Potato - kartofel or ziemniak?

kartofel / ziemniak
what's the difference? (if any)

they both mean potato. some peeps in Poland also call potatoes pyry. ziemniak is a typical Polish world, kartofel has german origins. not sure about pyry though ;)

Someone recently told me not to use kartofel, but to say ziemniak instead. I can't remember why.
I don't think it was because kartofel sounds more like pantofel (slipper).

thanks, I will stick with ziemniaki. poles aren't too fond of most german things. except sauerkraut perhaps.

Ziemniak is an official name used in most parts of Poland. It appears in serious publications, on TV, at schools, on the menus etc.

Pyra comes from the dialect used in Poznań region.

Kartofel is used in regions with German minority, e.g., in Silesia.

Grule is used in the south of Poland, in the Highlands.

apparently the world gherkin has german origins, too. mmm gherkins.......

No.

Persian > Greek > Polish > German / Dutch > English.

We have a gherkin expert in our midst. I salute you.

Saying kartofel by a person who doesn`t come from Silesia region suggests some ironic intentions. E.g., nos jak kartofel - a nose like a spud/tattie - very very big.

Gherkin is one of the few English words that descends from something Polish, although the Polish word ogórek (I hope that's right) came from Greek, which had in turn come from Persian (probably Farsi). Gherkins glow when electrocuted.

When I was on a coach returning home from a trip to Poland, I opened the bag of sandwiches that had been made for the journey. Included in the selection of gastronomic delights were some gherkins. The powerful aroma rose out of the bag, so I quickly closed it and returned it to my luggage. Within a couple of minutes, other passengers were opening up their bags of food. I think just about everyone had gherkins, so I certainly wasn't alone.

Who would call it the Swiss Re Tower anyway? I think that's what it's called.
If ogórek is a diminutive form, would that building have to have the opposite (big, bad) form? (I can never remember the name of it).

Looks like an acorn to me though

It hasn't got a little cup though. Otherwise, I'd ask you which particular kind of oak you would imagine it to be from.

The is no building, as far as I'm aware, known as "The Potato".

Ogór/Ogóras/Ogórzydło

I like the sound of this one. The (Swiss Re) Ogórzydło!

Ogórzysko? ;)

Now I don't know which one I prefer. One that you can actually eat probably. Could almost be a Brothers Grimm fairy tale about a giant building made out of salad products.

KRAUT ISN'T JUST GERMAN. KARTOFEL IS A GERMAN WORD USED BY MANY. KRAUT = KAPUSTA.
THAT'S NOT USED IN PL, IS IT? KORNISZONY IS WHAT I THOUGHT THEY WERE CALLED.

it is indeed korniszon. a bigger version made out of a different type of cucumber is ogórek kiszony - pickled cucumber

HEY LOOK! I'VE GOT A CAPS LOCK KEY TOO!
But I know how to use mine.

I did post a rather fine history of the English work gherkin, but it got deleted.

wElL, tHaT sUcKs. LiNkY?

Look at it like this

English: g(h)erkin
Dutch: gerk + kin (diminutive suffix)
Polish: ogór + (e)k (diminutive)


Something to do with ziemia (earth) I assume.
Pomme de terre = earth apple.

I'm gibbering away to myself about vegetable and I'm not making much sense, so I'm off to bed. Dobranoc.

I beg to differ, I'm from Masovia, between Łódź adn Warsaw, and kartofel is the word used here in everyday speech. Of course people know it's not the "official" word, so in shops or in written texts we use "ziemniak", but in a non formal situations, in spoken language, most people say "kartofel".
The area I'm talking about hasn't been influenced by Germans much (it was Russian territory under XIX century partitions).

ziemniak - earthling?

i think i get what you're cucumbering about. letters k-g-r-e in different combinations yield an oblong green fruit in some state of decay.

o-gór - suggests a mound, no?




also called dill pickles in the usa, at least.

utter rubbish, who on Gods earthe says kartofel ziemniak is the official and proper word in any part of Poland. You are so wrong.

Are you the same guest?

In the area around Kraków ziemniak.

Kartofel Automat.....

Franchises available.

I didn`t know about it. It is very interesting, indeed.
It looks Poland is too big and versatile to know correctly every detail. :):)



Yes, it was Russian but there were also many German and Jewish people in the area, e.g., in Łódź.

I think you didn't understand my post.


I know, but I can't even say what word is used in Łódź, I hardly have any contacts with that city. I was just talking about my town (in the former Skierniewickie voivodship).