How You Say?

Jestem w autobusie, nie na autobusie!

English Phonemes: "YEHS-tehm v ah-oo-toh-BOO-shyeh, nyeh nah ah-oo-toh-BOO-shyeh"

Literal translation: “I am in bus, not on bus!”

Important (and lesson-relevant) Fun Fact: Polish doesn’t have articles! That’s why using “a” and “the” correctly in English is tough for Polish speakers learning English. (True for other languages, too.)

Jestem = I am
W = in, inside
Autobusie = bus (singular object form) 
Nie = no, not
Na = on, on top of

Listener Mom suggested I talk about the difference between "on the bus" and "in the bus". Thanks, Mom!

In English, we say “I’m getting on the bus” to mean that we are boarding a bus. But when James Bond jumps onto a speeding bus from a bridge, we also say in English that he is “on the bus”. However, in Polish, there is a distinct linguistic difference between these two types of being “on the bus”. To Poles, the bus is an object into which you get, but not onto which you climb. Only daredevils get on a bus. 

This is why sometimes you’ll hear a Polish speaker say in English “I get in the bus.” Conceptually, that’s correct. Linguistically, it’s correct also. It just sounds strange to us native English speakers because we always say “I get on the bus” even though we all know we don’t intend to climb on top of the vehicle. (And don’t get me started on ‘hopping’ buses!)

Similar distinctions exist for other stuff like trains, or when Poles talk about what’s “on” TV, meaning a physical object on top of the TV set, versus what’s “in” TV, meaning what program is playing. In English, we say “what’s on TV” to mean the programs, and we switch to say “what’s on THE TV” to refer to physical objects on top of physical television sets. But Polish doesn’t have articles! So aside from the conceptual way Poles consider the objects themselves, Poles have to be particular and deliberate about using “in” versus “on” to achieve the same specificity that articles provide in English.

Perhaps you have a native Polish speaker in your life that makes correct but sometimes odd-sounding turns of phrase? Now, hopefully, you know a bit more about why.  :-)

Questions/Comments/Feedback/Requests? Email us! [email protected]
Visit our website! www.howyousay.fm
Tweet us! @HowYouSayFM

And if you have a moment, please leave us a review on your podcast players of choice so folks like you can find the show more easily! Thanks!!

Nie mój cyrk, nie moje małpy! 

English Phonemes: “nyeh mooy tsihrk, nyeh MOH-yeh MAHW-pih”

Literal translation: “Not my circus, not my monkeys!”
Closest English saying: “This isn’t my party!”
Meaning: None of this craziness is my doing! I have nothing to do with the nuttery going on!

Nie = no, not
Mój = my [singular masculine]
Cyrk = circus
Moje = my [plural]
Małpy = monkeys

Listener Karen remembered hearing a Polish phrase ages ago about circuses and monkeys, and that discussion generated this episode. Thanks, Listener Karen!

Questions/Comments/Suggestions/Requests? Email us! [email protected]
Visit the website www.howyousay.fm
Tweet us @HowYouSayFM

And if you can, leave us a glowing review on your podcast player so other Polish language aficionados can find us, too!

Niech Moc Będzie Z Tobą!

English Phonemes: “nyehh mohts B[Ę]-jeh z TOH-b[ą]”

Special request from Listener Trevor! Trevor asks, how do you say "May The Force Be With You!" in Polish?

Niech = Let, May
Moc = Power, Force, Strength
Będzie = Be (it will be)
Z = With
Tobą = You [singular] (object form that’s used with prepositions)

Quick caveat: This assumes a singular recipient of this wish! As we’ve seen before, Polish distinguishes between singular and plural recipients of any phrase. We have different words for you singular (“ty”) and you plural (“wy”), and those word bases change appearance when in their various object forms. 

Specifically, “with you [singular]” is always “z Tobą” whereas “with you [plural]” is always “z Wami” 

Different grammar rules apply to “to you”, “of you”, “from you”… but one thing at a time. We’re just learning phrases. The grammar nitty gritty is further behind the curtain than we will venture here.

*Fun fact, we don’t have articles in Polish! Successful usage of “a” and “the” is tough to master for Polish speakers learning English for that reason.

Questions/Comments/Feedback/Requests? Email us! [email protected]
Visit our website: www.howyousay.fm
Tweet us! @HowYouSayFM

Weź się w karby!

English Phonemes: “vehsh shyeh v KAHR-bih” 

Literally, the phrase word-for-word translates to "You take [your]self in[to] tally!"

The closest English equivalents are: "Suck it up, buttercup!" or "Get a grip" or "Gather yourself together" or "Show some grit" or "Get yourself in order".

Perfect occasion for this phrase because of New Year’s resolutions being made right around this time of year. 

You’ll really impress with this phrase. This is deeeeeeeeply rooted in the culture and history, (the Polish people pride themselves on being a hearty and tough resilient people). Even so, there are some folks who speak Polish today who, if they aren’t well read enough, may not even know this one. But those who do will be shocked if you drop this pearl on the table. It’s not archaic or anything, but it is old-school and very classy. 

You can say this to yourself as a self-motivator or you can say it to a Polish-speaking friend who may need a little tough love (and a laugh!)

Show ideas/suggestions/comments/questions? Email [email protected]

Tweet us @HowYouSayFM

Visit our website: www.howyousay.fm

Happy New Year!

I Szczęśliwego Nowego Roku!

English phonemes: “ee [sz][cz][ę]sh-lee-VEH-goh noh-VEH-goh ROH-koo”

Literally means "And A Happy New Year!" This is in the object form, because like we discussed last week, the first part of the sentence remains unspoken, but it is understood that the speaker is wishing the listener a specific object, which here is "a happy new year". (English has subjects and objects in sentences, too, but Polish is more strict about differentiating word forms for each part of the sentence.)

i = 'and'
Szczęśliwego = 'happy' or 'merry' (an adjective in its (masculine) object form)
Nowego = 'new' (an adjective in its (masculine) object form)
Roku = 'year' (a masculine noun (singular) in its object form)

In this episode, Julia also breaks down the correct way to pronounce the [sz] phoneme and the [ę] letter of the Polish alphabet. Then she walks us through, step by step, how to tackle stringing all those phonemes together!

Next week's show will be much easier! Promise!

Comments/Suggestions/Feedback/Ideas? Email [email protected]

Visit the web site for notes and past episodes! www.howyousay.fm

Tweet us @HowYouSayFM

Wesołych Świąt 

Extra Credit: Bożego Narodzenia 

English Phonemes: “veh-SŌ-wih shfee[ą]t boh-[Ż]EH-goh nah-roh-DZEH-nyah” 

This week, we learn the generic and popular phrase to say "Happy Holidays", which is a catch all for the season and applies everywhere. We also debut the first ever Extra Credit section where you learn how to add the correct modification to make your Seasonal Greeting about Christmas specifically. 

We see a few Polish letters come back to play! 'ł', 'ś', 'ą', and 'ż' ! If you need help practicing those, drop us a line!

Next week, we'll cover how to say "and a Happy New Year!" 

Email the show: [email protected]

Visit the website: www.howyousay.fm

Tweet us: @HowYouSayFM

Ale mnie ktoś wspominał! 

English Phonemes: “AH-leh mnjeh ktohsh fspoh-MEE-nahw”

This is a nostalgic phrase, yes, but it's also the perfect thing to say as a funny "excuse me" after you burp! Like in English we have the colloquialism "my ears are burning", so here, the meaning is jokingly conveying that because someone out there was thinking of you at that exact moment, it pressured a burp out of you.

*If you're in truly FORMAL polite company, do NOT use this! Read the room, folks! Much like you wouldn't dare follow a loud burp with a joke in front of your boss, same applies in Polish.

Ale = "And How!" or "Oh How!" - Interjection word like "Well" or "Wow" or "Oh boy". Punches up whatever comes next.

Mnie = "Me" - Like in English, we don't use 'I' everywhere, so too in Polish, we change the 'I' word depending on where it appears in the sentence. So 'about me', 'to me', 'of me', etc.

Ktoś = "Somebody" or "Someone"

Wspominał = "[he/she/it] Remembered Fondly" or "[he/she/it] Reminisced" - past tense!

Questions? Comments? Show Ideas? Email us at [email protected]

Tweet us @HowYouSayFM

Visit the site for more show notes and past episodes: www.howyousay.fm

Uwaga! Or Uważaj! 

English Phonemes: “ooh-VAH-gah! ooh-VAH-[ż]ahy!”

In this lesson, we learn "Uwaga", the general word for "Caution!" or "Attention!" or "Alert!". Often spoken, and often seen on road signs and the like. 

We also see the related imperative instruction version of 'uwaga' that one would hear spoken by one person to another. "Uważaj" specifically means "hey you [singular], be careful", or "hey you [singular], watch out", or "hey you [singular], look out", or any other synonym for making someone nearby pay attention quickly.

We also learn to pronounce the [ż] letter of the Polish alphabet! Learn to love that duck face! So far, we've seen it with the [cz] letter combo, here with [ż]today, and we will see it again, friends! 

Questions? Comments? Requests? Email [email protected]

Want to see more content? Visit www.howyousay.fm

Tweet us @HowYouSayFM

Smacznego! Nawzajem! Dziękuję!

English Phonemes: “sma[cz]-NEH-goh! nah-WZAH-yehm! j[ę]-KOO-yeh!”

Perfect for the upcoming Thanksgiving Day weekend! Here's a culturally specific phrase that all Polish speakers will know. In Poland, it is very common (and good manners) to say "Smacznego!" (literally 'Tastiness!') just before you start eating a meal. The response is "Nawzajem!" which means, 'likewise!' or 'you, too!' or 'right back atcha!'

At the end of the meal, it is also polite to thank your family and friends for the meal and for their company. We do this by saying "thank you" before getting up to do anything else. (See episode 5 for the lesson in how to say 'Dziękuję!')

*Small correction from the audio in the episode: "Nawzajem" is written as ONE word, not two. It's rooted in two words, but written as one.

Questions? Comments? Suggestions? Holiday pictures of cartoon Turkeys? Email the show at [email protected]

Tweet us @HowYouSayFM

Visit the website for show notes and other episodes www.howyousay.fm

Dziękuję!

English Phonemes: “j[ę]-KOO-yeh”

In this episode, Julia teaches us how to say "thank you", (literally, specifically "*I* thank you"), how to pronounce the vowel ę in Polish, and the importance of knowing that "ę" at the end of a verb usually denotes a first person conjugation while "e" at the end of a verb usually denotes a third person (singular) conjugation. That's a lot to learn from just one word!

Questions? Comments? Feedback? Email the show at [email protected]

Visit the web site for show notes and other fun stuff www.howyousay.fm

Tweet us @HowYouSayFM