Learn Polish with "Miś Uszatek"...

"Miś Uszatek"("Floppy Bear", literally "Teddy Floppy-ear") is one of the cartoon I remember from my childchood. It is second the most popular cartoon after "Bolek i Lolek" in all-time Polish ranks of animated programs. 

The cartoon is also popular in 22 other countries, it was sold for example to Canada, Iran or even African nations. In Finland it is known as "Nalle Luppakorva", in Slovenia as "Medvedek Uhec", in Hungary as "Füles Mackó", in Catalonia (Spain) as "Les històries de l'osset Faluc", in Macedonia as "Мечето Ушко (Mecheto Ushko)", in the Netherlands as "Teddy Hangoor", and in Japan as "Oyasumi Kuma-chan".

I chose that cartoon for you, because they speak quite easy Polish here (in comparison with other cartoons where very specific and not very usuful vocabulary is used). 

The episode is titled: "Zakupy" ("Shopping").

Enjoy!

A few words and expressions from that episode:

Robiłem dzisiaj zakupy.- I was shopping today.

słoik miodu, dwa rogaliki i książeczkę z obrazkami- the jar of honey, two croissants and a book with pictures

Nie mam pieniędzy. - I have no money.

Zapomniałem co mam kupić.- I forgot what I should buy.

Na co czekasz?- What are you waiting for?

Czy ja wiem?- that expression we use when we can't decide about something. For example I ask you if you prefer tea or coffee and while wondering what you like more, you can say: Czy ja wiem? (it shows that you are not sure). Then you make your final decision.

Patrz!- Look!

Mam pomysł!- I have an idea!

If you would like to get the transcript of all episode, please let me know.

Words with more than one meaning...

In each language we can find words which have more than one meaning. Today a few examples for you:

mucha

zamek

szpilki

mysz(ka)

pilot

siatka

The word: 'wolny' has a few meanings.

wolny: 1) single (Jestem wolny(m)/ wolna(f)- I'm single)

            2) available/ unreserved (Is this place available?- Czy to miejsce jest wolne?)

3) slow

4) spare (spare time- wolny czas)

5) off (Today I have a day off- Dzisiaj mam wolny dzień)

6) free (Are you free tomorrow afternoon?- Czy jesteś wolny jutro po południu?)

How to say "I know.." in Polish?

What is the diffrence between "znam" and "wiem"? Both means the same: "I know". So when to use which one? That's one of the most common mistake among foreigners speaking Polish.

Look at two sentences:

1) Wiem, gdzie jest hotel. I know where is the hotel.

2) Znam tego chłopaka. I know this boy.

If you are going to use one more verb after "I know", then you should say: wiem. If there is no verb in the second part of the sentence, say: znam.

More examples:

Wiem, jak ona ma na imię. I know what is her name.- here we have a verb: ma (mieć)

Nie wiem dlaczego on nie zadzwonił. I don't know why he didn't call.- again we have the verb: zadzwonił (zadzwonić)

Znam Magdę. I know Magda. NO VERB!

Nie znam Wrocławia. I don't know Wrocław. NO VERB!

After 'znam' you should you Genitive case.

wiedzieć

ja wiem

ty wiesz

on/ ona/ ono wie

my wiemy

wy wiecie

oni/ one wiedzą

znać

ja znam

ty znasz

on/ ona/ono zna

my znamy 

wy znacie

oni/ one znają

Czy znasz polską piosenkarkę Monikę Brodkę i jej utwór: "Znam cię na pamięć" (Do you know Polish singer Monika Brodka and her piece: "I know you by heart")?

Please write in comments under the post on the blog your own examples of sentences. I will check it for you.

Autobusy i tramwaje

Do you know what does 'kanar' mean? It is a person who checks if we have a valid ticket in the tram/bus or not. 'Kanar' can wear an uniform, but most of the time, he/she wears casual clothes.

photo: www.cozadzien.pl

Kanar gets on when your annual ticket expired yesterday;)

If you are new in Poland and if you want to check how to get from one place to another one (inside the city), those links might be usuful:

Wrocław: wroclaw.jakdojade.pl

Kraków: krakow.jakdojade.pl

Warszawa: warszawa.jakdojade.pl

Gdańsk, Gdynia: trojmiasto.jakdojade.pl

Łódź: lodz.jakdojade.pl

9 new words for you:

autobus- a bus

autobus nocny- a night bus

autobus pospieszny- a fast bus (it doesn't stop at every bus stop, that's why it arrives to destination a bit quicker than other buses)

tramwaj- a tram

przystanek- a stop

przesiąść się (perfective)- to change one bus for another one

jechać „na gapę”(jechać bez biletu)- to travel without ticket

wysiąść (perfective)- to get off

wsiąść (perfective)- to get on/ to get in

Do you understand this dialogue?

A: Przepraszam pana, czy ten autobus jedzie na dworzec pkp?
Excuse me Sir, does this bus go to the train station?

B:Tak.
Yes.

A:Na którym przystanku mam wysiąść? 
Which stop I should get off?

B:Na czwartym.
(On) 4th.

A:Dziękuję bardzo.
Thank you very much.

FIVB Mistrzostwa świata w piłce siatkowej mężczyzn Polska 2014

FIVB Volleyball Men's World Championship Poland 2014

 Czy oglądaliście na żywo któryś z meczy? Jak idzie na mistrzostwach drużynom z Waszych krajów? Polska gra naprawdę dobrze. W ostatni weekend byłam na meczu w Krakowie, dość przypadkowo, obserwując grę Iranu i Belgii. Niestety na mecz Polski nie udało mi się do tej pory dotrzeć.

 

mecz- a match  

siatkówka- a volleyball  

grać- to play

grać w siatkówkę- to play volleyball 

Lubię grać w siatkówkę.- I like playing volleyball.  

 

 

 

rozgrzewka- a warm-up (a knock-up, warming -up exercises)

drużyna- a team

 

 

cheerleaderka  - a cheerleader

sędzia- a referee

bilet- a ticket

rząd- a row

miejsce- a seat

 

Kibice Iranu byli bardzo energiczni, dużo krzyczeli, śpiewali,często wstawali z miejsc. 

kibic- a fan

flaga- a flag

kibicować- to support

Kibicowałam (f)/ Kibicowałem (m) + Dative case: Iranowi/ Belgii/ Polsce/USA...

Komu kibicujesz? (who do you support?)

wygrać- to win

Drużyna Iranu wygrała mecz. (Iran's team won the match.)

przegrać- to loose

Drużyna Belgii przegrała mecz.(Belgium's team lost the match.)

Wynik: 3:1(trzy do jednego) dla Iranu. 

(Result: 3:1 for Iran.)

Slang, cz.1

Do you know any Polish slang? I would like to teach you the most  popular one. Today a few examples. But trust me, there are many, many more...

1) ROBOTA

which is a slang word for 'praca' (a work, a job)

Example: Jutro nie idę do roboty. Mam wolny dzień. - Tomorrow I'm not going to work. I have a day off.

2) FACET

means 'mężczyzna' (a man), like 'dude' or 'guy' in English.

Znasz tego faceta? - Do you know this guy?

3) FAJKA

means 'papieros' (a cigarette)

Masz fajkę?- Do you have a cigarette?

4) KNAJPA

means 'restauracja/ pub/ bar'- any place where you can eat or drink something

Czy znasz jakąś fajną knajpę w Warszawie?- Do you know any cool bar/ pub/ restaurant in Warsaw?

5) IMPRA

means 'impreza' (a party) 

O której godzinie zaczyna się impra u Adama?- At what time the party starts at Adams?

6) FEJS

means 'facebook'

Co robisz? Nic specjalnego, siedzę na fejsie. - What are you doing? Nothing special, I'm on facebook.

7) ZETA

means 'złote/ złotych'

Ile kosztuje wstęp? Pięć zeta.- How much is the entrance? Five zlotys.

Banksy i 15 nowych słów...

The homework for today: try to learn 15 new Polish words!

In the next post, we will try to use them in the sentences!

To make it more interesting for you, I suggest you using original, even strange pictures which contain words we want to memorize. For example, you can use the pictures of British grafitti artist- Banksy.

A few words about Banksy: 

Banksy to brytyjski artysta, który tworzy graffiti w nocy.

Banksy is a British artist who make graffiti at night.

Jego prace pojawiają się na ulicach Londynu i w innych miejscach na świecie.

His work appeares on Londons streets and in other places in the world.

Teraz spójrz na jego graffiti i spróbuj zapamiętać nowe słowa.

Now, have a look at his graffiti and try to remember new words. 

Obejrzyjcie również prezentację najlepszych prac Banksego!

Watch also presentation of Banky's the best graffiti!

Co lubisz jeść na śniadanie?

Czy zawsze jesz śniadanie? O której godzinie? 

Co lubisz jeść na śniadanie? Co zwykle jecie na śniadanie w Twoim kraju?

Ja zawsze piję kawę z mlekiem, niestety bardzo rzadko jem cokolwiek. Wiem, to niezbyt zdrowo...

A Ty, co lubisz?

płatki śniadaniowe- careal

kanapka- a sandwich

ser- a cheese

szynka- a ham

masło- a butter 

dżem- a jam

miód- honey 

PIECZYWO-  BREADSTUFF

 

bułka

 

bagietka

 

chleb

 

rogal

Tell me what you like having for breakfast (in comments) and I will correct your mistakes if there will be any:) You  should remember that after verbs: pić (to drink), jeść (to eat), lubić (to like) we use Accusative case. Have you already heard about Polish cases? If not, don't worry, I  will explain it in one of the post and for now you can only learn original words.

Radio!

In my opinion, one of the best way to learn language is LISTENING. You can listen radio, songs, news, music, friends.. Try to listen as much as possible every day!  It is a quite long process to learn language with this method, but also the most effective. I'm sure it is worth and after a few months you will see the results.

If you are at the beginning of your adventure with Polish, you won't be able to separate the words which you are hearing (for example on radio), but after some time you will slowly manage to do it and after a few months you will start to understand the words and then sentences. Remember, when you listen Polish for first time  your goal is to let your mind get used to the sounds of language, as if you were a baby learning... So don't worry if you understand nothing, still it is very effective.

I strongly advice you listening to one of the Polish radios every day (you can play it while you are doing other things):

1) RMF FM  (click on the name of the radio to get connected). They play lots of music, most of the time songs are in English, but you will also hear Polish language many times :)

2) Radio WAWA They play only Polish songs.

3) Radio Zet One of the most popular Polish radio. Music, talking, everything :)

4) Polskie Radio Jedynka News, music, disscusion, debates etc.

Try to understand a little more each time you listen. One day, you might realize that what you're hearing is a weather forecast. Next days, maybe you will pick out the words for "sun" or "rain". Then, work up to understanding more and more what the weather forecast is.

Powodzenia :)