POLISH VALENTINE’S DAY. VALENTINE’S DAY ALL YEAR

Although Valentine’s Day was yesterday, we came to the conclusion that our mini-glossary of words related to emotions might still be useful. Especially with spring approaching... Today we are going to show you how to express your feelings in Polish without exaggeration and pretentiousness. Let’s start with THAT WORD...

KOCHAM CIĘ (I love you),

which is unique and used on special occasions. It is used to declare LOVE (MIŁOŚĆ) to people close to us. This word is powerfull! In Polish you don’t really say „kocham tę książkę“ (I love this book), "kocham ten film" (I love this film). This kind of confessions sound overenthusiastic, artificial and pretentious. If you want to emphasize that we like something (or someone) very very much you can use the verb...

UWIELBIAM  ( I love, adore)

książki tego autora (books by this author), muzykę klasyczną (classical music), grać w tenisa (playing tennis), Cię za to jaki jesteś/ jaka jesteś (you for who you are). As you can see, this verb refers to both hobbies and people. Not only will this verb allow you to express your strong feelings for someone but also comment enthusiastically about your favourite activities.

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But let’s get back to emotions. If you don’t feel deep affection for someone but simply have a liking for them, or when you are not that passionate about your hobbies, the word LUBIĘ (I like) is enough. Unlike in some other languages (e.g. French or Russian), this word in Polish is perfectly neutral. LUBIĘ Agnieszkę, Marcina, kino amerykańskie, uprawiać sport, pić zimne piwo etc. (I like Agnieszka, Marcin, American cinema, doing sport, drinking cold beer, etc.). If Agnieszka or Marcin become more than just friends to you and you will ask them out for a romantic dinner, you can then say

PODOBASZ MI SIĘ (I like),

podobają mi się Twoje oczy,podobają mi się Twoje włosy i podoba mi się, jak i co do mnie mówisz (I like your eyes, I like your hair and I like the way you talk to me). However, you should be careful when using this verb since it may cause misunderstanding. Check here for more on that.

Once you have won the heart of your Polish beloved, you may want to look for a Polish course so as to learn how to say more nice things.