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).

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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.