Relationships are hard. In any language. But in Polish they are even harder.
Take the word “relationship,” for example. We all know what it means in English. It’s a fairly straightforward word, even if relationships themselves are not. But such is life…

I have relationships with many people. Some are personal, some are less personal, and some are… well, better not talk about it if I want to keep my day job. LOL!

I can say that I have a good relationship with my dad, and everybody knows it means we get along. I can say that I have a good relationship with my neighbor, and everybody knows it means I can go there and ask to borrow from her whatever it is I ran out of in my own kitchen.

But try to translate the word “relationship” into Polish and boom, we’re in trouble.
The online dictionary I use translates “relationship” as:

• związek
• pokrewieństwo
• stosunek
• powiązanie
• zależność
• więź
• relacja

These three: związek, powiązanie, więź are all related (ha! they come from the same root word) but you would not use any of these when talking about how good (or bad) your relationship is with your mother in law, for example.

Zależność is more of a mathematical type of relationship.

Pokrewieństwo is when you are related to somebody. It has “krew” (po-krew-ieństwo) in it, which means “blood” and “krewny/krewna” are your blood relatives.

Stosunek can be a loaded word. It can be used to describe anything from diplomatic relations (stosunki dyplomatyczne) to intercourse (stosunek płciowy).

And then you have “relacja.” This word also has several meanings, but the one we’re interested in is “relationship.” Both of these words – Polish and English - come from the same Latin origin, so they even look similar. And this is the word I’d use when talking about relationships in my life, even though it sounds like an annoying loan translation.

I can say that:

• Mam dobre relacje rodzinne. – I have a good relationship with my family/relatives.

or:

• Moja znajoma nie ma dobrych relacji ze swoją teściową. – My friend doesn’t have a relationship with her mother-in-law.

So, whether you want to complain or brag about your relationships, when doing it in Polish, make sure you pick the right word.