PIWO - RELATED VOCABULARY

Holiday season is the perfect time to talk about the favorite drink of many Poles and not only Poles - beer. Piwo (beer) is often one of the first words foreigners learn. Not only those who have been attending Polish language courses, but also those who, at least for now, are not planning to do so. In short, everyone knows the phrase: Proszę małe/ duże piwo (Small/large beer please).

HOW TO INVITE SOMEONE FOR A BEER? SOME PRACTICAL TIPS
Naturally, if you want to invite some of your Polish and non-Polish friends to a bar you can always say:

Zapraszam na piwo
(literally: I’m inviting you for a beer)

but... CAREFUL... it means then that YOU are going to pay for it. If you really want to treat someone you can also say:

Idziemy na piwo?/ Chodźmy na piwo! Ja stawiam. 
(Shall we go for beers?/Let’s go for beers! My treat.)

You can also ask:

Masz ochotę na piwo? (Do you fancy a beer?)
Pójdziemy do pubu?  (Shall we go to a pub?)
Chciał(a)byś iść na piwo?  (Would you like to go for beers?)

                                   Are you going out for beers? More practical Polish vocabulary on our FB page

IMPORTANT SYNONYM OF THE WORD PIWO

Do not be surprised if one of your Polish friends says:

Idziemy na browar(a)/ Wypiliśmy browar(a)/ Kupiliśmy dwa browary. 

(Let’s go for a brew/We’ve had a brew/We’ve got two brews)

In the modern Polish language the word browar (brewery) is not only a place where beer is brewed but is also a slang synonym of the noun piwo. The term warzyć piwo (to brew beer) refers not only to the production of beer, but is also a part of the popular idiom nawarzyłeś sobie piwa, to teraz musisz je wypić (literally: you have brewed the beer, so now you must drink it), which means that you have caused trouble and now you must bear the consequences.
Pubs where we drink beer are often located in cellars (piwnice). Both these nouns are connected because the cellar (piwnica) was simply a cool place to store beer (piwo) and other foodstuffs.

                                      Piłam piwo or wypiłam piwo? Click here for more on Polish verb conjugations

When we’re leaving a pub or any other dining places and we are satisfied with the service we can leave napiwek (a tip). Unfortunately, this word has recently been more and more frequently replaced by the English word tip. It’s also worth noting that the noun piwo derives from the verb pić (to drink) and it used to mean the same as a ... drink. Over time, however, its meaning narrowed down to the fermented drink of hops, yeast, water and malt.

Na zdrowie!
Cheers!