There are several commonly used terms to name the period when we rest, have time off work or school. We often use them interchangeably, however, sometimes the rules for their use are strict. Students of Polish often feel surprised to hear that they can’t say moje dziecko jedzie na urlop. Why?
WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN WAKACJE AND URLOP?
There are two basic terms to describe the period of time, which we use to rest: wakacje and urlop. Both words are international words. The term wakacje is derived from the Latin word "vacatio" (liberation, release), no wonder that the French, Italian and Spanish students immediately recognize it easily (vacances, vacanza, vacaciones). In the Polish culture the noun wakacje refers to the time off work or school, usually in summer. When using this form you should remember that it is used in plural form only. The latter of the above-mentioned terms, urlop, is derived from the German "Urlaub" is only used when referring to working adults, who take time off work at any time off the year.
FERIE AND MAJÓWKI – THEIR MEANING IN POLISH
If the same adults take their children along, and they are planing to go on holiday in winter, we use another form, ferie. This noun refers to the break from school, but only in wintertime. We can say that ferie is a kind of January-February equivalent of the word wakacje. The word ferie is also used in plural form only.
Another interesting and popular noun to name a period of rest is majówka. That is a colloquial name for the first three days of May: 1st (Labour Day), 2nd (Day of the Flague) and 3rd (Day of the Constitution of 3rd May), which, if combined with a Saturday and Sunday, make up the so-called długi weekend majowy (long May weekend). But why use that many words if we can call it simply and nicely majówka?!
As you can see, when you’re going away to take some rest, the way you call it in Polish depends on time and your personal situation. Accordingly, you can say: jadę na urlop/wakacje/ferie/majówkę.
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