Saturday, May 14, 2011

Making Mistakes po polsku

I've been learning Polish for a while now and of course living here and using it regularly I like to think that I've made a lot of progress.  But I still make lots of mistakes, and sometimes they're hard to forget.  I'm always a bit embarrassed when I'm speaking Polish because I'm not completely sure of it and realising I've made a mistake when I'm trying to pretend I know what I'm talking about sticks with me, especially when they're so stupid.  Here are a few of my favourite mistakes, thankfully only the first 2 of them are mine, but the other 2 were too funny to pass over.


1)  Coś jeszcze? - Tak, to wszystko.  (Anything else? - Yes, that’s everything) - cringe.

2)  When I was in the Ukraine a couple of months ago I took a bus from Lviv to Lublin.  The driver put my suitcase on at the back of the bus but when I went to sit with it a woman told me to sit further towards the front of the bus (I later realised she was reserving space and privacy for what I think were her smuggler friends.)  So I said to her ale moja szafka jest tam (but my bag is there).  The most embarrassing thing was that I was so proud of my perfect and fluent Polish I thought she would definitely think I was a Polką.  I only found out a few weeks later that szafka is actually cupboard, not bag :-(

3)  Before the Easter holidays a woman asked my friend in their block of flats if she knew if the post was coming over the holidays, she mentioned something about free days.  My friend, so excited by the prospect of a couple of days off and hearing the words 'free day' said to her 'I'm free tomorrow thank you.'  She was so enthusiastic in her response that the woman had no idea what to say, and it wasn't until later that she realised what she had actually been asked, nevermind.

4)  Ordering a meal in a restaurant, in English... 'I'll have the pork and chips... DZIEŃ DOBRY!' instead of dziękuję (Good afternoon instead of thank you) haha :)

I'm sure there have been thousands more but I can't think of them right now.  Has anyone had similar experiences?
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6 comments:

  1. Tefl SecretagentMay 13, 2011 at 10:58 PM

    I was having a really good 'Polish only' day the other week until I went into Starbucks and ordered a coffee, the waitress asked me for my name but I completely misunderstood her and said 'Tak'...thinking she asked something else and only realising my error once I had sat down

    It was such a painful moment to hear her call the name 'Tak' out when my coffee was ready :( even more painful to get up and collect it :(

    ReplyDelete
  2. RuthMay 13, 2011 at 11:48 PM

    lol, excellent!! thanks for sharing :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. DorothyOMay 14, 2011 at 12:20 AM

    Sooo many times. I've ordered the wrong food. I've also gotten scolded for not using pan/pani properly which can really make you feel like a jerk. I have another trip coming up and am actually contemplating moving to Krakow for a while. I'm working on the finding a job part now. Wish me luck!

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  4. RuthMay 14, 2011 at 11:15 AM

    Powodzenia! I used to say the wrong past tense ending for men and women a lot, as though I was implying the person was a man when they were a woman and stuff. And once said Czesc to a parent of a student, completely inappropriate!

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  5. Tefl SecretagentMay 15, 2011 at 7:59 AM

    I know how easy it can be to 'Cześć' everybody and I never understand when is the right time to stop using pan or pani with someone and start using the 'ty' form?

    ReplyDelete
  6. sarahMay 17, 2011 at 11:20 PM

    i have trouble speaking english these days! LOL so i would be buggered in poland!!

    ReplyDelete

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