MINI-GLOSSARY OF POLISH CHRISTMAS TERMS

We have asked our friends and students to tell us what they associate Christmas with. And we have received many answers: family, fireplace, gifts, snow, Christmas tree, gourmet food. There are various associations and experiences, and we have already written about Christmas (check here) and about Christmas Eve traditions (check here). This year we have compiled a small (and subjective) glossary of Christmas terms so that you can show you knowledge in your Polish classes or at your family gatherings.

CHOINKA,
a Christmas tree, which should traditionally be decorated on Christmas Eve morning, i.e. 24th December. However, these days the tradition is hardly ever maintained and we can enjoy the sparkling lights and beautiful decorations as early as 2 weeks before Christmas. Choinka can be kept in the house until 2nd January, which foreigners usually find surprising.

                                         check here for more interesting facts about Polish

OPŁATEK,
Christmas wafer, which is thin, white flatbread made without any yeast, symbolises friendship, love and forgiveness. We start the Christmas Eve supper by sharing it and wishing each other all the best.

SIANKO,
hay, a bundle of which is symbolically put under the tablecloth on the table on Christmas Eve to commemorate the birth of Jesus in the stable of Bethlehem.

TALERZ,
a plate, not an ordinary one but an empty one, symbolically awaiting an unexpected guest. This custom refers to the fact that Mary and Joseph were looking for shelter the night Jesus was born.

ŚLEDŹ,
herring, the fish that simply has to be served during the Christmas Eve supper. It may be savory or sweet, served in wine or spices, with sour cream or simply with oil. It’s always delicious and healthy

.                                                       to make (robić ) Christmas herring

KUTIA,
or kutya, a Christmas Eve culinary masterpiece, popular in Eastern Poland, Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania. It’s a sweet dessert made with wheat (or pęczak, a type of pearl barely), honey, poppy seed, walnuts, raisins and almonds. It’s goes very well with strong black tea.

KOMPOT Z SUSZU,
dried fruit compote, has smoky flavour and is good for your digestion. It is served at the end of the Christmas Eve supper and is very nutritious, it is also an excellent alternative to fresh seasonal fruit, the lack of which we feel at this time of year. It is made with dried fruit, such as prunes, apples, apricots, pears, figs and raisins. And it tastes even better when we add some cinnamon, cloves, lemon zest, ginger and nutmeg to it. Delicious!

                                    to make (robić), to prepare (przygotować )dried fruit compote


PASTERKA,
starting at midnight between 24th and 25th December,  is a special mass commemorating the time when the shepherds waited for Jesus to be born. It is also one of the first ocassions to kolędowanie, i.e. singing Christmas carols. And then? Then we slowly walk back home with snow crunching under our feet... If there is snow, of course...

With or without snow; spent in Poland or abroad; with herring and kutia, or without these traditional Christmas Eve dishes, we wish you all Merry Christmas!

                                          WESOŁYCH ŚWIĄT!

A FEW WORDS ON MIKOŁAJKI

POLISH MEMORIES OF ŚWIĘTY MIKOŁAJ (Saint Nicholas)

Gray November has finished. It is time for a truly winter month, which not only brings snow, but also always puts us in a holiday mood. Although there is still some time left until Christmas, it is hard not to notice all the Christmas decorations in the streets, shops, restaurants and shopping malls as well as hear the Christmas songs played everywhere. In Polish classes more and more often foreigners ask about Polish Christmas customs and traditions.
There is one night and one morning at the beginning of December that every Polish child, and adult as well, looks forward to. And that is Mikołajki (Saint Nicholas Day), which is a name day of every Mikołaj (Nicholas) and a time to celebrate the day of Święty Mikołaj (Saint Nicholas). Remembering the generosity and goodness of the bishop of Myra we give each other small gifts on the night between 5th and 6th December.

Check out our  FB page for more idioms and interesting facts about the Polish language.

 

 

 

IN THE SHOES AND UNDER THE PILLOW

The gifts may be left in two places: in the shoes (which have been cleaned and polished by the owner) standing beside the bed, or under the pillow. Not only children but also teenagers often wake up at night to check whether Saint Nicholas has visited the house and left some trifles. No one expects a lavish gift on that day, it would be hard to put it under a pillow or fit into children’s shoes anyway. Sweets, small toys and trifles that may be useful in everyday life or at school are common gifts (a Polish course may be an ideal gift for Mikołajki, check here for details ).
However, instead of a gift or lying right next to it under the pillow or in your shoe, you might find a rózga (twig). That is a sign that you should work on your behaviour and improve if you want to avoid a „gift disappointment“ at Christmas.

AT SCHOOL AND AT WORK (A CUSTOM NOT ONLY IN POLAND)

Another nice custom related to 6th December (check here to see how to write dates in Polish) is celebrating Mikołajki at school or work. Everything starts with drawing the name of a person we are going to get a gift for. Then we have some time to think of a proper gift and buy it (at school children often make the gifts themselves). Next we put the nicely wrapped gifts with name tags attached to them into one sack. The gifts are distributed in a friendly atmosphere and the receivers often wonder who their Mikołaj has been this year, since anonymity is the greatest thing about Mikołajki.

ROZWODNIK (divorcee) AND STARA PANNA (old maid), OR TERMS FOR DESCRIBING MARITAL STATUS IN POLISH

As we have promised in our entry on patchwork family (you can find it here), we are going to present some nouns related to people’s marital status. We have already mentioned that people who are married are called mąż (husband) and żona (wife). These nouns sound familiar to virtually all participants of Polish courses. The ones you are going to read about are much more rarely used in Polish classes.

WHAT DO YOU CALL UNMARRIED PEOPLE IN POLISH?
Those, whose spouse died are wdowiec (widower) and wdowa (widow); people, who decided to end a failed relationship are called rozwodnik (divorcee, masculine) and rozwódka (divorcee, feminine). The two latter forms, despite being correct and used in the legal language, still have negative connotations in Polish society and are stigmatizing. Therefore, the terms rozwiedziony (divorced, masculine) and rozwiedziona (divorced, feminine) are becoming increasingly popular. Similar rule applies to those who have never changed their marital status and remain kawaler (unmarried man, bachelor) and panna (unmarried woman, spinster).  People who remained unmarried for too long (in some people’s opinion) used to be called stary kawaler (literally: old bachelor, confirmed bachelor) and stara panna (spinster, old maid) with contempt. However, nowadays,  following the social changes and the growing number of people who are not in a relationship (anymore) with anyone or decide to get married much later than older generations, the words singiel (single, masculine) and singielka (single, feminine) are gaining in popularity.

                                           more Polish vocabulary on our FB page

KONKUBIN OR PARTNER? OTHER WORDS TO DESCRIBE MARITAL STATUS
What about those who are in steady but live-in,  not legalized relationships? And again, the legal and administration language affect everyday life. The official terms are konkubent or konkubin (cohabitant, masculine) and konkubina (cohabitant, feminine). However, these words have been used so often in the criminal news stories (e.g. Konkubent Marian Z. zabił swoją konkubinę Grażynę K. w trakcie libacji alkoholowej - , i.e. Marian M. cohabiting with Grażyna K. killed her while carousing) that they now are used in a pejorative sense by Polish people. The young generations use these terms humorously nowadays, and when they want to be serious, they go for partner/partnerka when talking about their other half.

As you can see, the terminology related to marital status is a very good indicator of changes in the society that clearly affect the language itself.

COLOURS IN POLISH IDIOMS

GREEN LIGHT TO LEARNING POLISH :)

Since it’s grey, bleak and gloomy outside and it gets everyone down, we propose focusing on  colours today. Naturally, colours is the topic that puts students into a good mood as it’s easy, pleasant and useful. Colours appear in classes (more on Polish courses here) as parts of idiomatic expressions, which is another favourite subject of everyone, not only foreigners studying Polish.
The ‘hero’ of today’s entry is the colour we all probably miss most these days: zielony (green).

FOR A START, ON THE NEGATIVE SIDE OF ZIELONY IN POLISH

You can zzielenieć ze złości  (literally: get green with anger) or z zazdrości (with envy), which means show extreme anger or envy. And if one of our acquaintances ma zielono w głowie (literally: has green in their head; is empty-headed, is an airhead), then they are careless and, unfortunately, irresponsible. A novice in any kind of business or activity is usually zielony (green) or nie ma zielonego pojęcia (has no clue/absolutely no idea; literally: has no green clue) what is to be done or what to do, so has no knowledge of the topic and is simply inexperienced and often young.
If someone has lost their job, we can say that they have been wysłany na zieloną trawkę (literally: sent to green grass/pasture).

Here are zielone płuca miasta – green lungs of the city. Check out our FB page
for more idioms and interesting facts about the Polish language

FINALLY, ON THE POSITIVE SIDE OF ZIELONY IN POLISH

When new opportunities come up and we have been given a chance to put our plans or projects into practice, that means that someone zapalił/ dał zielone światło (lit/gave us the green light). Drivers may be interested to know that zielona fala (literally: green wave) refers to a situation when we can drive through a few consecutive crossroads without stopping because you there is green light every time, a phenomenon welcome by those stuck in the morning traffic jams. Zielone płuca (green lungs), i.e. forests and parks full of plants, provide healthier environment and make us feel better. And let’s not forget about zielone ludziki  (little green men), aliens whose skin is supposed to be green.

ON GETTING MARRIED AND PATCHWORK FAMILY. PRACTICAL POLISH WORDS AND EXPRESSIONS

VERBS THAT COLLOCATE WITH THE NOUN ŚLUB 
Autumn may not be the most popular time of the year to plan a ślub (wedding), but this topic arouses interest in Polish classes regardless of the season. Let us remind you that in Polish you can brać ślub, i.e. get married (brać/wziąć ślub: check here to find out how to conjugate this verb). When we are talking about this occasion from the perspective of a woman, we say that she wychodzi/wyszła za mąż (wychodzić/wyjść za mąż, which can be understood as „she is getting/got a husband“), and when it’s from the perspective of a man, we say that he żeni się or ożenił się (żenić/ożenić się, which means that he is getting/got a wife)

Oto Mateusz i Klara. Oni wzięli ślub. Mateusz ożenił się z Klarą. Klara wyszła za Mateusza.
Literally: These are Mateusz and Klra. They got married. Mateusz took Klara as his wife. Klara took Mateusz as her husband.

                                                 more Polish vocabulary on our FB page 

Another verb you can use in this situation is pobrać się, so:

Mateusz i Klara pobrali się w ostatnią sobotę. (Mateusz and Klara got married last Saturday)

PATCHWORK FAMILY. SOME FAMILY MEMBERS IN POLISH
When two people legalize their relationship outside of Poland and it is not marriage, we say that they zawarli związek partnerski albo weszli w związek partnerski (zawrzeć/ wejść w związek partnerski, i.e. enter/entered into a registered partnership).
As the result of a marriage in Poland people become mąż and żona (husband and wife). Frequently it is their next marriage and then this kind of couple together with the children from their previous relationships become a patchwork family (rodzina patchworkowa). The adults are then not only matka and ojciec (mother and father) for their own children but also become ojczym and macocha (stepfather and stepmother) for their spouse’s children. The word macocha has evolved over the years in the Polish language, since not so long ago it had ominous overtones. For the first time a child encountered this word while reading the Cinderella story. As we all remember, it wasn’t a positive connotation… Additionally, the negative overtone was emphasised by an expression traktować coś/ kogoś po macoszemu, i.e. treat something/someone unfairly, badly, harshly. Fortunately, along with the social changes in Poland the negative meaning of the word is gradually disappearing.

Soon you will be able to read more about Polish vocabulary referring to marital status.

AUTUMN VOCABULARY DILEMAS IN POLISH

NAMES OF FRUIT DELICACIES IN POLISH

Beautiful Polish golden autumn (Indian summer) has started (check here to find out where this name came from) and trees change their colour from green into yellow, red and brown. This is a perfect time for walks or for courses of Polish as a foreign language (alright, there always a good time to learn Polish;-)). And of ocurse, it’s time to make some preserved fruit products (przetwory) , such as dżemy (jams), konfitury (preserves), powidła (plum jam)... And now! Here’s the question: What is the difference between dżem and konfitura? Are these words synonyms, or do they describe completely different sweet products made from fruit?

IN FACT THEY’RE NOT THE SAME

They are definitely not synonyms, and the multitude of names in Polish comes from the difference in their taste and ... the preparation process.
Dżem is the most popular of them, of course. You can find it on a shelf in every shop in Poland, different kinds. It’s made from fruit or its parts. It’s enough to add lots of sugar to it, preferrably the so-called ‘gelling sugar’, and boil it for a long time, stirring from time to time.
Marmolada is the easiest to make (in Polish marmolada – marmalade – is a product made from any kind of fruit, not only citrus fruit). Just add equal amount of sugar to the fruit (50% to 50%), grate it, boil it and then leave it to cool. You can spread it on a slice of bread and eat right away.
If you are a gourmet, however, and love the taste of fruit without any thickeners, you should go for konfitura. You need to select fruit to make it. Only the one that looks best and tasty will be used and added to the sugar syrup prepared beforehand. Konfitury (preserves) require more effort and attention, since you should try not to damage the fruit while stirring and need to keep an eye on the temperature as it should be neither too high nor too low. At the end of the process it’s a good idea to coat the edges of the jars with cognac :) .

No matter which you prefer, dżem or konfitura,
  you will find more interesting Polish vocabulary on our FB page.

POLISH DELICACY

Powidła (plum jam) is a real Rolls-Royce among the Polish preserved fruit products. This is a Polish speciality and it is made only from plums (the węgierka variety is the best choice, Eng. common plum). Adding sugar is not necessary. However, you need time, since it takes several days for powidła to be ready. After that we can enjoy the taste of pure fruit during winter evenings.
Now that you know all these words and the differences between them you can get down to work, or simply go to the shop and simply pick a jar with an appropriate name on it. Enjoy!

NAMES OF MEALS IN POLISH

Nothing reflects the changes that have occurred in the Polish reality in the past 25 years better than the names of meals and the way we use them these days.

O KTÓREJ JECIE OBIAD? TRADITIONAL RHYTHM OF HAVING MEALS IN POLAND
This question comes up surprisingly often in Polish classes. The answer is not that obvious since it largely depends on our lifestyle and where we live. Traditionally Poles start their day with śniadanie (breakfast), around 10.30am they have their drugie śniadanie (second breakfast), which is usually a sandwich. Then comes obiad (lunch/dinner) eaten between 2 and 3pm (main meal of the day, usually consisting of two courses), children sometimes have podwieczorek (equivalent of tea) around 5pm, and that is a sweet snack before the last meal of the day, i.e. kolacja (dinner/supper) which is eaten around 7pm. Kolacja usually consists of one course and is definitely lighter than obiad and, depending on the season of the year, may be served cold or hot. The most important śniadanie (breakfast) of the year is, of course, the Easter breakfast (more information here), and the most formal kolacja (dinner/supper) is Wigilia, i.e. Christmas Eve dinner/supper (more on that here).
The model śniadanie - drugie śniadanie - obiad - (podwieczorek) – kolacja is a traditional one and is still followed by children, young people, unemployed adults and those living in small towns.

                                                      more Polish vocabulary on our FB profile

ANGLICISMS IN NAMES OF MEALS
People living in large cities, studying or working from 9am to 5pm have obiad after work, and in the middle of the day they have ... lunch. The rhythm of meals and their times are similar to those in other countries. Śniadanie in the morning, lunch at midday and obiad early in the evening. With such a daily routine the noun kolacja is reserved for special occasions (kolacja służbowa - business dinner, kolacja romantyczna - romantic dinner) or refers to a meal eaten around 9pm (which is much less common in Poland than in southern countries). On days off, weekends, Polish middle class in larger cities has brunch, which is a late śniadanie or early lunch, usually eaten in restaurants or bistros (more on eating places here).

                      jem śniadanie, obiad, kolację. Check here the conjugation of the verb JEŚĆ (to eat)

Interestingly, even the Poles living in large cities give up on the Western European tradition in order to meet relatives for dinner on Sunday at 2pm (during which rosół, i.e. traditional chicken soup, is served) or to eat out together. Do you know now why restaurants in Poland are crowded on Sunday afternoons?

COMMUNICATION CONFUSION WITH KOMUNIKACJA

KOMUNIKACJA IN POLISH MEANS...

Today we’ll be talking about komunikacja, since this little word may easily confuse foreigners learning Polish.
Everything is fine as long as we are talking about komunikacja meaning the process of communicating, exchanging information or ideas. In this case the meaning of the word is crystal clear and even a beginner student of Polish does not see any difficulty or a catch here.

KOMUNIKACJA MEANING COMMUNICATION

There is komunikacja telefoniczna (telephone communication), mailowa (email) or internetowa (Internet), and listowna (through letters), which used to be popular in the past. We use  the word komunikacja with an adjective describing the means that enable information sharing and exchanging ideas. We can also use the preposition przez (through, by, over) and then we say kominukacja przez telefon, komunikatory, media społecznościowe (social media) or Internet. Remember that przez is followed by a noun in the accusative form.

WHAT LINKS KOMUNIKACJA AND TRANSPORT

However, the second meaning of the word causes surprise. Komunikacja in Polish also means movement consisting in maintaining the connection between two spots located within some distance from each other by various means of transport. There is komunikacja miejska (city/public transport), i.e. buses, trams, underground etc., podmiejska (suburban), connecting a city with its suburbs, międzymiastowa (intercity, literally: between cities) or międzynarodowa (international; from one country to another).  Therefore, a person who says they enjoy using komunikacja miejska on the way to work or their language course does not want to inform us about the ways of communicating with co-workers or classmates but to tell us that they get around by bus, tram or underground (Polish: jeździć autobusem, tramwajem, metrem; check here for conjugation of the verb jeździć).
And stała komunikacja między Warszawą a Poznaniem (regular connection between Warsaw and Poznań) means regular trains, for exmple, between these cities.
As you can see, good kominikacja always makes life easier.

More interesting facts on the Polish langauge and on komunikacja in Polish on our FB site.

BAR, KAWIARNIA, RESTAURACJA or where you can have something to eat in Poland?

It is hard to believe that these three words: restauracja, bar and kawiarnia, raise so many questions in Polish classes. Naturally, everyone knows those are the names of eating establishments so the questions don’t usually refer to their meaning but the cultural context. They often happen to have somewhat different functions in Poland and abroad.

KAWIARNIA AND RESTAURACJA IN POLISH
Today we’re going to talk about the eating establishments you pass in the streets of Polish cities every day. We have already discussed the less common ones (oberża, karczma, zajazd) here. What are restauracja and kawiarnia then? The former is the least controversial and, the same as in other countries, restauracja (restarant) is a place where the food is served by a waiter or waitress. We go there if we want to eat (zjeść) a large meal (usually consisting of a starter, entree and main course) followed by coffee or tea, which Poles often drink while eating some dessert.
Coffee, tea and dessert can also be ordered in kawiarnie (cafes) which more and more often do not employ waiters and drinks and desserts are ordered and paid for at the counter. If such an establishment serves also sandwiches, quiches, salads or any other food typically served for luch, it is called a bistro. In large Polish cities there are plenty of establishments that are a combination of kawiarnia and bistro.

IS MILK DRUNK IN POLISH BARS?
What is the real meaning of the noun bar in the Polish language? Bar in Polish is a place where you can drink some alcohol but (unlike bars in Spain, for instance) where you don’t eat anything. The other meaning of the word, which is the source of  misunderstandings, is an estanblishment that was especially popular in the interwar Poland and PRL (Polska Rzeczpospolita Ludowa, i.e. Polish People’s Republic) and where these days as well you can have some simple and inexpensive Polish dishes. There’s no waiter service in a bar like that and the interior resembles a canteen rather than a restaurant. The full name of such an establishment, and we can call it Polish specialite de la maison, is a bar mleczny (literally: milk bar). Where does the name come from? Well, in the past many dishes served in such places were made with milk, cottage cheese and eggs. Nowadays bary mleczne are still quite popular and they can be called a sociological phenomenon since their customers come from various social groups. A visit to a bar mleczny has become a must-do for foreigners visiting Poland.

      The legendary „Prasowy“ milk bar in Warsaw. More on the Polish language and customs on our FB page

ON PLAŻOWICZE (beachgoers), KOCE (blankets) AND PIASEK (sand), or Polish on the beach

Summer is a perfect time to learn a foreign language (e.g. Polish in one of our courses, information on which you can find here), but the truth is there’s no holiday without plaża (beach) and kąpiel (swim; bath) in the sea or lake.
Actually, plaża is also a perfect place to… learn some new vocabulary. If you are planning plażowanie (beaching), which means spending time on the beach at the Polish seaside or one of the beautiful Polish lakes, you must definitely get the equipment every plażowicz (beachgoer) needs.

Polish words which you need on the beach :)

POLISH BEACH GLOSSARY

The Baltic seaside, whether we like it or not, is often windy even on a sunny day, therefore it’s a good idea to get a parawan (beach windbreak), which will protect you against unwanted gusts of wind that might prevent you from enjoying the sun. The act of „enjoying the sun” is called kąpiele słoneczne (literally: sun baths) or you can say that someone opala się (is sunbathing).
If you need protection against the wind or rain which may unexpectedly start even in the summer and take the beachgoers by surprise, you can take shelter in a special kosz (basket), which you rent on the beach since it’s rather large and heavy
While sunbathing you should protect yourself from direct sunlight and then a parasol plażowy (parasol) might come in handy, which will give us some relieving cień (shade).
It is difficult, however, to lie (leżeć) on the sun-heated piasek (sand). It is much better and more comfortable to lie on a koc plażowy (beach blanket), mata (mat) or leżak (sunlounger). And when you get bored with sunbathing it’s a good idea to go for a swim (here’s when we have discussed swimming in and on the sea), build a zamek z piasku (sand castle) for which you need łopatka (shovel) and wiaderko (bucket), zbierać muszelki (collect seashells), karmić mewy (feed the seagulls) or to go for a spacer wzdłuż brzegu (walk along the shore).
And you can always speak Polish
Miłego wypoczynku! (Have a nice holiday!)

By the Polish seaside you can not only lie on the beach, you can also look for seashells.

DZIAŁKA (allotment) and DACZA (dacha), or where else do Poles spend their holiday?

That’s right, we have already discussed the topic of where to spend a holiday in Poland on several occasions. In Warmia and Masuria, in the Bieszczady Mountains  or in the north of Poland . It’s hard to believe, though, that we have overlooked one important aspect, one really important Polish word known very well by virtually all participants of our summer Polish courses.

DZIAŁKA. WHAT IS IT AND HOW IMPORTANT IS IT IN POLISH LIFESTYLE?
Działka is not only a piece of land with a summer, holiday house located ouside of town, somewhere in the country and the further from civilisation the better. It is also a specific style of life and spending leisure time of people who normally live in blocks of flats. When asked what they do at the weekend or on holiday the Poles often answer Jadę na działkę/ Spędzam weekend na działce/ Dostałem zaproszenie do znajomych na działkę (I’m going to the allotment/I’m spending the weekend on the allotment/I’ve been invited to my friends‘ allotment). What's funny, foreigners who have a Polish family or friends, often, even speaking in their own language, do not translate the word and use the Polish form (I'm going to działka). On the plot/allotment, in addition to a small garden (ogród) or orchard (sad) - more on these words here - first of all there is a dom letniskowy (summer/holiday house), which is usually very simple, made of wood and without any luxuries (although there are exceptions).

                                                   More on Poland and the Polish language you can find on our FB page

WHAT DO POLES DO ON A DZIAŁKA? SOME POLISH VERBS
Poles are very happy to invite friends to działka to have a barbecue together (grillować/robić grilla – to barbecue/have a barbecue), swim (pływać), read books (czytać książki) in a deckchair or hammock, make food together, go mushroom and blueberry picking (chodzić na grzyby i jagody) to a nearby forest, do crosswords (rozwiązywać krzyżówki), play scrabble, cards or chess (grać w scrabble, karty lub szachy). And simply to rest in the bossom of nature (odpoczywać na łonie natury).

                                                          Check here  for conjugation of the verb ODPOCZYWAĆ

Those who don’t leave the city associate działka with a plot where a new building may be constructed (that is another meaning of the word, known to foreigners working for property development companies) or with ... ogródki działkowe (allotment gardens). The latter is a characteristic feature of landscape of many Polish cities. On such a działka in the middle of the city people grow vegetables, fruit or flowers. This is a favourite pastime among pensioners, but not only... Recently more and more young people are starting to appear in allotment gardens.

DACZA AND DZIAŁKA. POLISH IRONY.
The word dacza (dacha) was borrowed from Russian and means the same as a ... działka. This word used to be more popular before the political transformation. These days it’s rather archaic and Poles use it in an ironic or humorous way especially when referring to a very well-equipped summer house (O, masz daczę za miastem?! – oh, you have a dacha outside the city? ; Ale dacza! – what a dacha! ; Dobra, przyjedziemy do ciebie na daczę – all right, we’ll come to your dacha).

At the end we have some advice for all learners of Polish. If you are ever invited to a działka by a Pole, do not decline. Działka experience is an essential element of socialising in Poland. Have fun!

ON SWIMMING AND CASES IN POLISH

DREAMING OF SWIMMING... IN A LANGUAGE COURSE?

In warm weather, probably more than one participant of a course in Polish as a foreign language wishes the classroom, the teacher and the colleagues found themselves nad brzegiem (on the banks/at the seaside; after the preposition nad we use the instrumental case) of a river, sea or another water pool. And what do we do in the water if we want to cool down? Naturally, we go in and pływamy (we swim; should you not remember how to conjugate the verb, check here). We can pływać w morzu, w jeziorze, w basenie, w rzece etc. (swim in the sea, lake, swiming pool, river: the locative case needs to be used after the preposition w).

BOAT AND KAYAK TRIPS

And what do we do when we feel like wycieczka kajakiem or statkiem (a boat or kayak trip; literally: trip by boat or kayak)? Jedziemy? Idziemy? No! Whether it’s statkiem, kajakiem, łódką, żaglówką, or even okrętem podwodnym (by ship, kayak, boat, sailing boat or even submarine) we still pływamy (swim) and let’s not forget to use the instrumental case when talking of means of transport. The difference is that we say po morzu, po jeziorze and po rzece (literally: swim on the sea, lake and river) and need to use the locative case here.

Interesting facts on the Polish language and many useful words you can find on our FB page

The Polish pływanie statkiem (literally: swimming by boat) may sound funny to users of other languages, in which you go by boat and the verb to swim (pływać) refers only to a human or an animal floating by themselves on water.
Whether it is funny or not, on a hot summer day it’s a great idea to popływać either w jeziorze or kajakiem po jeziorze (literally: to swim either in a lake or by boat on a lake).

GOL (goal), REMIS (draw), SPALONY (offside), THE MOST POPULAR FOOTBALL TERMS IN POLISH

With Euro 2016 in progress we simply can’t ignore it and not post an entry about football. All the more so because this topic is heatedly discussed in virtually each Polish class in our school these days (more on summer Polish courses here). Let’s get you ready then for your next get-together with Polish friends at a pub. In square brackets you will find the nominative of the footbal terms used in the text.

PIŁKA NOŻNA – BASIC VOCABULARY IN POLISH 
That’s right. Piłka nożna (football)  is almost like a religion in Poland. You can grać w piłkę (play football) on boisko (pitch) or watch a mecz piłki nożnej na stadionie [stadion] (a football match at the stadium) together with other kibice (fans). During this match you should dopingować ulubioną drużynę [drużyna] (i.e. cheer for your favourite team), or kibicować (support) in other words. In this case you can ask a friend Komu kibicujesz? (who are you supporting?). A match lasts 90 minutes and is played by two teams of jedenastu zawodników/ piłkarzy/ graczy [zawodnik, piłkarz, gracz] (eleven footballers/players). One of them is the bramkarz (goalkeeper), who broni bramki [bramka] (defends the goal). The other players are napastnik (striker), whose role is to attack, obrońca (defender), who’s responsible for defending the penalty area of his team and pomocnik (midfielder), who’s playing in the central part of the field. Outside the field there is ławka rezerwowych (the substitutes‘ bench) and it’s the trener or selekcjoner (coach) who decides which of the players and when will substitute one of the playing colleagues.
The proper course of the game is monitored by a sędzia (referee), also known as the arbiter, who is assissted by assistant referees. The referee will call czas dodatkowy (extra time) if necessary.

                                   More vocabulary not only related to football you can find on our FB site

WHAT’S GOING ON ON THE PITCH? RZUTY, GOLE, KARTKI 
During a match players score goals (strzelić gola). A team may wygrać (win) or przegrać (lose): Włochy wygrały z Hiszpanią 2:0 (Italy won against Spain 2:0). When both teams score the same number of goals or don’t score any goals, the match ends in a draw (remis). And when the match is played o awans do ćwierćfinału lub półfinału (to get into quarterfinals or semifinals) and the 90-minute game ends in a goalless draw, dogrywka (overtime) is called. Should this part end in no goals scored, the players start rzuty karne [rzut karny] (penalty shoot-out). That’s what happened when Poland was playing against Switzerland.
If a player is fouled, the referee stops the game and then restarts it by letting the team that suffered take a rzut wolny (free kick). Rzut wolny is also called when the foul is committed within pole karne (penalty mark). It may also be ruled as a result of spalony (offside), i.e. a situation when a player who is on the side of the pitch of the opposite team is closer to the goal line of the rivals than the ball is and does not have at least two players of the opposite team in front of him. There is an international synonym of the word spalony – ofsajd. Another international word we can think of is korner, or, to use a Polish word, rzut rożny (corner kick).  For a foul or other unsportsmanlike conduct the referee may punish the player with a żółta or czerwona kartka (yellow or red card).

Naturally, we know that this entry does not exhaust the topic, but we hope it will prepare you better for the next match you go to see together with your Polish friends and may even encourage you to play a game of football with them on a real pitch. Have fun!

TIPS FOR SUMMER DAYS or WHAT WE DRINK AND WHERE WE DRINK IT FROM IN POLISH

WHEN YOU ARE THIRSTY... (not only in Polish class)

Days are getting longer and even during the most interesting Polish classes (check here for information on summer courses of Polish) we start to feel like getting something to drink. In short, at some point each of us starts to think: Mam ochotę na coś zimnego (ewentualnie ciepłego) do picia (I feel like something cold – or hot – to drink). Many of us, especially native speakers of Polish, say: Idę po jedzenie i picie (I’m going to get something to eat and drink). We then get water (sparkling or still), juice, fizzy drink, coffee, tea, beer, wine or whatever we wish. And then the question arises: what do we drink from? Since the Polish language is precise and has a special word for each ‘vessel‘.

SZKLANKA (glass) or KUBEK (mug)? VARIETY OF NAMES OF DISHES IN POLISH

From szklanka (usually made of thin glass) we can drink juice, water, beer or other cold drinks. If we want something warm or hot, e.g. tea or coffee, we pour it into a kubek (mug) or filiżanka (cup). Experts say that drinking from the latter guarantees much better taste, aroma and ideal temperature. Kubek on the other hand is more stable and more importantly it’s biiiiiig ;-) If the evening is cold those who like sweets may feel tempted to get a cup of hot chocolate. This sweet drink is always served in filiżanka and often together with szlanka of cold water.
Beer connoisseurs claim that it should be drunk from an appropriate szklanka depending on the type of beer. The most popular type, piwo jasne (similar to pale ale) tastes best when drunk from a kufel (beer mug). Beware, some pubs serve large beer in 1-litre mugs!
Wine, champagne, vodka and liqueurs we drink from different kinds of small and large kieliszki (glasses).

If you’re looking for information and interesting facts about the Polish language, visit our FB page.

NAPOJE AND TRUNKI

There are a few words we can use to name what we drink. The word napój (anything we drink, could be cold or hot), picie (in spoken language it means anything we drink), trunek (which is only used for alcoholic drinks). With summer approaching, this vocabulary may come in handy more than once not only when foreigners want to cool down during a break between classes but also their teachers and Polish colleagues may find it useful.
So, who feels like something to drink (should you forget how to conjugate the verb „pić“, check it here)?

GOŚĆ W DOM, BÓG W DOMU (Guest at home, God at home), or how to offer something to drink in Polish?

What question do you hear when you step across the threshold of a Polish home? And what question should you ask when a Pole (and not only a Pole) comes to visit you? Most participants of courses of Polish will answer without hesitation: co słychać? (how is it going?) Indeed, it is one of the first questions we learn in Polish class but it is soon followed by the one we are going to focus on today.

COŚ DO PICIA? (Anything to drink?) or CZEGO SIĘ NAPIJESZ (What would you like to drink?)?  - TWO IMPORTANT POLISH QUESTIONS

                        And you? What would you like to drink? More Polish vocabulary on our FB page

Asking one of the two questions would seem natural. However, you need to know how important they are in the Polish culture. First of all, not asking one of them is considered most rude. Secondly, once it has been asked, you need to get ready for a mini-dialogue such as this one:

 - Coś do picia?
 - Nie, dziękuję. 
 - Jesteś pewien/ pewna? 
 - Hm... No, dobrze. Może kawę?  

- Anything to drink?
- No, thank you.
- Are you sure?
- Well... OK. Coffee then?

That is:  question – negative answer – question repeated – positive answer. Obviously, not every conversation of this kind looks exactly like that. You might hear a positive answer right away. However, it does happen that  a foreigner, after receiving a negative response, ends the conversation, leaving his Polish interlocutor in amazement and without a drink.

As you can see, it is a good idea not only to get acquainted with basic Polish structures but also to find out how and when to use them.

MARIA KOWALSKA OR MARIA KOWALSKI, or HOW TO DEAL WITH POLISH FAMILY NAMES

FUSS OVER POLISH FAMILY NAMES

This post has been inspired by questions concerning Polish family names which are often asked in classes of Polish as a foreign language (check here for information on interesting courses). What seems obvious for the Poles as far as their own family names are concerned may be problematic for foreigners, especially in the beginning. Some confusion, among non-slavic students in particular,  is caused by the fact that Polish first and last names need to be inflected. However, when you get to know the Polish declension and conjugation well (should you need to refresh your knowledge of conjugation of Polish verbs, check here) that fact ceases to surprise.

TWO KINDS OF POLISH FAMILY NAMES

There are two most common groups of Polish family names: those that act like nouns and those that end with -ska, -ski, -cka, -cki. As for the first group, there are no major issues: a man is called Adam Nowak and a woman Ewa Nowak. A questios arises in case of the other group, however: if a man’s name is Jan Kowalski, why is his wife’s name Maria Kowalska, not Maria Kowalski? Why does she have a different family name? No, Maria doesn’t have a different family name, she simply uses its feminine form. Names ending with -ska, -ski, -cka, -cki take the adjective form, and the adjective in Polish ends with -a in the feminine form. As you can see, the answer is simple and logical.

FAMILY NAMES OF MARRIED COUPLES AND FAMILIES

Declension is also to blame for the changes in family names of married couples and families. If you want to invite Mr. Nowak and his wife to an important meeting you should address the invitation Szanowni Państwo Ewa i Adam Nowakowie, which you definitely already know since we have written about that recently.  If you are inviting the whole family of Adam and Ewa Nowak, you should use the form Rodzina Nowaków.
When we refer to Maria Kowalska and her husband, we say państwo Kowalscy, and if we include the children, we get rodzina Kowalskich.
As you can see, what seemed to be complicated in the beginning turns out to be easy, clear and logical. Just memorise a few simple rules and you‘ll know what to call who.

Do you know the answer to this question? More riddles on our FB page.

ŁĄKA, SAD, OGRÓD, or on not so common names of places in Polish

POLISH VOCABULARY YOU WILL NOT LEARN IN A CITY
Early May, spring and weekend getaways give you ample opportunity to practise your Polish with the locals and spark your interest in uncommon Polish vocabulary. Having left the city and spent some time in the countryside you will be surprised to hear that the word pole refers not only to a beautiful recreation area in Warsaw (Pola Mokotowskie) or the main avenue in Paris (Pola Elizejskie), but first of all to a place where farmers grow crops (field).
Right next to a pole (field) there might be a pastwisko (pasture), i.e. a place where farm animals such as cows, sheep or horses graze, and nearby you can often see a łąka (meadow), which is an area covered with grass and flowers. You remember seeing those places, don’t you?

                                                    ŁĄKA – more vocabulary on our FB profile  

                                                POLE  - uprawiać; kupować, pracować na.. - more verbs you will find here

IS SAD SAD AND WHERE DO VEGETABLES GROW?
Now, let’s come closer to the house, where we can also see some flowers. Here they grow in an orderly manner and serve as decoration. This is ogród (garden), of course. And is a place where fruit trees (apple, pear and cherry trees) grow an ogród too? This is was participants of our Polish courses often think. No, this place has a different name, it’s called sad and has nothing to do with the English adjective “sad”. Quite the contrary, Polish sad (orchard) is the essence of joy and life.

If you stay at an agri-tourism farm during your weekend getaway, you will definitely notice that the hostess has a warzywnik (vegetable garden) by the house, which is where she grows vegetables so that the guests can have fresh and healthy food every day.

Have fun on your May getaways!

PAŃSTWO KOWALSCY (Mr and Mrs Kowalski) in PAŃSTWO POLSKIE (Polish state)

DWA PAŃSTWA (two meanings of „państwo“)

Today we are going to start with a riddle:

Państwo na K i osiem liter?
Kowalscy!

Wait! Everyone learning Polish not only as a foreign language (information on courses you can find here) knows that państwo is the same as kraj, which means a politically organised group that lives in a territory defined by borders. Hence, there is państwo polskie (literally: Polish state/Poland), państwo niemieckie and państwo francuskie. Does that mean then that a state that starts with K and consists of 8 letters is... Kambodża (Cambodia)? Is the answer to the riddle wrong? Well, no! The answer is correct. The word państwo means not only a form of political organisation but is also the plural of pan and pani. Pan Kowalski (Mr. Kowalski) and pani Kowalska (Mrs. Kowalska) are państwo Kowalscy (Mr. and Mrs. Kowalski); pani Nowak and pan Nowak are państwo Nowakowie.

POLISH GRAMMAR TO THE RESCUE

How do we differentiate between these two meanings then? And here’s where grammar comes to your rescue. We say that państwo polskie prowadzi ciekawą politykę zagraniczną (Poland/Polish state pursues an interesting foreign policy); historia państwa polskiego jest bardzo ciekawa (the history of Poland is very interesting); razem z państwem polskim współpracują państwa sąsiednie (neighbour countries are cooperating with Poland); słyszałem wiele dobrego o państwie polskim (I’ve heard many good things about Poland). As you can see, the word państwo here is used in the singular (to państwo is neuter).
When we’re talking about pan and pani Kowalski, they are ci państwo and we need to use the plural verb form (if you don’t remember verbs conjugations, check here) and the plural of the last name. Consequently, we say: państwo Kowalscy przyszli na spotkanie (Mr. and Mrs. Kowalski came to the meeting); to są dzieci państwa Kowalskich (these are the children of Mr. and Mrs. Kowalski); dałem zaproszenie państwu Kowalskim (I have given the invitation to Mr. and Mrs. Kowalski); lubię państwa Kowalskich (I like Mr. and Mrs. Kowalski); słyszeliśmy o państwu Kowalskich wiele dobrego (we have heard a lot of good things about Mr. and Mrs. Kowalski).
As you can see, grammar can be really useful in everyday situations :)

More interesting facts on the Polish language you can find on our FB page.

Let’s not forget about one more thing: the word państwo can also be used to refer to a larger group consisting of men and women. When we would like to welcome participants of a conference or meeting we can say: „Szanowni państwo! Cieszę się, że państwo przybyli na spotkanie.“ (Ladies and gentlemen, I am glad you have come to the meeting). If you want to ask whether you could join the discussion you say: „Czy państwo pozwolą, że zabiorę głos?” (literally: Will you, ladies and gentlemen, allow me to say something?). And at the end you say: „Dziękuję państwu za uwagę.” (Thank you, ladies and gentlemen, for your attention).

So which państwo starts with K and has 8 letters?

CLASSROOM, COURSE AND LESSON, OR LEARNING THE POLISH LANGUAGE

POLISH LANGUAGE LESSONS IN SPRING
Spring is an awakening after winter, it means new energy and new plans. Among resolutions there start to appear things like going on a diet, doing sports or starting a Polish course at a good language school. After such a beginning we can proudly say later that we are attending a polish language course or we can excuse ourselves saying: nie mogę się spotkać, bo mam klasę polskiego. Wait a minute!!! Klasę języka polskiego? Yes, this mistake is made quite often. Let us make it clear, step by step, what the difference between klasa - kurs – lekcja is.

INTERESTING LESSONS AND COURSES IN BUSINESS POLISH
Klasa, simply means a room where a lesson (e.g. of the Polish language) takes place or a group of people of (more or less) the same age learning together for several years in the same primary school, gymnasium or high school. That is actually why we say mam zjazd mojej klasy maturalnej. As for the first context, it appears most frequently in sentences like: jestem już w klasie; czekam na ciebie w klasie; wejdź do klasy, w klasie było 10 uczniów. Lekcja is just a single unit (that usually lasts 45 or 60 minutes) which is part of a course. Kurs can be an individual or a group one. We have  intensive courses or regular ones, standard or concentrated on a specialist vocabulary (e.g., business Polish). Every time, however, it refers to a total of lessons which have a concrete goal, duration and frequency.

We say therefore: chodzę na kurs (języka) polskiego; mam kurs (języka) polskiego; mam lekcje (języka) polskiego; uczęszczam na kurs (języka) polskiego; miałam interesującą lekcję o narzędniku; zrobiłem kurs "Polski w biznesie" w Po Polsku. 

      You can get familiar with our materials during the courses, but for the time being test your Polish on our FB profile. 

A FEW WORDS ON POLISH PISANKI (Easter eggs)

WHAT DO WE CALL EASTER EGGS IN POLISH?

The period before and after Easter is the perfect time to talk about Polish Easter tradtions in your Polish classes.
If we think „Easter“ we mustn’t forget coloured eggs called pisanki in Polish. They appear in Polish homes together with catkins (bazie, aka kotki, literally kittens, because they remind us of these fluffy animals), first spring flowers, garden cress (rzeżucha) and figures of bunnies (zajączki), chickens (kurczaczki) and a lamb (baranek). Traditionally, they are symbols of new life.

However, not everyone knows (it may be interesting for both foreigners and Polish native speakers) that the coloured eggs have different names depending on the technique used to make them.

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN „PISANKA” AND „KRASZANKA”

Pisanki were initially eggs on which the patterns were painted (pisane) with hot wax and which where next put into a homemade dye. Nowadays this name is used to talk about coloured Easter eggs in general.
The single coloured eggs are called kraszanki. Traditionally, natural dyes were used to colour them, such as onion skins to get red or bark of young apple trees to get golden colour.
You need to put a lot of effort into making a drapanka, which is made by scraping patterns in the soft layer of the egg shell. Oklejanki are eggs that have been covered with (oklejone) coloured pieces of fabric or yarn. The most challenging and time-consuming, however, are ażurki, which at first glance seem to be made of lace but are actually made from empty egg shells in which fine patterns are cut out.

This is a drapanka of course :) Check out our FB profile for more information on Easter traditions and the Polish language

No matter what name we call Easter eggs, they are beautiful items decorating Easter tables not only in Poland.

SAY "TAK" OR ABOUT DIFFERENT WAYS OF SAYING "TAK" IN POLISH.

(POSSIBLY) THE MOST POPULAR POLISH WORD
Keep calm, it’s not a post on matrimony. It’s just an innocent blog entry about how we can express consent and acceptance in Polish. Tak is perhaps the most popular Polish word. The majority of those who start learning the Polish language know it very well already even before the first lesson. We can, however, express consent in many ways, more on which you will hear during the Polish language courses. In the meantime, get familiar with a short list of alternative phrases.

SYNONYMS OF TAK IN THE POLISH LANGUAGE
Instead of tak, we can use the international ok, and also more Polish expressions: oczywiście, jasne, pewnie, naturalnie, owszem, właśnie, słusznie, faktycznie, rzeczywiście, spoko, wporzo. Rzecz jasna (it’s a synonym oczywiście!) between these phrases there are quite important differences. So, spoko is a colloquia expression, and wporzo is a slang word, used mainly by (very) young people in informal situations. Jasne and pewnie can mean an enthusiastic acceptance; we use właśnie, faktycznie, rzeczywiście when we agree with someone’s opinion or when we realise something after hearing someone’s opinion (Poles use very often the phrase  no, właśnie!); owszem is a higher register, an expression appearing mostly in written language, but also in speech during debates; naturalnie, is a tak which is old-fashioned, ceremonial, but which has its charm. .

NO IS NOT NO! WHAT DOES NO MEAN IN POLISH?
Some of the above expressions can raise confusion, but none of them as much as no does.  - Masz czas jutro?,  - No. /   - Rozmawialiśmy o tym.,  - No, tak! The person answering in the first dialogue is not saying that he or she doesn’t have time, on the contrary: in a very colloquial way, perhaps not very elegant-sounding but still popular, they confirm their availability. In the second dialogue, the person giving the answer firmly confirms that the conversation has taken place. In short, no is a very colloquial and nonchalant, though extremely frequently used by the Polish way to say tak.

                   Say tak and many other things with us! Practise your Polish on our FB profile

A FEW WORDS ABOUT RZECZY IN POLISH LANGUAGE

RZECZ IN POLISH LANGUAGE MEANS MORE THAN JUST A MATERIAL OBJECT
Today it’s going to be brief and do rzeczy (to the point), because I will tell you about the word rzecz.
The majority of foreigners learning Polish (If you are looking for an interesting Polish language course here, you will find some useful information.) get to know this word quite early on. It denotes an object and it’s very easy to translate it into another foreign language (die Sache in German, thing in English, or вещь in Russian). We say moje rzeczy (here, we usually use the plural form) when we refer to objects belonging to us. However, in Polish rzecz appears in contexts which go beyond this first, elementary meaning. In fact, we can often hear that someone has dużo rzeczy do zrobienia, that is someone has to tackle many issues or tasks (the word sprawy is also popular in Polish and one can use the expression zająć się wieloma sprawami in the same context).

Would you like to practise Polish language in an easy and pleasant way? Have a look at our FB profile.

WHO IS TALKING DO RZECZY?
If during a discussion about a certain topic someone starts digressing and drifting away from the original subject of the conversation, it’s enough to say: Do rzeczy, proszę and our interlocutor will quickly return to the interrupted thread. Mówić do rzeczy conveys as much as talking sense and straight to the point. Someone, who mówi od rzeczy, says something unrelated to the subject matter and often what is said doesn’t make sense. Yet, when that someone realises it and we begin to hear meaningful and interesting words, we can comment: Teraz mówisz do rzeczy. Likewise, we can describe sensible people, good ideas and anything that makes sense as będące do rzeczy, while when we want to express the contrary, we describe these people, ideas and issues as będące od rzeczy.

WHAT ELSE IS GOOD TO KNOW ABOUT RZECZY IN THE POLISH LANGUAGE?
People that call a spade a spade, nazywają rzeczy po imieniu, and rzeczą oczywistą jest (there is no doubt about) that the communication with them is brief, succinct, but also difficult.

Polish has endowed rzecz with multiple meanings. This small word can stand for an object, a task, an activity or a subject of a conversation. Cała rzecz w tym (literally: the whole thing is, meaning: the point is) to remember to always use rzeczy do rzeczy :).

ON THE TRAIL OF THE LETTER Y

POLISH ALPHABET - LETTER Y
It’s going to be a very short text about a very intriguing letter. Y – the twenty-ninth letter of the Polish alphabet intrigues many students of Polish language courses. The most surprising thing for them turns out to be the fact that in Polish Y never occurs at the beginning of a word except for loanwords (Yeti, Yale, yuppie, Yamaha). In Polish, we read this letter as [i] with the exception of words such as Ypsilon and ylid, when it is pronounced as [y].

Y or I?
Foreigners speaking Polish frequently confuse [i] and [y]. When speaking and writing in Polish we have to keep in mind that in the Polish language there are no letter compounds such as - ly - ,  - ky - ,  - gy -  (exceptions are dialects or for instance the word kynolog), but only  - li  -,  - ki - ,  - gi - (linia, kino, ginekolog, gimnastyka, gigantyczny, oni byli/rozmawiali). It is particularly important when one faces a dilemma over the choice of the ending for a feminine singular genitive or a plural nominative. We say therefore dwie puszki kukurydzy, torebka Agnieszki, dwa pociągi. We also have to remember that in Polish there are compounds  - łi - , but only  - ły -  (i.e.,  łyżka, łykać, łyżwy, były, rozmawiały) do not exist, either.  We also never use [y] as an equivalent of the conjunction [i]. So we mustn’t write kawa y herbata, but exclusively kawa i herbata. This last mistake is quite typical of the students from Spain and Italy :)

                                                       You can test your Polish on our FB profile

CONVERSATIONS ABOUT SNOW IN POLISH

EXPANDING POLISH VOCABULARY
The time has come when apart from carnival parties, keeping New Year’s resolutions (such as taking a course of Polish as a foreign language – you can find more information about the courses here), conversations about … snow begin to take place.
Frequently, during Polish lessons, the students seeing whirling, white flakes outside the window ask: How do you say it in Polish? Today we would like to present a handful of practical phrases so that you can be prepared for the winter season also in terms of language.

WHEN IT SNOWS, OR HOW TO SAY IT IN POLISH
Śnieg pada. However, the Polish language is very precise in terms of the white fluff. Pada śnieg indicates that the precipitation is neither too heavy nor too light. When the snow falling from the clouds on the ground is fine grained and there is not too much of it, we say prószy śnieg. And when the flakes become large and it starts to snow heavily, we will say that śnieg sypie.
After all those weak and heavy precipitations, we have to odśnieżyć, that is to remove the snow from steps, doormats, pavements, streets, cars, etc.
All this is fine as long as there is mróz, that is the temperature is below zero. It’s worse when it turns warmer. Next the white fluff starts melting, and odwilż comes. Then, on the streets and pavements, appears an even and smooth layer of ice. We call this phenomenon gołoledź. If you happen to go to your Polish class in such weather, make sure to check whether the pavement is posypany with sand. And when you finally reach the place safely, you will be able to boast that you know what gołoledź 
means.

                              You can find more of the Polish language trivia on our FB profile .

CHARMS OF POLISH WINTER 
Luckily, low temperature has its charms as well. After a frosty night szron appears on the windowpanes, bus stops and trees, which can be seen in the beautiful images created by nature from needle ice.
It is best, from point of view of safety, to zeskrobać szron that settled on our car’s windshield. The well prepared for this situation car drivers use a special skrobaczka. Those who don’t have them often reach for anything they happen to have at hand, e.g.: for … credit cards:)
Anther winter phenomenon is szadź, which picturesquely wraps tree branches with ice crystals. How do you tell the difference between szadź and szron? The best thing to do is to go outside on the streets and listen to the words the Polish use.

We hope that after reading this text you have enriched your winter-related vocabulary.

PARTIES AND BALLS, OR ON TERMINOLOGY FOR SOCIAL GATHERINGS IN THE POLISH LANGUAGE

NEW YEAR`S RESOLUTION – POLISH LANGUAGE LESSONS
The beginning of the year is a time not only to think of New Year’s resolutions (perhaps one of them will be a Polish language course), but also to take full advantage of carnival. It is also a good opportunity to discuss, in the framework of learning Polish, what all kinds of social gatherings are called in Polish. Let’s start with carnival.

BALLS, PARTIES, RECEPTIONS – HOW DO THEY DIFFER?
Bal is of course an elegant, very formal, social gathering with gourmet food and dancing and where you are obliged to follow a formal dress code. In contrast to the French language, the Polish bal refers only to formal social gatherings. If a gathering has an informal character: with casual clothes and quite spontaneous rules of functioning, it is just called impreza. Impreza – depending on what we are celebrating, has still other names, but more on that in a moment. However, not every formal gathering with music and elegant clothes is bal. If an event takes place at an embassy and the participating guests are officially invited and are required to wear formal gowns, there is music (but then again without dancing) and a glass of champagne (or good wine), it is called przyjęcie. Obviously, such a reception can take place at any other institution or a private house.

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NAMES FOR INFORMAL PARTIES (IMPREZY) - PARAPETÓWKI AND PĘPKOWE
Let’s return, however, to somewhat less formal gatherings. If a party (impreza) is organised on the night of the 31st of December and 1st of January, we call it sylwester (from saint Sylwester, whose name day falls on that night); we also have urodziny (when we celebrate the event of someone’s birth a given number of years ago) and imieniny. The latter type of a party is a Polish speciality. The older we get, the more we prefer to celebrate our imieniny instead of urodziny that expose our age:). We celebrate our imieniny on a day that in catholic calendar falls on the saint’s day whose name we bear. The celebration itself has no religious character whatsoever. Impreza on the occasion of moving to another house is called parapetówka (from the word parapet, presumably, to stress the fact that at the new place there are still many things missing and therefore the windowsill has a more important function than usual); impreza during which a fledgling father celebrates with his pals the birth of his child is called pępkowe (from the word pępek - a navel); pre-wedding parties for women and men are called  wieczór panieński (a hen night) and kawalerski (a stag night), respectively; a Christmas gathering is called opłatek  - a communion wafer (from the act of sharing a communion wafer with each other), and a get-together just before Easter is often called caressingly jajeczko - small egg (from the custom of sharing an with each other a boiled egg). Impreza taking place on the day of sint Andrew is a popular party called andrzejki (it’s an occasion for telling fortune, and for those who are more religious, it’s the last opportunity to dance before the approaching Advent), and the ostatki - literally it means remains or leftovers -  (or zapusty) is the last chance for some carnival fun before Lent (fasting period in preparation for Easter) comes.

As you can see, with or without religion in the background, there are a whole lot of opportunities for a pleasant celebration. Find the time for it between your Polish language lessons. All the best in the New Year!!!