-words) in Polish.

M-G (it's all one big set-up!)

Edit: the part of the not recognisable words is not entirely true, I just figured. When I try to learn Polish with my own native language, Dutch, as basis, I find that there ARE some recognisable words: one simple example is Szukaj, the Polish word for search. In Dutch that would be Zoek. The combination oe is in Dutch pronounced like a Polish U. With a little imagination you can figure out what Szukaj means without using a dictionairy.
osiol 55 | 3,921  
15 Mar 2008 /  #10
Who, you? - sounds like an innocent question in English, but like a nasty insult in Polish
Cheaper may mean less expensive in English, but in Polish, again, you might sound like you're saying something slightly rude.
Słoń is elephant, not swan. Nothing rude about that.

combine - join
kombinować - contrive

C'est combien - how much is that? - French!
OP panienka 1 | 205  
15 Mar 2008 /  #11
i remember also:
capture - seize
kaptur - hood
z_darius 14 | 3,965  
17 Mar 2008 /  #12
wrote:
combine - join
kombinować - contrive

actually, kombinować as contrive is of secondary or tertiary meaning. Kombinowac primarilly has exactly the same meaning as English combine i.e. łączyć różne elementy w określoną całość. In both languages the word is of Latin origin.

When Polish says akurat it means no,you are wrong

I dunno. It MAY mean that, but this is not the primary meaning of the word. Kinda like English "yeah, right".

Back to misleading ones:

Polish kant
English cunt

Polish PiS
English piss (these actually seem to be synonyms at times)

Polish mak
English muck
JustysiaS 13 | 2,239  
17 Mar 2008 /  #13
pet in English is a dog or a cat or a hamster, or any animal you keep in the house
pet in Polish is a fag

Gary is an English/American name
gary in Polish is saucepans or pots ;)
OP panienka 1 | 205  
17 Mar 2008 /  #14
right JustysiaS, in fact i didn't realise hehe
tornado2007 11 | 2,270  
17 Mar 2008 /  #15
Polish kant
English cunt

Polish PiS
English piss (these actually seem to be synonyms at times)

Polish mak
English muck

i totally get where your coming from there :)

Gary is an English/American name
gary in Polish is saucepans or pots ;)

lol, a name that means something in another language
osiol 55 | 3,921  
17 Mar 2008 /  #16
Polish kant
English cunt

You're not really going to mistake these two either in writing or orally.

gary in Polish is saucepans or pots

To pot (verb: to put plants in pots)
Pot - Polish for sweat / perspire.

- Osiol (bringing a bit of horticulture to the forum, again and again and again and again)
OP panienka 1 | 205  
17 Mar 2008 /  #17
- Osiol

hmm, by the way i think pronunciation of donkey is similar to Polish domki (small houses) ;)
osiol 55 | 3,921  
17 Mar 2008 /  #18
i think pronunciation of donkey is similar to Polish domki

That may be better than it being likened to the word 'bąki'.
plk123 8 | 4,142  
17 Mar 2008 /  #20
ham (hog'a rump) - ham (an @s$hole-person)

but why is it misleading? hmm.. these are totaly different languages and really none of these words sound the same.. similar, sure but not the same. practice your pronunciation. the meanings are completely different too. hmm..
OP panienka 1 | 205  
18 Mar 2008 /  #21
but why is it misleading?

because when i was learning English i was sure actually means aktualnie etc. , it might be a bit helpful for some people :)
tornado2007 11 | 2,270  
18 Mar 2008 /  #22
bonk - bąk

lol, thought Bak, was a polish centre back, and yes the commentators do pronounce it bonk!!

but why is it misleading?

because when i was learning English i was sure actually means aktualnie etc. , it might be a bit helpful for some people :)

i wondered the same thing too, i learnt French at school and there not that many misleading words that were both very similar but meant two totally different things in both English/|French. Although i guess i've never thought of it like you have. Maybe its just an english/polish thing, lol, a secret mesaage!!
Marek 4 | 867  
18 Mar 2008 /  #23
In English 'No' means 'Nie', in Polish 'No' means 'Well?', 'So, uh..' e.g. 'No, co słychać?' = So, what's up?
polishgirltx  
18 Mar 2008 /  #24
'No' means 'Well?'

'no' does not means 'well'.... it means 'yes'.... but: 'No to co slychac?' = "So, what's up?'
z_darius 14 | 3,965  
18 Mar 2008 /  #25
'no' does not means 'well'.

Marek is right. "no" has more meanings than just "yes".
polishgirltx  
18 Mar 2008 /  #26
"no" has more meanings than just "yes".

ok...could you give me a few more examples?
OP panienka 1 | 205  
18 Mar 2008 /  #27
i think z_darius is right, we can say "no nie wiem..." etc. :)
polishgirltx  
18 Mar 2008 /  #28
yes....i checked.... 'no' itself means yes or well... but when combined with other words, means different stuff.... you're right guys
z_darius 14 | 3,965  
18 Mar 2008 /  #29
ok...could you give me a few more examples?

No tak (it doesn't mean "yes yes")
No... siadaj (well, sit down)
No i co ja mu powiem? (and what am I going to tell him?)
No i sie spierdolilo (and so it got fvucked up)
polishgirltx  
18 Mar 2008 /  #30
thanks z_d....

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