Learn some common Polish slang
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Intro |
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| Michael: What is polish slang like? |
| Igor: And is it commonly used? |
| Michael: At PolishPod101.com, we hear these questions often. In the following scenario, Mariusz Michalski and Ben Lee are at the mall. Ben is buying the newest video game console when Mariusz asks, |
| "Where did you get the moolah from?" |
| Mariusz Michalski: Skąd masz hajs? |
| Dialogue |
| Mariusz Michalski: Skąd masz hajs? |
| Ben Lee: Hajs? |
| Michael: Once more with the English translation. |
| Mariusz Michalski: Skąd masz hajs? |
| Michael: "Where did you get the moolah from?" |
| Ben Lee: Hajs? |
| Michael: "Moolah?" |
Lesson focus |
| Michael: Usually, when learning a language, the student learns the most correct and appropriate way to speak. This way, it’s guaranteed that the student won’t have any trouble being understood by native speakers and other language learners. However, often when confronted with living language, it occurs that it’s different from what we might know from books. This is because we use slang, or in Polish |
| Igor: slang |
| Michael: in our everyday life. We see this in English too. Sometimes, we choose to say words such as “extra” or “cool” to add this little bit of spice to our conversations. Slang words are informal, and shouldn’t be used combined with polite language. Moreover, there is no one universal slang, neither for English nor for Polish, a slang word or phrase always depends on the environment one is functioning in. It also evolves over time. So the language used by you will differ from what your parents use. |
| [Recall 1] |
| Michael: With this in mind, let’s take a closer look at the dialogue. |
| Do you remember how Mariusz asks "Where did you get the moolah from?" |
| Igor: Skąd masz hajs? |
| Michael: And do you remember how Ben wonders "moolah?" |
| Igo: Hajs? |
| Michael: Ben is surprised at hearing an unknown word. Mariusz replaced the word |
| Igor: pieniądze |
| Michael: meaning “money” with the very common slang word |
| Igor: hajs |
| Michael: whose closest English equivalent is the word “moolah.” This word is usually used by young people, and it’s often not understood by older generations. Also, “money” is probably a word with the most slang synonyms in the Polish language. Let’s look at some examples: |
| Igor: kasa |
| Michael: literally means “cash register,” |
| Igor: sałata |
| Michael: literally “lettuce.” This is exactly like the English slang word “Lettuce.” And “Cabbage,” which is also used in Polish: |
| Igor: kapusta, kapucha |
| Michael: literally “cabbage, big cabbage.” Another very common slang term for money is: |
| Igor: mamona |
| Michael: which comes from the Aramaic language meaning profit. |
| [Summary] |
| Michael: In this lesson, we learned that slang is a collective term for environment specific words used only in colloquial language. Slang words may differ from generation to generation as well. |
| Expansion |
| Michael: We just learned what slang words are, and many different slang words for “money.” Now, let’s have a look at some environment specific terms. If you’re a student, and you happen to do an student exchange in Poland, you’ll need to learn the Polish student slang, or |
| Igor: gwara uczniowska. |
| Michael: This is an informal language used at school. Some of the examples for this slang are: |
| Igor: facetka |
| Michael: which means |
| Igor: nauczycielka |
| Michael: or “female teacher.” This word comes from the word |
| Igor: facet |
| Michael: which was once a word to describe a witty person, but, over time, it became a colloquial word for “man.” |
| Igor: facetka |
| Michael: is the female form, and is usually not used in Polish. It’s a highly colloquial term used only in the context of a female teacher. |
| As a new person in class, people would probably call you |
| Igor: świeżak |
| Michael: meaning “freshman,” and originating from the word |
| Igor: świeży |
| Michael: or “fresh.” |
| Polish students also have many creative words for the lowest grade a student can get, which is |
| Igor: jedynka |
| Michael: or “one” in Poland. Such a word is, for example, |
| Igor: pała, |
| Michael: meaning “club” or “baton.” This word is used to describe a grade of “one” as in “one point”, most likely due to the similarity between a blunt weapon and the written number one. |
| Polish students are also very creative if it comes to naming their school subjects. Let’s have a look at some of them: |
| Igor: fiza |
| Michael: meaning “physics,” being an abbreviation of the proper word |
| Igor: fizyka |
| Michael: Next is |
| Igor: hista |
| Michael: meaning “history,” which comes from |
| Igor: historia |
| Michael: and a last example is |
| Igor: matma |
| Michael: meaning “math,” and comes from |
| Igor: matematyka |
| Michael: or “mathematics.” |
| Now, let’s have a look at a second environment, which is among young people. Youth slang is very common in Poland, and many of the words which started as the slang words of young people were adapted by other generations as well. Some examples of those words are: |
| Igor: ziomek |
| Michael: meaning “friend,” and it’s English equivalent is “homie.” |
| If you want to greet someone, simply say |
| Igor: elo |
| Michael: which simply means “hello.” Another word is |
| Igor: props |
| Michael: a word meaning to give someone respect. Speaking of respect, you might also hear the phrase |
| Igor: szacunek ulicy |
| Michael: often, literally meaning “respect of the street,” being the Polish equivalent of “street credibility.” |
| With the internet becoming more and more common in Polish houses, English internet slang has also become popular among younger Polish generations. While chatting with Polish people online, you might come across words like |
| Igor: epicki |
| Michael: meaning “epic” as in “awesome,” or |
| Igor: krindż |
| Michael: meaning “cringe.” And the last word is |
| Igor: randomowy |
| Michael: just meaning “random” as in |
| Igor: randomowy temat |
| Michael: “random topic.” |
| Cultural Insight/Expansion (Optional) |
| Michael: When talking about Polish slang, we cannot leave out Polish swear words, or |
| Igor: Przekleństwa. |
| Michael: While in most languages swear words are not commonly used, and are seen more as a bad habit, in Poland, swear words are an integral part of the colloquial language and, while they are probably some of the strongest swear words in the world, they also can carry a big variety of emotions. While we usually associate swearing with very negative connotations, Polish people use them often to describe their excitement, joy, or astonishment. They also serve as intensifiers. |
| Igor: We often say that nothing is as stress relieving as swearing. |
| Michael: That’s why if you hear someone swearing in Poland, it doesn’t necessarily mean that someone is trying to pick a fight with you. They could be just happy to see you. It always depends on the context in which the vulgar language is used in Polish. |
Outro |
| Michael: Do you have any more questions? We’re here to answer them! |
| Igor: Do usłyszenia! |
| Michael: See you soon! |
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