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.
