The verb mieć – to have – has a number of idiomatic uses. Even a beginner should get familiar with at least some of them, since they’re very common, and, to make matters worse, they often don’t translate literally. Translating things literally can have disastrous consequences. Believe me, you don’t want to ask a Polish woman for her age by doing a word-to-word translation of the English “how old are you?”; in Polish the word for old – stary – feels much more negative than in English, and suggesting a woman she might be stara only works for you if you’re suicidal. Doing it the Polish way, you simply ask her how many years she has.

Even though you should know better than to ask about such matters in the first place.

1. mieć ochotę – to feel like

If you want to say you feel like doing something, you use the infinitive form of the verb:

 

Mam ochotę uczyć się gramatyki.

I feel like studying grammar.

Nie mam ochoty napić się wódki.

I don’t feel like drinking vodka.

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To jest książka.

This is a book. Nominative case, so that you can see the basic form of the noun.

Mam książkę.

I have a book. Accusative case.

do białego rana – all night long, until dawn (lit. until the white morning)

very often used with the verb bawić się – to have fun, to enjoy oneself, especially at a party

Po ostatnim egzaminie studenci bawili się do białego rana.

After the last exam, the students had fun until dawn.

w biały dzień – in broad daylight (lit. in the white day)

rozbój w biały dzień – daylight robbery

Morderstwa dokonano w biały dzień.

The murder was commited in broad daylight.

Te ostatnie podwyżki cen to rozbój w biały dzień!

These recent price rises are daylight robbery!

białe szaleństwo – snow fun; winter sports, especially skiing, done for fun (lit. white madness)

Miłośnicy białego szaleństwa są zachwyceni pogodą w Tatrach.

Snow fun fans are delighted with the weather in the Tatra mountains.

biały kruk – a rare book (lit. white raven)

Pierwsze wydanie tego słownika to prawdziwy biały kruk.

The first edition of this dictionary is a real rarity.

białe małżeństwo – a marriage without sexual relationship (lit. white marriage)

Byli niezwykle pobożni, więc zdecydowali się na białe małżeństwo.

They were extremely pious, so they decided on a sexless marriage.

biała plama - a blank spot, an unknown, unexplored area (lit. white spot)

Ten ubogi region to biała plama na turystycznej mapie Polski.

This poor region is a blank spot on the tourist map of Poland.

Trygonometria była białą plamą w wiedzy studenta.

Trigonometry was a blank spot in the student’s knowledge.

widzieć białe myszki – to see pink elefants (lit. to see white mice)

Stefan zaczął widzieć białe myszki. Postanowił przestać pić.

Stefan started seeing pink elefants. He decided to give up drinking.

There are some Polish words whose meaning is pretty easy to guess – demokracja, matematyka, komputer, telewizja… It might be easy to get in a rut and assume that every word that sounds more or less like an English one must mean the same. In fact, there are plenty of so-called false friends – Polish-English word pairs that look similar enough, but have quite different meaning. They are a source of confusion for learners of Polish and English alike, so let’s get to know some of them.

1. lektura - a read, also: a book on a school reading list
Jej nowa książka okazała się ciekawą lekturą.
Her new book turned out an interesting read.
Ta książka to lektura obowiązkowa dla studentów historii.
This book is a compulsory reading for history students.

lecture - wykład
Studenci słuchają wykładu z filozofii.
The students are listening to a philosophy lecture read all »

Bad language is language too.

While you might choose not to actively use “bad language”, I still think learning at least some of it will come in handy. Even though you don’t, people around you will use it, you will hear it in the street and in movies – and I guess you’d like to understand that! You’ve probably noticed how flexible Polish is and how easy it is to create new words and expressions. Because of that, understanding spoken, colloquial language isn’t easy, even if you’ve got a good grasp on ‘textbook’ vocabulary. No one speaks like they’ve memorized a textbook, and when it comes to informal situations, you better have a good reference on hand. Misunderstandings are the last thing you want when you’re being offended, right? So, sit back and enjoy this by no means all-comprehensive introduction to swearing in Polish. Today’s word is:

Cholera

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