PolishForums.com
POLAND . The Unofficial Guide
Unanswered | Archives
Travel to Poland Witamy, Guest | PF Members | Gold Members

Polish Forums / Free Translation /

Wihajster & other thingums?


posts: 23

Polonius3Threads: 1,005
Posts: 4,833
Joined: Apr 11, 08
 Nov 5, 10, 22:32    #1
WIhajster (from German 'Wie heißt er?' = What's his/its name?) is used in Polish when one can't recall the exact name for soemthing. Another is the expression 'ten tego' or 'jak mu tam?' Are there any others in general use?
My impression is that there is a great paucity of equivalents to similar English expressions which include: whichamacallit, whozit, whatzit, blivit, gizmo, gimcrack, thingum, thingy,thingumabob, thingumadad, thingumadoodle, thingumajig, thingumajigger, thingumaree, dingus, dofunny, dohickey, dojigger, dojiggy, domajig, domajigger, doodad, dowhacky, flumdiddle, etc.

Bratwurst BoyThreads: 11
Posts: 14,563
Joined: Apr 2, 07
 Nov 5, 10, 22:43    #2
You read the article in Spiegel, didn't you?
http://www.spiegel.de/netzwelt/web/0,1518,722326,00.html

They made a whole dictionary with german words in the polish language...:)

http://www.bis.uni-oldenburg.de/bis-verlag/wdlp/all_A.html
strzygaThreads: 4
Posts: 985
Joined: Apr 30, 08
Edited by: strzyga  Nov 5, 10, 22:50    #3
dzyngiel, pipsztyk
Polonius3Threads: 1,005
Posts: 4,833
Joined: Apr 11, 08
 Nov 6, 10, 00:01    #4
Sehr interessant (very interesitng). Anyone know any Polish loanwords in German other than Gurke (ogórek), Litewka (a kind of mediaeval soldier's helmet) and Droschke (dorożka)?
strzygaThreads: 4
Posts: 985
Joined: Apr 30, 08
Edited by: strzyga  Nov 6, 10, 00:07    #5
Loads of technical and engineering words.
śruba, wajcha, hebel, krajzega, majster, ślusarz
Have you any access to Słownik wyrazów obcych (Kopaliński or PWN?) There's tons of them.

Oh, and you may like this:
http://www.joemonster.org/phorum/read.php?f=13&i=407&t=407
Polonius3Threads: 1,005
Posts: 4,833
Joined: Apr 11, 08
 Nov 6, 10, 00:07    #6
Also Grenze (granica), Stieglitz (szczygieł) and Zeisig (czyżyk).
Polonius3Threads: 1,005
Posts: 4,833
Joined: Apr 11, 08
 Nov 6, 10, 14:59    #7
You missed my point. Thre are thousands of German loanwords in Polish. I was interested in Polish/Slavonic loanwords in German. There is only a handful.
strzygaThreads: 4
Posts: 985
Joined: Apr 30, 08
 Nov 6, 10, 15:22    #8
oh, OK, sorry for the misunderstanding. My German is quite poor so I can't help you the other way around.
lyzko  Nov 6, 10, 15:50    #9
szlafrok - Schlafrock

ratusz - Rathaus

wigec - (dialect Polish only, probably from Silesia!) Reisender Handelsmann or 'travelling salesman' who always inquires 'Wie geht's?' = How are you?, hence 'wiegec' in Polish
zetigrekThreads: 59
Posts: 2,709
Joined: May 20, 10
 Nov 6, 10, 16:02    #10
flaszka
Bratwurst BoyThreads: 11
Posts: 14,563
Joined: Apr 2, 07
Edited by: Bratwurst Boy  Nov 6, 10, 16:07    #11
lyzko:
wiegec


"Wie gehts" in german! (I only got it as I spoke the word aloud). The writing alone tells me nothing!
Interesting :)
Lyzko  Nov 6, 10, 16:10    #12
Exactly, BratBoy! In Polish, they write as they hear the word pronounced, not as it's written in the original, i.e., in German-:)))
Polonius3Threads: 1,005
Posts: 4,833
Joined: Apr 11, 08
 Nov 6, 10, 16:14    #13
I heard that "wyjebana w lesie" is Silesian for 'the train is whistling in the forest'. Or is that just a joke?
Bratwurst BoyThreads: 11
Posts: 14,563
Joined: Apr 2, 07
Edited by: Bratwurst Boy  Nov 6, 10, 16:25    #14
I searched for polish words in german but so far Google didn't show up anything but there must be some.
I would be interested to learn about them too...so if someone finds any please post! :)

edit: Found something:
http://www.duden.de/deutsche_sprache/sprachberatung/newsletter/archiv. php?id=216

....
Weniger bekannt ist, dass auch aus slawischen Sprachen einiges ins Deutsche eingesickert ist, so etwa Grenze (aus russisch/polnisch granica) oder Gurke (aus polnisch ogorek, älter: ogurek). Aber auch einige Wörter aus dem Sorbischen (heute sprechen in Brandenburg und Sachsen noch etwa 50000 Menschen Sorbisch) haben einen festen Platz im deutschen Wortschatz gefunden, so eben auch – zumindest regional – Plauze (für Bauch, Lunge) aus sorbisch pluco (Lungenflügel) und allgemein verbreitet Peitsche aus sorbisch bic (bzw. polnisch bicz).
Aber auch den Quark, aus dem wir bisweilen nicht kommen, verdanken wir dem sorbischen/polnischen twarog, ebenso einige Tiernamen wie beispielsweise Nerz, sorbisch norc (dies wiederum aus dem ukrainischen noryca, eigentlich „Taucher“).


strzygaThreads: 4
Posts: 985
Joined: Apr 30, 08
Edited by: strzyga  Nov 6, 10, 16:45    #15
I think the name Leipzig also comes from Lusatian (in Polish it's Lipsk, from lipa - linden tree).

Polonius3:
I heard that "wyjebana w lesie" is Silesian for 'the train is whistling in the forest'. Or is that just a joke?

a joke, though the Silesians really use "bana" for train
Polonius3Threads: 1,005
Posts: 4,833
Joined: Apr 11, 08
 Nov 6, 10, 17:36    #16
Isn't Nerz from Polish norka (mink)? The Quark < twaróg slipped my mind.
Lyzko  Nov 6, 10, 17:36    #17
.....therefore 'lipiec' for 'June' when the linden grows.

Bratwurt B. raises a linguistically intriguing question and the German entry in less enlightening. When I first started learning Polish, I was struck by the sheer number of German loanwords, though not vice-versa-:))
Lyzko  Nov 6, 10, 17:37    #18
Sorry, I meant that the German entry is NO LESS enlighteningLOL (typo!!)
Polonius3Threads: 1,005
Posts: 4,833
Joined: Apr 11, 08
 Nov 6, 10, 17:38    #19
BTW does German have anywhere as many words for thingy, doodad, gizmo, etc. as English? What are some?
Lyzko  Nov 6, 10, 17:40    #20
Sure! 'Dingsbums', Dingsda, etc... definitely. We use them all over in colloquial speech, though never in formal writing!
Lyzko  Nov 6, 10, 17:52    #21
Whooopsidaisee!!! I made another stupid typo. I wanted to type 'lipiec' = July, not June (czerwiec).
APOLOGIES
Bratwurst BoyThreads: 11
Posts: 14,563
Joined: Apr 2, 07
Edited by: Bratwurst Boy  Nov 6, 10, 18:29    #22
I say "Dingsbums" in every second sentence...surely! heh:)

Lyzko:
Whooopsidaisee!!!


Calm down....I know these days....typos galore...ja ja...*nods understandingly*
Lyzko  Nov 6, 10, 18:33    #23
"Ich hab' Dings... bzw. Dingsbums von blah-blah-blah....."= I ......the watchamacallit.".. right you are. Maybe Polish uses "Czegokolwiek", or some such thing-:))LOL



Home / Free Translation / Unanswered [this forum] | Similar

nio wybieramy sie z Marzenką, ale się zastanawiam czy tego...  How do I say 'sorry for being so stupid, I regret it, etc'?


Random: Is it true that being Ginger used to be associated with being Jewish?

Only registered and logged-in users may post here. Please log in or register.


40 [Guests - 29 / Members - 11] users on live forums now


Home | Unanswered | Archives | Random | Statistics Time in Poland: 14:47 / May 26

About Us | Contact Us | Rules, Privacy | Poland Advertising

© 2005-12 PolishForums.com