Posts under "Vocabulary"

Little Madzia found…

Posted by Kasia 2 Comments
Feb 6 2012

Recently I have been following the story of “kidnapping” little Madzia, 6 month old girl in Poland. Supposedly  (rzekomo) mother took her for a walk, was hit from behind by someone and lost consciousness (straciła przytomność). After she regained consciousness (odzyskała przytomność) , baby was gone. Being a mom myself, I felt horrible..Who could do such a thing…?

Well, I just heard latest news about it…”Flowers, teddy bears and candles are piling up in a southern Polish park where a mother buried her child and then sparked a nationwide search by falsely claiming she had been kidnapped”.

The child’s 22-year-old mother Katarzyna Waśniewska was arrested Saturday after she confessed that the baby died when it slipped from her hands and hit its head.

On Jan. 24, Waśniewska claimed she was attacked in the street in the family’s hometown of Sosnowiec and the baby taken from her. A nationwide appeal (ogólnopolski apel) was made for clues (wskazówki) and witnesses (świadkowie), and the child’s family posted leaflets with Madzia’s picture around the neighborhood.

Police found the baby’s body on Saturday hidden under stones and leaves in the park in Sosnowiec.

The place has since been covered with hundreds of flowers, toys and candles. Such a sad story.

Do następnego razu… (Till next time…)

Sztućce i narzędzia kuchenne

Posted by Kasia 1 Comment
Jan 31 2012

There are so many types of sztućce (cutlery) and narzędzia kuchenne (kitchen tools), that sometimes we do not even know how to name them. I will try to gather most of them and let you know how are they called in Polish.

While a cutlery set can refer to general tableware containing a variety of table items, it can also refer to a set of different types of knives and knives only. This is actually the original, literal meaning of the term cutlery, although the category has become a lot broader now. The different types of knives in these cutlery sets include steak knives, carving knives, chef’s knives, pairing knives, bread knives, and more. These are more specifically referred to as kitchen cutlery because they are used in the preparation of food rather than for dining.

Here are few different things you can find in the kitchen:

sztućce stołowe – tableware

łyżka – spoon

widelec – fork

nóż – knife

silikonowy pędzel kuchenny - Silicone kitchen brush

dziadek do orzechów – nut cracker

durszlak - colander

sitko – strainer

tarka – grate

szczypce - tongs

tłuczek do mięsa – meat pounder

praska – press (for example garlic press)

otwieracz – opener

deska do krojenia – cutting board

szpatułka – spatula

wyciskacz do cytrusów – citrus juicer

tłuczek do ziemniaków – potato crusher

miarki – measurement scoops

korkociąg - corkscrew

Łyżki do sałaty – salad spoons

Łyżka do sosów – sauce spoon

Łyżka wazowa - soup-ladle

skrobaczka do warzyw – vegetable peeler

And here is more visual version:

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I think I got most of in here, if I missed something, please let me know:)

Do następnego razu… (Till next time…)

What is inside of the fruit? – Co jest w środku owocu?

Posted by Kasia 1 Comment
Jan 29 2012

I think that we all love fruits (owoce). We may have a preference in what type of fruits we like, but we all love them. They are colorful, tasty and so good for us!

Today I will show you an example of 2 different fruits and how we call what is inside of them.

Sometimes you need to describe a part of fruit and if you will have to do it in Polish, here are some words you may use:

skórka – skin

miąższ - flesh

nasienie - seed

pestka – pith, pip

szypułka, (also called ogonek) – petiole

ogryzek – core

gniazdo nasienne – seed slot

łuski – husks

pęcherzyki z sokiem – juice vesicles

rdzeń owocowy – fruit core

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Do następnego razu… (Till next time…)

Nie, dziękuję

Posted by Kasia 1 Comment
Jan 24 2012

Many times you were probably in a situation when you had to refuse something, say “no” in a polite way.

Today I will try to give you some examples of refusal in a different situations you may find yourself in Poland.

Shopping at the store, when you are approached by the sales representative asking if she/he can help you with anything, sometimes you just feel like just looking around and you do not help…What do you say then?

Nie, dziękuję – no, thank you

Narazie tylko się rozglądam – I’m just browsing right now

Dam pani/panu znać, jeśli będę potrzebować pomocy – I will let you (polite form pani(f)/panu (m)) know if I need help

Nie dziękuję, nie potrzebuję pomocy – No thank you, I do not need help

If you are purchasing something and sales person will ask you about additional insurance, you may use these phrases:

Nie, dziękuję, nie potrzebuję dodatkowego ubezpieczenia/gwarancji – No, thank you, I do not need additional insurance/warranty

Wezmę tylko podstawową gwarancję – I will take only basic warranty

While walking  in public, you may be approached by a person doing gallup poll (ankieta) for some company. You may not feel like talking to anyone, so you can just simply say:

Nie, dziękuję – no, thank you

Dziękuję, ale nie jestem zainteresowana (f)/zainteresowany (m) – Thank you, but I’m not interested

Well, there are a lot of homeless people everywhere in the world. Probably everywhere, while you walking ,you may see a person like this begging for money. In this case decision is yours. But if you want to refuse, just say:

Proszę zostawić mnie w spokoju – please leave me alone

Another situation is when you want to refuse someone who is trying to invite you on a date:

Dziękuję, ale nie jestem zainteresowana (f)/zainteresowany (m) – Thank you, I’m not interested

Jestem zajęta (f)/zajęty (m) – I’m taken

Mam chłopaka/dziewczynę – I have a boyfriend/girlfriend

Mój mąż nie byłby szczęśliwy z tego powodu - My husband would not be happy about it

Moja żona nie byłaby szczęśliwa z tego powodu – My wife would not be happy about it

…and hopefully they get it!

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If there are other situations you may think of and I missed them, please let me know in comments below.

Do następnego razu… (Till next time…)

Łamanie języka

Posted by Kasia 1 Comment
Dec 31 2011

Each language has some sentences/phrases/rhymes that contain really hard to pronounce words, especially when they are put together with other words.

In Polish we call it “Łamanie języka“, which translated would be literally “breaking tongue”.

Here are 3 different ones that you can “practice” with…And don’t worry if you are having hard time with it, a lot of native Polish speakers can not say it correctly. I’m attaching a video which shows you how to pronounce it. I will try to translate it for you as well. It may not be “100% accurate” translation though. A lot of words that are used here can not be found in books or dictionaries, but I will do my best.

CHRZĄSZCZ (Beetle)

Trzynastego, w Szczebrzeszynie 

chrząszcz się zaczął tarzać w trzcinie.

Wszczęli wrzask Szczebrzeszynianie:

- Cóż ma znaczyć to tarzanie?!

Wezwać trzeba by lekarza,

zamiast brzmieć, ten chrząszcz się tarza!

Wszak Szczebrzeszyn z tego słynie,

że w nim zawsze chrząszcz BRZMI w trzcinie!”

A chrząszcz odrzekł nie zmieszany:

- Przyszedł wreszcie czas na zmiany!

Dawniej chrząszcze w trzcinie brzmiały,

teraz będą się tarzały”.

On the 13th in Szczebrzeszyn (name of the town) 

beetle began to wallow in the reeds

raised the shout Szczebrzeszynianie (people who live in Szczebrzeszyn)

what is this all rolling/wallowing about?

One would have to call the doctor

instead of making a sound, this beetle is wallowing

After all, Szczebrzeszyn is known for 

the beetle always makes a sound  in the reeds

A beetle said, not abashed:

Finally came time for a chanage

In the past beetles sounded in the reeds,

Now they will be wallowing!

 

KRÓLIK (rabbit,bunny)

Kurkiem kranu kręci kruk,

kroplą tranu brudząc bruk,

a przy kranie, robiąc pranie,

królik gra na fortepianie.

Raven turns the tap tap/faucet

Getting the pavement dirty with the drops of cod-liver oil

And at the tap, doing laundry

Rabbit is playing the piano

BĄK (bittern)

Spadł bąk na strąk,

a strąk na pąk.

Pękł pąk, pekł strąk,

a bąk się zląkł.

Bittern fell on the pod

and pod on the bud

bud burst, pod burst

and the bittern got scared

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They are a little silly and may not make too much sense, unless you know Polish really well…

Good luck with it:)

Do następnego razu… (Till next time…)

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