Calling a person a 'potato' (ziemniak/kartofel/burak)

Why are some Polish people called 'potatoes' by other Polish people?

Is it a derogatory statement or just a regional joke?

How would this person react if I (non-polish) called them 'potatoe'

I never heard of that b4. Must be regional ?

Weird comment ..

no doubt someone may know :)

Sometimes peasants in Belarus were called "potato" or "bulba'sz" in their dialect. Some intellectuals of peasant origin from Belarus call so themselves.

Its quite common in Poland around WielkoPolska I believe, and also around Krakow.
I don't recall the exact expression.

We have a similar type of word where I live, if an outsider used it, everyone would die with laughter.

I've never heard anybody calling anyone "potato" (ziemniak, kartofel - the second one considered incorrect).

In Wielkopolska there is a dialect word "pyra", which means quite the same as "potato". Sometimes people from Wielkopolska are called by other people "pyra", or "pyry". It's not derogatory, but not quite nice as well.

Oh, and some time ago there was this fus when a German paper called Kaczynski twins "kartofle" ("potatos"), so maybe that's when it's started?

Yes methatron, thats the one I was talking about, pyra.

Do you what the english equivalent would be?

If you called someone, rolnik, would that be considereb derogatory?

I live on the South of Poland and I have many times have heard when people calling the others ,potato' and especially children. Just it's in some sense nickname.

I think there's no english equivalent of "pyra", but I'm not sure. Pyra means just "potato".

It's something like british english "bloke", and general english (yeap, I'm making up terms now :D) "guy" - a guy is a bloke, and a bloke is a guy.

Rolnik is not derogatory, but if you would like to offend somebody you can call him "wieśniak". It's offensive, so if you call some that be sure he's no match for you, otherwise he will beat the crap out of you (I would). "Wieśniak" to some extend means "rolnik", but it is used to describe stupid people, or people with no manners. To be frank when you're polish you don't think much about the meaning of words in which you offend other people :)

Not heard thay one before Dannyboy..........hear people call someone" Baran"(ram)...if someone was considered slow and clumsey............

Really? I never knew that. My family always used the words "kartofel/kartofle", whereas my ex-wife's family used "ziemniak/ziemniaki".

Does that mean my family iz a bit thick innit? :D

round here, you sometimes hear kids calling someone a "doughnut" which always makes me smile... "ty pączek"... lol :D

Maybe burak? For example 'ty buraku', lol, and that's for sure derogatory. What about the subject... I've never seen people calling somebody a potato :)

LOL, wozzy my girlfriend often calls me that!

She burst out laughing when she discovered by star sign was Aries.

Very informative replies guys, thanks