Comments on: Essential Phrases – part 1

By: Margaret Phillips

Margaret Phillips — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 13:09:26 +0000

Just picking up on the idea that if you ask, “Where’s the bathroom?” in English, 100% would understand. In the United Kingdom, most of us (but probably not 100%) would just about realise you mean the toilet, but here too, the facilities are not always together and we would definitely think of “Where’s the bathroom?” as an amusing, quaintly shy way of asking, peculiar to the US – ( and Canada?) We usually do ask “Where’s the toilet?” – or loo, as you pointed out. There is also the old-fashioned, “Where can I spend a penny?”, relating to the days we had to pay too. Paying is not peculiar to Poland, it’s common all over Europe, including a few places still in Britain.
Margaret.

By: Michal M

Michal M — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 22:48:31 +0000

You don’t hear this word used too often in this sense these days, so asking for the location of the “ustęp” usually will get a chuckle or an odd glance

By: pinolona

pinolona — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 19:11:17 +0000

‘pisuar’ is from the French ‘pissoir’, and for some reason I have never been offered this option. Although if it’s cheaper, I may try to persuade the pani at the gate to let me through – I hate paying to use the loo, what else are you supposed to do?!

I guess if we’re going the French way, logically Option 2 would be lej szyjot…

By: michael

michael — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 18:27:55 +0000

When I found one I was asked pisuar or the other option which I don’t remember, pisuar was cheaper than the other option , 2 different rates.

What is the other option? Thanks.

By: pinolona

pinolona — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 15:12:18 +0000

Yes and then you have to work out whether you’re a circle or a triangle! Very tricky to remember to begin with

(ps I asked for the ubikacja on a Ukrainian night bus once and nobody seemed offended. Needless to say, there wasn’t one)