Englishman Reacts to... What is weird in Polish for the foreigners? Mówiąc Inaczej

As someone trying to learn Polish, I can relate to some of these!
Original: • Co obcokrajowców dziwi...
‪@mowiacinaczej‬
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#poland #polish #learnpolish

[@wojstube9359]

Co za hardkorowy język. Dobrze, że już go znam 😉

[@riesabass]

Szkoda, że tego samego nie mogą o sobie powiedzieć chociażby 'nasi' politycy... :v

[@7Askay7]

Czy aby na pewno? ;)

[@bazejk609]

No po tym co usłyszałem o liczebniku dopelniaczowym czy jak mu tam było to się kurwa zastanawiam czy na pewno znam

[@Aa-dz4um]

😂😂

[@BlackWolf6420]

Hahahahhahaha

[@BeataBeata-v8i]

"no tak" means 'well yes'. "No" is informal 'yes' (not too polite version), but in some context shows hesitation for example "No nie wiem" = 'I'm not sure', "Nie wiem"='I don't know'. "Chcieć" = want, "Mieć ochotę" = want/fancy for

[@walterweiss7124]

maybe "no" is from czech "ano" (yes)?

[@kopernik_elfka]

@@walterweiss7124 I think it's not. Because we sometimes use "ano" - like "ano tak" = "cóż, oh tak" (EN: well yes, oh yes), but it's rather archaic.

[@leno_o17]

​​​@@walterweiss7124 yes! Or rather, "ano" is a common word in the West Slavic languages. Moreover, "ano" itself is a shortened version from "to je ono" (lit. "that's it"), the archaic way of saying "yes". The meaning evolved slightly in Polish, and we started using "tak" (which was originally an adverb) as a simple "yes", while "ano" and "no"were relegated to other roles.

[@--tuberose--]

The point is that Polish "no" has nothing in common with English "no". Polish "no" may be used in place of "yes". In informal converstation. And in many other meanings 😁 As you said it may express hesitation ("no nie wiem..."), it may be kind of reinforcement ("no pewnie!", "no jasne!"). Some people say it when they search for a word ("Nooooo.......), some when somebody tells a long story to conifrm from time to time that they are listenning ("nooo.. No....") etc.etc. 🙂

[@kryokori]

​​​​@@walterweiss7124 I strongly believe that's the case, to me its an evolved form of western slavic "ano" while "tak" would have evolved from a mix of latin/baltic(Lithuanian) influences it could have been used as a common bilingual double "yes" phrase during the times we were not separated ethnically (in few centuries of PLC)

[@kamilstenzel3929]

One thing that makes me irrationally angry is that "Dariusz" and "Darek" are the same name, but "Mariusz" and "Marek" are not.

[@szkotszkot2549]

Mariusz is from latin Marius but Marek is from latin Marcus

[@mickk989]

No shit Sherlock 😂 ​@@szkotszkot2549

[@xDarwex]

Nie ma imienia Darek w polskim języku. Darek to tylko odmiana słowa Dariusz, jak Daruś, Dareczek itp., itd

[@mickk989]

@@xDarwexthank you cpt obvious

[@SolariusScorch]

@@mickk989 Admittedly, this may not be so obvious to a foreigner... And I think there is a non-trivial percentage of them here.

[@butlazgazempropan-butan11k87]

"Umieć" and "potrafić" is more like "can" and "be able to"

[@krzysiekasdgrewr6010]

Can - móc , możesz coś umieć np strzelać do imigrantów ale czy możesz ? A czy umiesz śpiewać, czy potrafisz zaśpiewać?

[@hetmankp]

Umie is a bit more like "capable of". Can is closer to "móc". These words just don't map cleanly between Polish and English.

[@Petrus74-yj4kv]

The difference between 'umiec' and 'potrafić' is very subtle and they're often treated as synonyms. I'd say that 'umieć' is knowing how to do something' while 'potrafić' is more like being able/capable of doing sth, having the required skill/ability. That's how I see it.

[@annafirnen4815]

I would add that you "umiesz" something if you actually learned how to do it but "potrafisz" if you just have a general ability, regardless if you practiced it or not. "Umiem pływać" (I can swim) -> I learned how to do it, "Potrafię zasnąć wszędzie" (I can fall asleep anywhere) -> My body just can do that.

[@malgorzatamakowska9910]

Mieszkam za granica I operuje innym jezykiem..teraz dopiero zaczynam zdawać sobie sprawę jak zawikłany jest jezyk polski jezeli chcemy znać go dobrze.mysle ,że po prostu tak mnie Mama i Tata nauczyli ...byli nauczycielami z zawodu jak i reszta rodziny, niemal wszyscy..wiec pomyslcie jak ie bylo moje życie ( intelektualnie )😅😅

[@reconquista1911]

@@annafirnen4815 "umiesz pływać" vs "potrafisz przepłynąć rzekę" - in this second case it's about particular river, not that you can swim through any river. On the other side I can imagine someone say "potrafię przeskakiwać przez płoty" - which means that he has this exceptional skill of jumping throught the fences. We could say it about the dog. In your case "Umiem zasypiać na żądanie" sounds legit as well, but for "zasnąć wszędzie" "potrafię" fits better. Now I think the difference is also about perfective (for portafić) vs imperfective verbs (for umieć).

[@jarosawklejnocki6633]

I don't know if you've already reached this point when learning Polish, but since Polish is an inflected language, the order of our sentences is "free but not any". Therefore, you can easily say "apple cider" as in English and it won't be a mistake, at most it will sound a bit old-school to some people, or they will think that you are from the east of Poland :) Don't worry at all, unless you want to speak Polish like a native. And you would have to make mistakes anyway, because that's what 80% of Poles do. I also work at the University of Warsaw and sometimes conduct language classes for foreigners. I once asked what they remembered most from my classes. And one Italian replied: "You often repeated the sentence - >" :)

[@riesabass]

you treat eastern Poland as a medieval museum? thanks...

[@jarosawklejnocki6633]

@@riesabass simply, the tendency to inversely structure sentences or expressions is quite characteristic of the language in these regions

[@edwardkeats5537]

But who would say "apple cider" in English ? Isn't this a maslo maslane, given that all cider is made from apples?

[@jarosawklejnocki6633]

@@edwardkeats5537 I only referred to the example provided by Rob, as I understand it, it's not about the cider, but about the word order in the sentence :)

[@beheroot]

@@edwardkeats5537 yea, and then comes that thing, PEAR CIDER, because f. us ;) Quite good actually ;) Idk what makes cider cider, but that is actually name of that beverage printed on its bottle. YT cuts out links so google "lubelski cydr gruszkowy" :P

[@marcinpietrzak9358]

Names can often be in diminutive form and short form at the same time. It's often a two step process that's why it is not so obvious: Joanna -> Joasia -> Asia. We don't shorten Joanna -> Anna because it's a different name, but Anna -> Ania (first step only). Same with Małgorzata -> Małgosia -> Gosia.

[@izabellakaliszka4804]

Ola is Aleksandra, becuse it was from earlier form Oleksandra, thats how it Ola still stuck, when Aleksandra got slightly different sound

[@cyberagent008]

Russians have Sasha as dimunitive for Aleksandra/Alexander. It is even more unexpected, I think.

[@Piasecznik72]

Robert = Bob, William = Bill quite far from being just short version. Also "No" in polish is far from being "No - negative". It is like informal confirmation or strengthening word. It is almost never used in writing. It may also be used as a continuation punctuation word or when speaker needs just a second more to think about next word.

[@wolnyczowiek8705]

I didn't know Bill is William, I thought these are two different names. So Bill Clinton and Bill Gates are truly William Clinton and William Gates?

[@lollylula6399]

In the past in England, as well as the ones you mention, we also used to have common shortened names - Edward = Ted/Teddy, John = Jack, James = Jim/Jimmy, Catherine = Kit/Kitty, Elizabeth = Bet/Betty, Margaret = Peg/Peggy, Dorothy = Dot/Dotty.

[@Elric5000]

Sebastian is usually Seba for us here in Poland :D

[@sebastian-ic1mz]

Recently Sebix ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[@katarzynagrygierczyk682]

Or Bastek

[@joana-up3iy]

She said that in Germany they shortened to Basti not in Poland

[@renegadosPL]

Respect that you are watching Paulina's channel, her Polish is quite complex. Good luck with learning Polish!

[@cyberagent008]

I would not worry about zlotych vs zlote. People will always understand "zloty". There are more important things to learn. However, she explaned that in general we have 2,3,4 zlote and 5,6,7,8,9, ... 21 zlotych.

[@izabellakaliszka4804]

Mówiąc inaczej is wonderful channel for you! Paulina is speaking slowly, very clearly, intresting and you will learn so much, so watch more often!

[@thomasturski2837]

As for the examples of diminutive names given by the lady in the video, they are quite logical: Joanna -> Joasia -> Asia Małgorzata -> Małgosia -> Gosia and similar Krystyna -> Krysia Katarzyna ->Kasia Zofia -> Zosia Barbara - > Basia

[@123voy321]

Joanna -> Joasia -> Asia -> Asieńka Małgorzata -> Małgosia - Gosia -> Gosieńka 🤣🤣

[@jarlfenrir]

A weź tu wytłumacz dlaczego William to Bill albo Robert to Bob :P

[@kopernik_elfka]

Mnie bardziej już dziwią zdrobnienia: Jadwiga - Jadzia, August - Gucio, Leokadia - Lodzia.

[@TheKukuryk]

Ja się całe życie zastanawiam czemu Aleksandra to nie Ala tylko Ola. Moim zdaniem Ola powinni być dla Oliwii i Olgi. A Ala dla Alicji, Aliny i Aleksandry. Btw Aleksandra to moje imię, stąd te dziwne rozważania.

[@beheroot]

@@kopernik_elfka i na to wchodzi "Iga/Isia" jako zdrobnienie od Jadwigi, całe na biało ;)

[@Piotr-bh5yx]

About this beautiful lady whose video you are commenting on, it was once said among students in Poland that if her hands were cut off, she would talk half as much. This is of course a joke! (Because you also like to gesture.) 😁😁😁 Seriously, I am a 65-year-old Pole who has always been in love with the Polish language. I never claimed to have mastered the Polish language properly! Currently, I have more time to learn the secrets of this extraordinary language - maybe I will write a book about it. Regards!

[@beheroot]

Maybe she has some italian ancestors?:D

[@Andrusism]

3:43 - we (the Poles) might do the same by saying "slumsy", when word "slums" is already plural, I think. The "y" at the end of words in Polish is mostly added to plural forms.

[@Milka_Kuz]

The word order in sentence is also what frustrates Polish when we learn English. It is completely different. e.g. we can translate Spanish literally, word for word, so it means that it is English, which acctually stands out from norm here :D

[@charko4191]

not sure If you got the candle part? Basicaly znicz is the thing you put a candle into and put on a grave...so Yeah It's would be pretty weird to get one as a gift. Candle in polish would be świeczka or świeca

[@AlanNoNamePlayer]

Or "najczęściej biały, woskowy słup, który się zapala, by ten się później zmniejszał". Glad to help. :)

[@riesabass]

@@AlanNoNamePlayer pure gold :D

[@tomecki9392]

A lil tip: "do widzenia" is a bit of formal, like if you used "good bye" in full and well pronounced way. If not used in formal situation, "do widzenia" may (but don't have to) be seen as emotionally cold, and maybe even a bit rude. For non official situations many Poles will be using "do zobaczenia" (means the same, but it's more like "see you later/soon"). Both can be mixed together in "do widzenia, do zobaczenia" if someone is unsure if they can be less formal, but don't want to be too formal ;) but there are a lot of other, strictly informal terms like "nara", "narka", "siema" (that one can also be used for greeting someone, sometimes as a "bye" it can be extended to "no to siema" as well as most other mentioned options, ie. "dobra, no to nara/narka/na razie/etc." meaning sth like "okay, so bye now").

[@kopernik_elfka]

and extremely formal and a bit offensive is "żegnam".

[@riesabass]

@@kopernik_elfka nah... extremely formal in some situations is 'spierdalaj!' :v

[@ewalechowicz2666]

​@@riesabass😂😂😂😂

[@Filczek]

I still don't get why people say "siema" as a goodbye. In my mind "siema" is a short form of "jak się masz" (how are you?).

[@Yoanka]

@@Filczek "Siema" doesn't actually mean "jak się masz" the way it's used, though. Same as the English "sup" ("what's up" in full) is not an invitation to even the customary "fine thank you", just a greeting - the people who use the shortened phrase don't connect it to the full one it originated from.

[@arturniedzielski7358]

About the word "no", which, as you already know, Rob, means confirmation in our language - now an anecdote. Some time ago, the famous slogan "No to racism" appeared on football pitches... which in Polish literally means yes to racism.

[@Clistes]

I would rather day No to rasizm - rasizm it is.

[@alanwie7yt386]

​@@Clistes no to ma troche więcej sensu bo raczej nie tłumaczysz w tego typu zdaniach słowa "no" tak dosłownie jako "tak" tylko interpretujesz jako coś w stylu właśnie no to (jest) rasizm

[@januszlepionko]

​​@@alanwie7yt386 Ciekawie brzmi dla Polaka slogan reklamowy firmy Osram w języku hiszpańskim: Osram - toda mi luz.

[@MegaDobieDog]

With the words "potrafić" i "umieć" it's fairly the same story as with "can" and "may" in English. "Can I ... May I", two different words meaning approximately the same but used to express something else depending on the context. Or Much and Many would be even greater example. As for a Chip and Cracker Both are Neologisms taken from English and both refer to a single object. A plural for those would be "Chipsy" "Krakersy", unless you count the specific number of them than it's "Chipsów" "Krakresów" from 5 upwards, or if you're referring to the whole pack of them. "Hand me those chips" - "Podaj mi te Chipsy", "Hand me that pack of chips" "Podaj mi paczkę chipsów"

[@Vicky19463]

Hi! As someone who's a native Polish speaker and is currently learning Korean and Russian, please don't worry about being able to remember when to say for example złoty, złotych or złote. Native speakers intuitively know these complex rules because they have been exposed to their language their entire lives. Your brain needs to be exposed to the language is so many different context over a period of time to be able to form connections in your brain that provide you with this intuitive knowledge 😊 you're doing great! Powodzenia z nauką języka polskiego!

[@d4n737]

Znać - To be familiar with something personally, a person or a concept. This could also apply to roads you use. It's both your relationships and applied knowledge. Wiedzieć - Simply to know, to possess the information about something The difference is "knowing something" and "knowing about something" And of course, there is an overlap - You can "Znać" the road to get to the train station and you can "Wiedzieć" how to get there. one describes a thing (in this case, the road is that thing you know) and the other describes the knowledge itself (How to get there) I know that the art of teaching is to explain something complicated in a simple way, but I'm kinda afraid that if I dumb it down too much, people are going to say that I'm making it too simple. But, yes, in essence it's a difference in "knowing something" and "knowing about", and a beginner needn't to bog their head down with specifics such as what a descriptive concept is. Let's keep it simple for now

[@Lunaanimedrawingchannel2]

Also in other languages like French (connaître, savoir ), Dutch (kennen, weten) or Spanish (conozcar, saber) these two words are also different verbs, so i feel like it's more about English having one word for everything

[@AntiDolty6761]

"No" is a short form from Czech "ano".

[@TechnikZaba]

I highly recommend the film, "How to Speak So that You're Listened to?" (Jak mówić, żeby nas słuchano?) Prof. Jerzy Bralczyk

[@jarlfenrir]

16:25 it's not about word order but about suffixes. "Rok świni" and "świni rok" would be interpreted exactly the same (year of the pig), although first one is more common. "Świnia roku" and "roku świnia" also means the same thing (pig of the year) however the first option is more common.

[@geeka]

Yes and all of them are correct, but some are more common, like you said.

[@alansand1436]

In Polish adjectives normally go before nouns. However, to make a fixed phrase signifying a larger semantic cathegory, a set of particular items, we put adjective after the noun. That is why you have piękna kobieta (beautiful woman) but odzież sportowa (sportware) or żywność bezglutenowa (gluten-free food)

[@geeka]

@@alansand1436 You seem like you know what you're talking about, however you can't say -"kobieta piękna"- , only "piękna kobieta" is correct. Yet "odzież sportowa" and "sportowa odzież" are both absolutely correct, same as "żywność bezglutenowa" and "bezglutenowa żywność".

[@SolariusScorch]

@@geeka Technically you can say "kobieta piękna" in a situation where you categorize women by their attractiveness and make them different semantic entities (women of high attractiveness, women of average attractiveness and women of low attractiveness, for example). Which is a bizarre and fantastical concept, which would only make sense in some social fiction, but it's not gramatically incorrect.

[@geeka]

@@SolariusScorch As you said, it's a "bizarre and fantastical concept", so let's not confuse foreigners.

[@bb79video]

When it comes to numerals and which form to use, there is a relatively simple algorithm to use. For each noun, you have three forms: singular/nominative ("złoty"), plural/nominative ("złote"), and plural/genitive ("złotych"). The first form is used only for a single item (1 zł = "jeden złoty"), the second form is used whenever the number ends in 2, 3, or 4, unless the second digit (if one exists) is 1. Therefore for 2, 3, 4, 22, 23, 24, 32, 33, 34, ..., 102, 103, 104, 122, 123, 124, 222, 1234 the form would be "złote". In all other cases you say the third form ("złotych") so this applies to 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14 , 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 25, 26 ... 100, 101, 105, 106, 107, 108, 109, 110, 111, 112, etc.

[@Artur-Wielgus]

Great video, Rob! I am familiar with the topic, as I'm a Pole living in London. Languages - that's my environment as I'm a writer and musician. English is sometimes tricky as well, I'll give you that, but it's beautiful!

[@MrMalu01]

Mówiąc Inaczej ❤ nie spodziewałem się

[@szogunet]

I lern English in a different way. i watch films by English and American people on topics that i know very well (eg. carpentry, blacksmithing, metallurgy and i listen to them) and i also watch English-speaking people commenting on Polish films. (i understend new words from the context) Every now and then i pauses and repeat what they said. When ever posible, i include English subtitles. Im not good, but i try. I think so many yuor fan du this

[@Wojciech_Zielinski]

The book title "Survival Polish" is like "Survival in the jungle" 🤣

[@alanwie7yt386]

Tak jakbyś przechodził przez piekło czytając i uczyć sie tego

[@Yoanka]

The book doesn't start with greetings, saying what your name is or whatever. Page 1 tells you that if a guy in a sweatshirt asks you "who you're behind" when you're walking around at night, you're not supposed to say there's no one in front of you, but strain your eyes to recognize the color of his striped scarf.

[@MikrySoft]

I always drove my English and Polish teachers crazy because while I knew which grammatical form to use (and sometimes even knew what they were called), I rarely knew why. it just sounded correct, so that was the correct answer. Maybe because I started watching tv shows in English, first with subtitles and later got too impatient to wait for them and got some version of learning by immersion. Too bad I'm not absorbing Japanese the same way now.

[@fluffpawz]

omg literally same!! bonus points as i’m learning Japanese currently too :)

[@booboss]

I think that the difference is between "can" and "may". I can do something (physically) and I may not to (by social norms). The best example is when student asks the teacher if he CAN go to beathroom and teacher repliies that he "CAN" but "MAY NOT" to. It simply shows that while he can (physically) he may not because of culture or school norms. And that's the difference. However though "umieć" i "potrafić" has different meanings and it goes WAYYY further. "Umieć" something means you're capable of doing something. "Potrafić" something means that you're not only capable of doing something but also can use this in applicable situations when this "umijętność" fits the need of situation and you can use it accordingly. So being able to do something doesn't mean you do somethining when it's actually needed or "well used" at the moment. Or just fits a situation. While "potrafić" fits the situation well with your "umiejętność" to use it when it's actually needed. And then you "potrafisz" to use it is particular situation.

[@ninnat_]

I can't help but be amazed by your pronunciation! I remember in your older videos you were trying but your polish sounded very english if you know what i mean, but now it sounds spot on and natural. Very proud at the progress you've made! As a pole I'm very flattered that people are interested in our language and culture, so thank you

[@Sylkis89]

Umie - can (as in, has the skill to do it, knows how to do it) Potrafi - is capable of

[@elqrczako]

Check this out, for Poles this is completely clear dialogue: - No nie yes tak? (isn't it so?) - No tak! (yes, it is!) Yep, I changed written "jest" to "yes", because it makes it more confusing, but of course sounds almost the same.

[@PaweMateuszBytner]

Ad names: before one asks why Aleksandra turns to Ola, they should explain why William turns to Bill, Robert turns into Bob or Margaret turns into Peggy. OP's response on that is really weird - there are "logical frames" on making diminutives, especially for some of those mentioned by her. There are just many various ways you can modify the same noun. Heck, you can stack diminutives on the same word ad infinitum. Before Małgorzata becomes Gosia it goes through Małgosia, which is a diminutive made through a common pattern (it is almost THE way to make a diminutive out of a name). So it is first a diminutive (Joanna->Joasia, Antonina->Antosia, Małgorzata->Małgosia) and then it is shortened (Asia, Tosia, Gosia). Those are kinda unique because you shorten them after already making a diminutive. Shortenning names by dropping initial syllables (like Germans do with Bastian) isn't that common, but beside those we also have Urszula->Ula for example Ad word order: it conveys a meaning sporadically and if so it might be a rather subtle difference, most often switching order means you want to underline something. The key thing is inflexion. If you say "Świni Rok" it might sound uncommon, but would be interpreted the same as "Rok Świni". The first one could be for example used to emphasize a correction: if someone mentioned something like "Miesiąc Świni" (Month of the Pig) but it is actually whole year then you can correct by emphisizing "Rok" with tone alone, but switching the order also gives an emphasis. Worth noting that this is somewhat blurry and there is no *need* to use that. Just remember to pay attention to the form of the words first. By the way, you would more often put the pig in front of the year if you turn it into an adjective "Świniowy" or "Świński". The first one has sole meaning of "belonging to a pig", the second one however can also be interpreted literally as "piglike", and further as "naughty" or "nasty". Still, "Świński Rok" means the same as "Rok Świński".

[@GdzieJestNemo]

re syntax - due to having a case system we can shift word order almost however we want without changing the meaning. It will only impact emphasis and aesthetics.

[@kandarayun]

Wpłynie to jedynie na estetykę i nacisk. Na nacisk i estetykę jedynie wpłynie to. To wpłynie jedynie na estetykę i nacisk. Jedynie na nacisk i estetykę to wpłynie... Faktycznie. To dalej ma sens... Nawet jeśli źle brzmi

[@GdzieJestNemo]

@@kandarayun czy brzmi zle zalezy od tego jak zaintonujesz i w jakim kontekscie osadzisz zdanie w szerszej wypowiedzi.

[@anyas2002]

Just to let you know about the difference between " do zobaczenia" means see you really soon like same day later or next day, " do widzenia" more like not being sure when, I'll see you when , I see you " , but not "zegnaj " which means farewell, I might never see you again.

[@ozdawizz]

Ahhh, this takes me back to the beginnings of my "foreign language" adventure. I know I am making a lot of errors, some spelling, some grammar, but what my first tutor has told me, is the golden rule for me. There are people who learn languages like they were robots. Picks up on every detail, remember when and what to say effortless. Those are rare breed. All others need to learn and learn, and don't focus on how, you'll pick it up eventually. Imagine you are a child learning to speak, you repeat sounds after others around you, you don't think what to speak, but speak what you think (or try to), in time you'll get better and better, until you are "fluent". Like a newborn learn to "think in a language" it is learning from parents you must try to think in the language you are learning, forget logic, what is logical for you in your language, may not be in another. (more or less what he said) And still I think it's true, the more you think about why, you spend less time to actually try to speak. Ordinary learner should leave questions like "how" and "why" to later at a basic level and on the advanced rules, only if you are curious and want to attempt and pass an egzam in future.

[@ElektronikArzt]

As for swapping places, it will sound unusual, but it still will be understandable if you use correct form. Świnia roku vs rok świni is competely different because of roku vs rok, less because of order.

[@DeamonSorrow]

I met both forms - Seba and Bastian for Sebastian so I don't know.

[@KWG-ln4on]

In German Bastian or Basti is the actual short form or diminutive. In English it's rather Seb or Seba.

[@KamilsView]

The Polish word "No" is simply an emphasise of the positive, or just an emphasis of what follows. It could also be use to give the speaker some time to think while not being silent.

[@filmowczynia]

Haha, you completely misunderstood what she was meaning with "no tak". Because "no" doesn't mean "nie". It means "yes" :DD

[@Maciejukaszewicz]

Rob, regarding "złoty": you need to take it as an adjective (means "golden") rather that as an noun. And then all rules will be on place :).

[@MrPiter48]

14:52 - That guy probably never tasted gin.

[@piotrp1821]

I'd say that "znać" means to recognise, asssociate and know someone or something because one had an opportunity to meet, speak, read or come across somebody or something personally - such a combo - so, "znać" embodies a real and physical knowledge of someone of something. Wiedzieć is an abstract term that means "to have knolwedge about sth" or to know sth about sth / someone, but it is mainly indirectly gained knowledge about someone or something e.g. someone told me about something, or i read about something but never met.

[@shabanasty1245]

In the Polish language, the cases inflection means that the order of the sentence is not necessary to convey its meaning. In principle, words can be in any order in a sentence thanks to inflection by cases, which is impossible in English. The sentence "A man sees a lion" can be written in Polish in any order and it will always mean the same: 1) Człowiek widzi lwa 2) Widzi lwa człowiek. 3) Lwa widzi człowiek 4) Łwa czlowiek widzi. All these sentences means the same thing because the words are in specific cases, order is practically irrelevant. Cases will be the hardest think for you to learn, because you dont have them in English.

[@dawidm8999]

Books for learning English for the beginners - "Easy English", "English is fun". Book for learning Polish for the beginners - "Survival Polish" xD

[@biochogl]

In Polish „no” is short form from „ano” meaning yes, just like Czech and Slovak language ano, so „no tak” means like yeah yes, to underline „tak”, but you can also say „no nie” to underline „nie”, but using only „no” means just the same as „ano” or „tak”, just to say „yes”, and actually there is nothing strange in „no” (short o in pronantiation) because it is from pre old western Slavic „ano”. „Ano” alone sounds a bit old fashion or even a little like from village dialect in modern Polish, and we usually just use „no” to say „tak” shorter informal way („no” in formal does not look nice) or use it to express „tak” or „nie” stronger.

[@romek4794]

Foreign languages make ma laugh very often, like in spanish, dinnero = money - I am completely clashed with that ;P What I think is very important when learning languages is to remember that when we think that one word has many meanings, usually it's not true. Just, for native speakers, it means what it means and in your native language there is no word that has exactly that meaning, so you need to describe that meaning and cover all usage cases, which leads to false thinking that the word has many different meanings.

[@brakpseudonimu236]

We also say "no nie" and it's either "oh no" curse or can be used as a surprising no. We also say "nie tak", but it doesnt mean "tak" and even "tak" doesn't mean "yes" in that case.

[@piopastuszka]

We can say goodbye ( do widzenia) anytime and to anyone. We can only say see you soon (do zobaczenia) to people with whom we are in touch or with whom we are in a very close relationship.However, we also use see you soon ( do zobaczenia) in the context when we have just made an appointment with someone or, in your case, you are finishing a podcast and you know that you will be doing another one soon. This is a form of invitation.

[@agatamilian6419]

Very nice channel ❤ hope you feel enjoy learning this beautiful but also difficult language ❤

[@maltich5132]

the money thing is analogous to English numerals for me. why is it the one has st, but eleven has th. two has nd, three has rd, the rest of numbers has th.

[@booboss]

You're absolutely right! Typical Pole don't even think about which form is correct. And as you said we know that One złoty is One złoty but 5 złotys i 5 złotys. NO ONE REALLY THINKS ABOUT IT! There are grammar rules of course behind it but no one really thinks about then or even know them. We do it automatically - because we were born in this language. We speak proper Polish without even knowing the proper rules of Polish. Some of us of course know - but most of us don't know a shit - but yet even without this deep understanding know how to say everything correct. It's in the way of thinking of Polish people. We grew with that language. However though - even though it's hard - because it is - it's more logical than English is. Sorry but that's the true.

[@RobReacts1]

But its the same with other languages. In english, we dont have to think about it as its what we know and it comes naturally.

[@booboss]

Yes but in Polish everything makes more sense. Everything is written exactly as spoken. For example in English word "piece" sound exactly the same as "peace". This is due to the fact that latin alphabet is not suitable for English language but somehow Brits used it anyway. They should come up with their own alphabet to emphasize the differences in their language. In other words Latin alphabet simply don't fit into English language. This also is true for French. Both you and French used Latin alphabet because it was modern in Europe (centuries ago) but that doesn't mean it was best choice. In my opinion you fucked it up! If Russians have their own alphabet (cyrylica) you should have your own as well which fits your language.

[@Mono-Theme]

About the "złoty" issue I think I know the answer. Long ago Polish had three forms of nouns: singular, plular and double(I don't know official translation). So there was jedno oko(an eye),wlele ok(many eyes) and dwoje oczu(a pair of eyes).Now there is only singular and plular,but in most of used words the last form remained.

[@wosp5137]

2:58 - "I know"(znam) by hearing, by sight. In "know" (wiem), it's always about information regarding the definition of a word, the location of a place, everything in fact. So "wiem" always includes "znam", but "znam" doesn't always mean "wiem". Just like every square is a rectangle, but not every rectangle is a square. I know (znam) a word, I (wiem) know what it means. I know (znam) this tree, but I don't know (nie wiem) where we are.

[@KWG-ln4on]

This is only difficult for English speaking people because "know" is a homonym in English, it has two different meanings. In German, French and Polish there are two separate words: "wissen" vs "können", "savoir" vs "connaitre" and "wiedzieć" vs "znać".

[@maciejkwiatkowski7558]

You encouraged me to intensify my English learning... and one more thing; I knew from the beginning that you reminded me of someone, and today it dawned on me; You're like Bruce Willis...a little. I admire you for learning this difficult but dear to my heart language.

[@lukask7445]

16:33 That's what cases are for. The noun in nominative is the most important. That in genitive is additional [genitive = the one belonging to parent(s)]. If you have such tool as cases, a word order is not that important. In Polish switching words sometimes makes an expression more harsh, not sounding so good, but still perfectly unmistakable. But be aware: there are some rare nouns (mostly loanwords) that are exactly the same in genitive as in nominative. In such cases you are lost regardless of the order. In practice the Poles use additional words like 'this' then. 'This' is fully inflected and indicates the case and the function in an expression.

[@pawellewap9179]

1. Bastian is a form of Sebastian only in German. Yes, it's weird... but cool. 2. The last digit means the end of the conjugation form in Polish, with the exception of numerals from eleven to nineteen. then it's always the same 1,5,6,7,8,9 zlotych, 2,3,4 zlote ;) 2002 złote - 2000006 złotych - simple ;) 3. do widzenia - goodbye -> do zobaczenia - see you ;)

[@MegaDobieDog]

Actually no... 2002 is also Złotych ;)

[@kopernik_elfka]

@@MegaDobieDog oj, nie.

[@MegaDobieDog]

@@kopernik_elfka Oj chyba tak. 20 Złotych 200 Złotych 2k Złotych. Złote przy tak dużym liczebniku jakoś nawet nie brzmi logicznie.

[@flecht]

@@MegaDobieDog „Wisisz mi dwa tysiące dwa złote.”

[@MegaDobieDog]

@@flecht Nic ni nie wiszę i aż w oczy kłuje XD

[@Midaspl]

About the order of words - in Polish it kinda doesn't matter. As long as you use correct inflexion, the word order might make you sound weird, but still understandable. Like with the swine example - "rok świni" means "year of the pig", but "roku świnia" means "pig of the year" and now the words are in the same order, but they mean something different.

[@hetmankp]

The numerals are pretty easy. If a numeral ends in a 1, 2, 3 or 4 then it's the nominative plural. If it ends in 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 0, then it's the genitive. The two exceptions are the number "1" which is just singular (though still nominative). And the numbers 11 through 14 which are also genitive. There are definitely much more irregular things in Polish than this.

[@annalesniak8440]

The expression "No tak" is an informal way of strenghtening the word "tak". "No" is not another way to say "nie". You use "no tak" when you want to emphasize something that's obvious. Especially in a conversation with someone who is unsure about something and you want to assure them their answer or statement is correct.

[@agaobi573]

Między umieć a potrafić jest drobna różnica semantyczna: potrafić to inaczej "być zdolnym do czegoś". W "potrafić" chodzi o jakiś wyczyn, w sensie pozytywnym (wymaga większego wysiłku, talentu etc niż zwykła umiejętność) lub negatywnym - ironicznie (wymaga większej bezczelności, obojętności etc) umieć = can potrafić = to be able to

[@wosp5137]

I wonder how many people in Poland understand the differences between smart (mądry) and (inteligenty) smart. I remember we thinking about it for a long time in high school before we understood the differences, and now it seems obvious to me.

[@jarlfenrir]

inteligentny to po angielsku intelligent. Mądry to wise. Smart to bardziej sprytny.

[@januszlepionko]

Inteligenty człowiek znajdzie wyjście z sytuacji, w którą mądry człowiek by się nie wplątał. Mniej-więcej taka jest różnica między inteligencją a mądrością.

[@ElektronikArzt]

word "no" comes from "ano", a word for "yes" present in western slavic languages, czechs use it for example. So it's not nonsensical if you see where it's coming from. "ano" in polish is more used to emotionaly emphasize expression, less often as simply "yes".

[@borntobesaint3733]

I'm Polish and I was learning English and I didn't know that foreigners have problems with wiedzieć and znać and other words. I think that is not important to know why is so, it's important to memorise words. I had similar situation with English with make and do. I never wondered why is "do homework" right and "make homework" wrong, I just memorized these words.

[@lukask7445]

The Double-pluralizing-discussion is a storm in a teacup. People simply do not know foreign languages they take loanwords from. If you see a written text 'BACADAF' (random letters) you take it as a noun, mostly in singular. It's obvious that you create plural if you mean many. *EVEN IF* the word already is plural like mentioned cases (what you do not know).

[@waldus13]

"Do widzenia" is more formal than "do zobaczenia". "Do zobaczenia" is more like "see you" and "do widzenia" is like polite "goodbye" but not as strong as "żegnam" which is also goodbye but when you whant to point that you really don't want to see that person anymore.

[@tonik289]

16:40 In Polish it's a bit easier with the order of words, cause when you use the correct case of the word (I know, that's the tricky part), you can even mix the words in the sentence and still it would mean the same ("świni rok" would be strange, but mean "rok świni", while the same would be for "roku świnia" and "świnia roku").

[@thetuli]

living two an a half year in poland, tbh doesn't understand Polish to much but " pig of the year " making sense. We bend the grammer like this while we tired of talking about the topic or to reflect our reaction. in example " gecenin korunde neredesin ?" means " where are you in the blind of the night?". actually making sense when you use the grammer like this as you mention about time or seasons or unknown times. one more example for fun " dunyanin esek zamani" if you translate literally it is "donkey times of the world" but means very very old times like early or mid 1900's. Polish is so unique and fun actually.

[@missnomer5800]

Because Poland was historically always endangered, the language evolved to quickly differentiate between foreigners and the Poles and to make it harder for any foreign infiltrators to pretend to be Polish. English was the language of commerce and conquest so it evolved to make communication easy.

[@TomikoPL]

The difference between "umieć" and "potrafić" is similar to English "can/ may/ be able to". As it gets to "znać/wiedzieć" the Danes have no problem with that- it's exactly the same in Danish "kende /vide". And yes, word order may be problematic sometimes and lead to funny situations e.g. The house still stands there/ The house stands still there.

[@theshivuus1826]

8:00 nope. it's like "can" in english, but for "I can play drums" and "can I go swimming?" First means I can do something, but second is question, but you don't know i can do swim

[@KamilChruscinski]

Fingers crossed for Rob! Polish can be both challenging and rewarding. Cheers!

[@ryanblackpaw5433]

You'll learn soon that words in polish sentences can be arranged almost randomly and still mean the same - you can say both cydr jabłkowy and jabłkowy cydr, doesn't really matter. Some combinations just sound weird but are still grammatically correct and understandable.

[@arekkorczynski6212]

Hi Rob, When I was at school one of the first things I was forced to learn (obviously after learning basics) in Polish was: Dopełniacz (Kogo? Czego?) 1.Mianownik (M.) - kto? co? (jest) - NOMINATIVE (case) (Who? What?) 2.Dopełniacz (D.) - kogo? czego? (nie ma) -GENITIVE, POSSESSIVE (case) 3.Celownik (C.) - komu? czemu? (przyglądam się) -THE DATIVE (case) 4.Biernik (B.) - kogo? co? (widzę) -ACCUSATIVE 5.Narzędnik (N.) - z kim? z czym? (idę) -INSTRUMENTAL (case) 6.Miejscownik (Ms.) - o kim? o czym? (mówię) -LOCATIVE (case) 7.Wołacz (W.) - o! -VOCATIVE (case) While The Nominative is simple, others aint'. My best advice would be: THESE ARE LIKE BIBLE FOR POLISH SPEAKERS OTHER LANGUGES AND THEY ARE "MUST KNOW" STUFF. MATCH UP EXAMPLES TO EACH ONE AND LEARN THEM, AND IT WOULD BE MUCH MUCH EASIER FOR YOU TO "GET A GRIP". THEN AFTER BASICS LEARN EXCEPTIONS.... 😉 I hope I managed to ease a little your frustrations :) Inspiring video for many. Good stuff! Best of luck! 👍

[@marcins5183]

For the numbers, the best explanation I can deliver is that we don't only have singular and plural version for each noun. We also have a double form for each numer that ends with 2, 3 or 4 (except 12, 13 and 14). Example: 1 candle = 1 świeca 2 candles = 2 świece 3 candles = 3 świece 4 candles = 4 świece 5 candles = 5 świec 10 candles = 10 świec 14 candles = 14 świec 15 candles = 15 świec 22 candles = 22 świece 24 candles = 24 świece 25 candles = 25 świec 192 candles = 192 świece (assuming you can pronounce 192 correctly in Polish) 😉🙃 You're welcome 😉

[@grahamhandley9355]

Polish is the only language that I have ever given up on. This was because so many words in Polish mean something very different from the same (or very similar) word in Bulgarian, which just hindered my learning Bulgarian which is more of a priority for me.

[@sssyk888]

In Polish, NO (two letters) is pronounced as it is written and NIE (three letters) is pronounced as it is written, so in English NO sounds like NO. But I would say that the Polish NO could be replaced in examples with "hhmmmm" if it makes it easier to understand

[@januszlepionko]

@Rob @6:04 "Basti" for Sebastian is used mostly in German language.

[@Z4KIUS]

" can" can mean both "I am allowed to" and "I know how to"

[@kollina]

About names, in English that also doesn't make sense; William is Bill, John is Jack, or Edward is Teddy, and I'm pretty sure there are other examples in English

[@tomaszpankowski8903]

There are double demunitive forms in polish names: Małgorzata -> Małgosia -> Gosia Joanna -> Joasia -> Asia As for Aleksandra - it had (and still has in ukrainian and russian) other form: Oleksandra -> Ola

[@krzysztoforzechowski342]

„Umieć” to taka silniejsza wersja „potrafić”. Trzeba było włożyć jakąś pracę, naukę, zdolności żeby powiedzieć, że coś umiem. Potrafię oznacza raczej zdolność do jakichś zachowań, albo wręcz, że mogę coś zrobić, ale raczej średnio ręczę za skutek. Żeby zn leźć jakąś analogię… to trochę jak kwadrat i prostokąt. Jeśli chcesz naprawdę wiedzieć, czy ten prostokąt jest kwadratem, to powinieneś zmierzyć długość dwóch przyprostokątnych. Jeśli tego nie zrobisz to tylko podejrzewasz (na podstawie omylnego przecież zmysłu wzroku), że może być kwadratem, ale wiesz na pewno że jest prostokątem.

[@tomaszbogucki1582]

Generally speaking, even swear words in Polish are very extensive compared to English, where there is only one word.

[@tomaszbogucki1582]

the channel also talks about language surekator.

[@tomaszbogucki1582]

the channel also talks about language.

[@tomaszbogucki1582]

Szymon Majewski showed an interesting method of saying Polish surnames in English.

[@Egerius666]

English diminutives: Margaret -> Peggy Edward -> Ted and there is more.

[@alpaka181]

11:17 if the number ends with a vowel (a,e,i,o,u,y,ó,) we say "złote", if it ends with a consonant (ć,ś,n,j etc.) we say zloty. if we have 1 PLN we say "złotówka" or "złoty" (by the way, these are two different versions because there is both a masculine and a feminine form here) and I think this is the only exception, although a very interesting one.

[@Etall_]

hmm, a np. 12,13,14,15,16 ? DwanaściE złote to tak dziwnie brzmi jak dla mnie

[@nevermint1]

It's not so strange about words like "apple cider", because in spanish and french they have this same order like in Polish; restaurante español, restaurant espagnol.

[@klaudiaczarnecka5251]

14:00 "nie tak" actually means a different thing, when we say "coś jest nie tak" it means something's wrong, even though it literally means something is no yes 😅

[@raciawelli]

The difference between 'umieć' and 'potrafić' is very simple. "umieć" is theoretical knowledge and "potrafić" is practical skill. For example: "umiem rozróżnić części komputera i potrafię złożyć komputer. " >> "I can distinguish the parts of a computer and I can assemble a computer."

[@Mobby74]

Jeśli coś umiesz, to jest to umiejętność, więc całkiem praktyczne.

[@tophorable]

No chyba jednak nie do końca. "Umiem pływać" jest poprawnym zwrotem i to raczej nie teoria 😊 Możesz też powiedzieć "potrafię rozróżnić części komputera" i to będzie poprawne zdanie...

[@raciawelli]

@@tophorable "umiem pływać" jest poprawnym zwrotem odnośnie teoretycznej umiejętności, ale gdy mówisz o praktycznym przepłynięciu jakiegoś dystansu to powiesz "potrafię przepłynąć 1000 metrów kraulem". To powiedziawszy możesz oczywiście używać tych słów zamiennie i w dzisiejszych czasach nikt ci nie zwróci uwagi. Po prostu brzmi dziwnie.

[@tophorable]

@@raciawelli Pływanie nie jest teoretyczną umiejętnością. To jest wręcz częstsza forma niż potrafię pływać :)

[@MowMiNubas]

About first one - Socrates engaged in discussions with poets because he believed that, after reading their poems, they possessed deep knowledge about the subjects they wrote about. However, after a few minutes of dialogue, he realized there is a substantial difference between knowing how and knowing what becouse all of them had no idea what they wrote. They were talented but without knowledge, they were using words like pianist use piano keys. For example, a musician can create beautiful music without understanding the theory of sound. A more modern philosopher, Henri Bergson, suggested that hidden cognitive processes, called intuition, could explain this phenomenon.

[@lukask7445]

10:09 That is even more complex because _złoty_ is a noun that morphologically is equal to an adjective so it is inflected exactly like an adj. In theory no even a single noun in Polish has ending -y in singular, but really there is a number of such nouns, especially proper nouns, as Eustachy, Włochaty

[@marcinhamerla3723]

You should have learn English as the foreigner to see all the languages are the same. There is a logic and there is learning so many things by heart.

[@frofrofrofro900]

Still is more easy to you learn polish than I polish person try to learn korean 😭😭😭😭😭

[@annafirnen4815]

The grave candle story always cackle me up cause I heard similar story about foreign students giving one their professor in Poland as a thank you gift 😂 You may not find it funny if you have never seen a Polish "grave candle" which are called "znicze". Most people from abroad think they are fancy candle holders and essentially they are but for graves lol. Doesn't help that their name in Polish doesn't even suggest connection to such a morbid topic unlike the simple "grave candle" in English.

[@kamiccola]

I think a big thing to remember is that Polish "no" isn't a regular word and doesn't have an assigned meaning. It can be used as an affirmative statement, but what it really is is a word that you can add on to any sentence to give it an extra oomph. "No chodź tutaj" has a lot more attitude added than "Chodź tutaj" (come here).

[@Sylkis89]

I like her explanation for numerals 1 zloty, singular 2, 3, 4 złote But then you get a 5 of złotych, a 6, a 7, an 8, a 9, a 10, etc. of złotych Never thought of it

[@adamaugustyn5629]

Let's talk about cider trap: only % beverage is considered in Poland as a "cydr" so if you want to order cider for your kids, you should definitely ask for "sok jabłkowy" (apple juice). In other case, your day might become much more exciting than you imagine 😉

[@adamaugustyn5629]

To be super specific: you can buy here bag-in-box "sok tłoczony na zimno" which is cold pressed apple juice - or - fresh raw cider