Sunday 1 April 2012

Helpful hints for advanced English students

Many Polish idioms translate directly and literally into English. When speaking to Brits or Americans, feel free to use these Polish idioms with confidence in English, and proudly show off your mastery of both languages. If you know of any more Polish idioms with literal English translations, please let me know. From the mountain, I thank!

O co chodzi? – “About what is it walking?”

Kombinuje, jak koń pod górę – “He is combining like a horse up hill”
Czuję się w niezręcznej sytuacji – “I feel myself in an unmanual situation”

Mucha nie siada – “a fly does not sit”

Nie ściemniaj – “Don't darken”

Bo będzie cienko! – “because it will be thin!”

Nie chciałbym być w twojej skórze – “I wouldn't want to be in your leather”

Świecić pustkami – “To shine with emptinesses”

Coś jest nie tak – “Something is no yes”

Pół biedy – “Half of the poverty”

Nie mam zielonego pojęcia – “I do not have a green concept”

Myśleć o niebieskich migdałach – “thinking about blue almonds”

Przegiąć pałę – “to overbend the big truncheon”

Broń Panie Boże! – “Defend, Lord God!”

Ja sobie dam radę z tym – “I to myself will give advice with this”

Jak cię widzą, tak cię piszą – “How you they see, yes you they write”

Komu w drogę, temu czas – “To whom in the road, ago time”

Wpuścić kogoś w maliny – “To let someone into the raspberries"

Machnąć reką na coś – “To wave hand on something"

Nie ma mowy! – “There has no speech!”

Nie rób wsi! – “Do not make a village!

Gdzie tam! – “Where there!

Co ma piernik do wiatraka? “What has honey-cake to windmill?

Nie - faktycznie! – “No - factically!

W grucie rzeczy – In the soil of things"

Jedna wielka lipa! – “One great lime tree!
This time last year:
Stalin's plans to escalate nuclear Armageddon

This time two years ago:
Warsaw's favourite weekend destination

This time three years ago:
We are two

This time four years ago:
Crushed velvet dusk in my City of Dreams

This time five years ago:
My very first Jeziorki blog post

8 comments:

toyah said...

@Mike
Where cooks six there doesn't have what to eat.

2catsinjapan said...

"to kidnap oneself with a hoe on the sun"

toyah said...

@dwakoty
That is a real beauty!

Michael Dembinski said...

@ toyah, dwakoty, everyone else - please keep them coming!

Anonymous said...

This also works the other way round:

To beat a dead horse - walić zdechłego konia
To get knickers in a twist - kręcić majtkami
To walk on eggshells - wejść na jajka

2catsinjapan said...

"to carve an idiot"
"to take legs behind waist"
"to drive (herd) in a goat's corner"
"to pepper from things" or "to screw (f*ck) from things"
"lack you the fifth floorboard"
"to pull out oneself like Phillip from hemp"

Ok, this is harder than I thought.

Anonymous said...

odslonic kotary = de-elephant (the) curtains

Michael Dembinski said...

De-elephant the curtains! And while you're at it, make a banking through-lion to my account :)