Nie ucz ojca dzieci robić!

English Phonemes: “nyeh oo[cz] OY-tsah JYEH-chee ROH-beech”

Literal Translation: Not teach father children to make!

Elegant Translation: Don’t teach a father how to make children!

English Equivalent: You’re preaching to the choir.

The expression is pretty clear. It’s a saying for if someone is trying to teach/explain how to do something you obviously already know how to do.

You wouldn’t have the “birds and the bees” talk to a father of children, right?

Although the CLOSEST English phrase is “preaching to the choir”, the Polish phrase has a slightly different meaning in that there is a connotation of “mansplaining” (for lack of better term) that is conveyed. Someone is trying to teach you something they should KNOW you already know. They look like an idiot, and in your irritation, you can use this phrase as kind of a “check yourself before you wreck yourself” way. “Preaching to the choir” can also be used like this, yes, but it could also be used in cases where people don’t know how the other party feels about topic XYZ, which is a second meaning we don’t have in this Polish version.

Nie = no/not
Ucz = teach [imperative, vocative, instructive form of verb]
Ojca = father [singular, object form]
Dzieci = children [plural, object&subject form]
Robić = to make, to do [infinitive form of verb]

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Trafiło się ślepej kurze ziarno!

English Phonemes: “trah-FEE-woh shyeh SHLEH-pehy KOO-[rz]eh [Ź]AHR-noh”

Literal Translation: It hit itself [to] blind hen seed!

Elegant Translation: A blind hen hit upon a seed!

English Equivalent: Even a blind squirrel occasionally finds a nut.

This saying is similar to the squirrel idiom in English, or like another popular saying, “Even a broken clock is right twice a day.”

You can say this when you want to say someone got unexpectedly brilliant or lucky in some way. 

This phrase is also a great example of the power of the “object form”. In the translation, the direction of the seed going TO the hen is expressed only by the fact that the blind hen is in object form. There is no actual preposition here! That’s why I have “TO” in parenthesis in the title and literal translation: because it’s not a separate word as we’ve come to expect, but the meaning is still there. Feel the power!!

Trafiło = it hit, it landed [3rd person sing., past tense verb]
Się = itself, self [reflective helper word]
Ślepej = blind [adj. sing. object form]
Kurze = hen, chicken [sing. object form]
Ziarno = seed [subject form]

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Trzeba spojrzeć prawdę w oczy!

English Phonemes: “T[SZ]EH-bah SPOY-[rz]ehch PRAHV-deh w OH-[cz]ih”

Literal Translation: It is needed to look truth in eyes.

Elegant Translation: You have to look the truth in the eye.

English Equivalent: Face facts.

This phrase is used the same way in Polish as “face facts” (and its various offshoots) are in English. For example, you can use this to encourage a friend to face reality and do something about some unfortunate situation they’ve been lying to themselves about. You might also hear or read this phrase in the Polish news, or on people’s blogs. It’s pretty popular, and can be used in formal and informal settings.

Please note the use of [sz] and [rz] phonemes in the pronunciations! This is a beautiful example, side by side, of how [rz] is pronounced normally as we’ve practiced, EXCEPT when following a letter ‘t’ in which case it is spoken aloud as the [sz] phoneme! (This is the only exception for [rz] you have to remember!)

Trzeba = there is need, it is needed, one must
Spojrzeć = to look, to glance
Prawdę = truth [singular, object form]
W = in, into [preposition]
Oczy = eyes [plural, subject AND object form]

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Strzał w dziesiątkę!

English Phonemes: “st[rz]ahw v jyeh-SH[Ą]t-ke”

Literal Translation: Shot in ten!

Elegant Translation: Shot in the ten!

English Equivalent: Bull’s eye!

This is a fun phrase one to describe how someone or something 100%, hands-down nailed it!

Same as in English, this phrase is talking about a dart board or an archery/shooting target. But unlike English, the board center doesn’t have a nickname as popular as “bull’s eye” is. Poles refer to the center by the number of points you get when you hit it.

Google Translate actually nailed it on this phrase! Yay!

Strzał = shot [noun, subject form]
W = in, into [preposition]
Dziesiątkę = ten [noun, object form]

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Czym to się je?

English Phonemes: “[cz]ihm toh shyeh yeh”

Literal Translation: With what this oneself one eats?

Elegant Translation: How does one eat this?

English Equivalent: What do I do? How does one handle this?

This phrase is a funny way to ask how to tackle a new and foreign task. It paints the mental picture of an elegant, elaborate table setting with countless spoons, forks, knives, and other cutlery for every different course or dish, and asks us to imagine a waiter bringing you a plate of food you’ve never seen before. What cutlery would you reach for?

This phrase uses that image as a metaphor for that initial confusion we all feel when faced with a new and unexpected challenge.

Google Translate fails so hard here. It thought that ‘je’ is ‘them’ from the Slovenian — which it is not. And czym was ‘and’, which it is not. I hardly ever bother, but it was so off the mark that I submitted edits to both these and I encourage other Polish speakers to do the same if a similar situation arises. It may feel like typing something into the void, but it might help the translation algorithm get it right next time if enough knowledgable polyglots submit enough edits. 

Bonus nerdy linguistic subtext:

It should be noted that “czym” by itself already means “with what”. However, as happens in language all the time, this phrase over time has sometimes been said incorrectly by adding the actual pronoun “z” in front, which means “with”. Don’t be that guy. You might hear this out in the wild, but know it’s incorrect. If you actually say “z czym to się je”, you’re actually saying “with with what does this get eaten”.

Czym = with what [object form of ‘co’, the ‘with’ is understood]
To = this
Się = itself, oneself, self [reflective helper word]
Je = he/she/it eats/is eating [3rd person singular, present tense]

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Z choinki się urwałeś/urwałaś?

English Phonemes: “z hoh-EEN-kee shyeh oor-VAH-wehsh oor-VAH-wahsh”

Literal Translation: From Christmas tree yourself did you break off?

Elegant Translation: Did you fall off a Christmas tree?

English Equivalent: Did you fall on your head?

The phrase is fine standalone, because the words “did” and “you” are understood. So you can say czy[did] ty[you] z choinki się urwałeś/urwałaś, but you don’t need to.

This is a great phrase to know if you want to playfully (or not) suggest to someone that they have no idea what they are talking about. That they are uninformed and it shows. Or that whatever they just said was incredibly random and truly unrelated to anything at all. It may even convey that the person you are talking to just said (or did) something stupid.

Z = from, off of [preposition]
Choinki = Christmas Tree [singular, object form]
Się = (your)self [reflective helper word]
Urwałeś = you broke off [past tense, 2nd person singular, informal, speaking to one male]
Urwałaś = you broke off [past tense, 2nd person singular, informal,speaking to one female]

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Kość Niezgody

English Phonemes: “kohshch nyehz-GOH-dih”

Literal Translation: Bone disagreement.

Elegant Translation: Bone of disagreement.

English Equivalent: Bone of contention.

Listener Deborah asked for a Polish equivalent of the English phrase “bone of contention”. Glad to help! 

Usage Cases:

Standalone - 
A to kość niezgody!
Literal translation: Oh this bone of disagreement!

As part of a bigger sentence - 
…staje kością niezgody…
…leży kością niezgody…

Example Sentence:
>>Ta kłótnia o nie oddane pieniądze leżała kością niezgody między nimi.<<
Literal [almost] translation: This argument about not returned money lay [as a] bone [of] contention between them.

Kość = bone [subject form, singular]
Niezgody = disagreement [object form, singular, preposition ‘of’ is understood]

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Listener Arron from the U.K. asks if I could explain the phrase “O co chodzi?” So that’s what we’re talking about today!

Shoutout to the Birmingham Polish English meetup group!
https://www.meetup.com/West-Midlands-Polish-English-Language-exchange/
If you’re in the area, pop by!

O co chodzi?

English Phonemes: “oh tsoh HOH-jee”

Literal Translation: About what it walks?

Elegant Translation: What is it walking about?

English Equivalent: What’s going on here? What are you on about? What do you mean?

I can understand why non-natives learning the language will find this phrase a bit tough to grasp. It is a bit idiomatic in its usage. We have similar phrases. If you think about the simple English phrase “what’s going on”, think about how a non-native speaker might scratch their head at this. It’s supposed to mean, “what is happening”. Sometimes, it’s used as a slang way of saying “hello”. So you’ve already got two related but different usages for this phrase. At the same time, the literal meaning of “what’s going on” seems like only a partial thought. Like, going on? Where is what going, and onto what other thing is it going? Now try to imagine the poor English learner trying to unpack all those layers to a phrase we fluent English speakers use daily.

Similarly, o co chodzi is fluid in meaning depending on the context.

The top two situations you’d use (or hear) this phrase are...

A) You walk into a situation where something heated (like an argument) or exciting (like a celebration) is happening, something high-energy, and you say “O co chodzi?” to ask to be filled in.

B) You are talking to a friend, they say something you didn’t catch the meaning of, and you ask them, “O co chodzi?” meaning, What is the train of that thought? What do you mean?

O = about
Co = what
Chodzi = he/she/it walks
Tu = here
Wam = you [plural object form]
Ci = you [singular object form, informal]
Mi = me [singular object form]

Varying uses: 

O co tu chodzi? What’s going on here?
O co Wam chodzi? What are you guys on about?
O co Ci chodzi? What do you mean? (Similar in sense to “co masz na myśli” from Episode 54 a few lessons ago.)

mam nadzieje = I hope
że zrozumieliście = that you understood
o co mi chodzi = what I meant

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Jesteś wspaniały/a! Jesteś niesamowity/a!

English Phonemes: “YEHS-tesh fspah-NYAH-wih(wah) YEHS-tesh nyeh-sah-moh-VEE-tih(tah)”
Literal Translation: You are wonderful. You are amazing.

Shoutout to my friend JL for inspiring this episode! (Check out her film work at www.19image.com)

These two phrases are sure to be winners. Here are two different ways to say “You are awesome!”

Jesteś = you are [2nd person, singular, informal]
Wspaniały(a) = wonderful [adjective. y = male form, a = female form]
Niesamowity(a) = awesome, amazing [adjective. y = male form, a = female form]

Also, Followup: In the last two episodes, we were talking about phrases that have to think about thinking. I wanted to remind you about Episode 51 where we touched upon “Gdzie masz głowę?” as part of the lesson, because this phrase asks “Where is your head?” or “Where are you right now?” in a similar way as the other phrases we talked about.

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Nie ważne co masz na głowie, ważne co masz w głowie.

English Phonemes: “nyeh VAH[Ż]-neh tsoh mah[sz] nah GWOH-vyeh VAH[Ż]-neh tsoh mah[sz] v GWOH-vyeh”
Literal Translation: Not important what you have on head, important what you have in head.
Elegant Translation: It’s not important what you have on your head, what’s important is what’s in your head.
English Equivalent: Beauty is only skin deep. 

This episode is related to last episode, where we talked about how we ask what a person was thinking. In this related phrase, we further the discussion about thoughts. 

This fun, glib phrase will make you sound super wise and clever to your Polish-speaking friends!

Nie = not, no
Ważne = important [adj]
Co = what
Masz = you have [singular 2nd person, informal]
Na = on
Głowie = head [singular, object form]
W = in

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Co masz na myśli?

English Phonemes: “tsoh mah[sz] nah MIHSH-lee”

Literal Translation: What you have on thought?

Elegant Translation: What do you have on your mind?

English Equivalents: What do you mean? What are you saying? What are you thinking?

This phrase is used the same way we use “What do you mean?” or “What are you trying to say?” or even “Where are you going with this?”

Next week, we’ll look at a related phrase having to do with minds and heads, and break down another thought-provoking idiom!

Co = what
Masz = you have [2nd person, singular, informal]
Na = on
Myśli = thought, mind [singular, object form]

Co słychać?

English Phonemes: “tsoh SWIH-hahch”

Literal Translation: What can be heard?

Elegant Translation: What’s up? 

English Equivalent: What’s up? How’s it going?

This is a slang phrase you can use in place of ‘Hey.’, ‘How are you?’, ‘How are things?’ or other greetings used with people you know. It is super Polish and very common.

Co = what
Słychać = is heard, can be heard [from the infinitive of ’słyszeć’, to hear]

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Ja Nie Umiem Mówić Po Polsku

In honor of Polish Bilingual Day being celebrated this weekend, (http://www.polishbilingualday.com/language/en/ and http://www.dobrapolskaszkola.com/category/w-naszym-domu-mowimy-po-polsku/),
I picked a phrase to tell your Polish-speaking friends that you’re not so great with speaking Polish.

Ja = I
Nie = not/no
Umiem = I know [how to do a skill] [1st person singular]
Mówić = To speak/to talk [infinitive]
Po = in/after/following [preposition]
Polsku = Polish language [object form]

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Masz Głowę? 

English Phonemes: “mah[sz] GWOH-veh”

Literal Translation: You have head?

Elegant Translation: Do you have a head?

English Equivalent: Can you imagine?

This two word combo actually has multiple uses and meanings in different contexts!

For example, as part of a sentence, it could be used like so: 
“Masz głowę po matce.” = “You have your mother’s brains.”
Or
“Nie wiem gdzie masz głowę.” = “I don’t know where your head’s at.” or “I don’t know what’s going through your head.”
Or
“Ty masz głowę do rachunków.” = “You have a head for numbers.”
(And so on.)
But standing alone as a question, by itself, it simply is asking “Can you imagine?” or “Can you believe it?”

Masz = you have [singular, 2nd person, informal]
Głowę = head [singular, object form]

* Special note: Usually for show titles, I like to use the literal translation. Unfortunately, this week’s literal translation can potentially have quite a naughty meaning in English. So this week, I’ll use the elegant translation instead. 

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Ale Numer! & Co Za Numer!

English Phonemes: “AH-leh NOO-mehr / tsoh zah NOO-mehr”

Literal Translation: But Number/What For Number

Elegant Translation: What a number!

English Equivalents: Good one! (for a prank) What a rotten number! (for something terrible)

Special Double-Lesson Episode to celebrate 50 shows!

In today’s show we learn to say the same sentiment two different ways. These phrases convey the same exact sentiment: surprise at something someone did. It could be good surprise (at some clever prank) or bad surprise (at something truly shifty and terrible that happened). It could also, on rare occasion, be used to call someone a bottom-feeding scumbag con-artist slime ball. It is a big insult.

Ale = but [at beginning of sentence, means ‘what a’ in a helper word way]
Co = what
Za = for, behind, instead of, etc [multi-definition preposition. At beginning of sentence, “Co za” means “what a”]
Numer = number [singular, subject form]

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Jakim cudem?

English Phonemes: “YAH-keem TSOO-dehm”

Literal Translation: By what miracle?

English Equivalent: How in the world? What sorcery is this?

This phrase isn’t stand-alone. It is something you say in reaction to seeing something amazing or being told something amazing. You follow it up with “by what miracle” more to ask how something so wonderful or unbelievable happened. It is not a fully standalone exclamation of wonder. It’s not a rhetorical question either. Unlike other sayings or exclamations, you kind of expect an answer to this one. 

Jakim = by what [object form, implies the preposition ‘by’ or ‘with’]
Cudem = miracle, wonder, magic, sorcery [object form, because of the implied preposition]

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Odczep Się!

English Phonemes: “OHD-[cz]ehp shyeh”

Literal Translation: Detach self!

Elegant Translation: Detach yourself!

English Equivalent: Back off!

Sometimes a cuddly phrase won’t do! Today’s phrase is a bit rough around the edges. 

This phrase is used in the same way as ‘back off’ or ‘buzz off’ or ‘get out of my face’ is used in English. Note also that this is in the informal singular form. There IS a more polite way to say this, just so you know. (However, it rarely comes up.)

Handle with care!

Odczep = detach, unhook [verb, instructive form, informal, used when instructing a singular person]
Się = self [reflective helper word]

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Dobra Robota!

English Phonemes: “DOH-brah roh-BOH-tah”

Literal Translation: Good Job!

This is one of those times the English and Polish directly line up with each other! And I wanted to say to you, good job! Learning any language isn’t easy. I hope this show has helped you on your journey :-)

Dobra = good [adjective, feminine singular form]
Robota = a job, work [noun, singular subject form]

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Wszystkiego Najlepszego!

English Phonemes: “f[sz]ihs-TKYEH-goh nah*ee-lehp-[SZ]EH-goh”

Literal Translation: All Best!

Elegant Translation: All the best! The best of everything!

English Equivalent: Best Wishes!

This is a common way to wish someone fond wishes for a special event. Most commonly, around the holidays, or someone’s birthday. It can also be used at a life event, like a wedding, a birth, a job change, a move, and so on - but that’s less common. 

Wszystkiego = all, everything [noun, object form]
Najlepszego = best [compound adjective, object form]

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Czekacie to nic nie macie!

English Phonemes: “[cz]eh-KAH-chyeh toh neets nyeh MAH-chyeh”

Literal Translation: You are waiting then nothing not you are having.

Elegant Translation: You wait, you don’t have anything.

English Equivalent: Waiting gets you nowhere.

We Poles love our glib rhyming pearls of wisdom. This is another one. It’s a funny way of saying waiting won’t get you very far. 

Czekacie = You are waiting [2nd person plural, present tense]
To = Then, This [depending on context]
Nic = Nothing
Nie = No, Not
Macie = You are having, You have [2nd person plural, present tense]

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