Sunday Słownictwo and Sordid Weekend Summary

Dzień dobry. Dziś mam jeszcze jedną dużą listę słownictwa. Napiszę więcej później.

Słownictwo:

I've decided for now to leave off the part of speech. In most cases it is obvious. I will include 'to' on the English verbs.

• wielki / very big
• półwysep / peninsula
• siedzieć | usiąść / to sit
• leżeć / to lie
• leży mi to na sumieniu / it lies heavy on my conscience
• piekło / hell
• gubić | zgubić / to lose
• łąka / meadow
• słaby / weak
• światło / light
• prawie / almost
• rodzynek / raisin
• ciało / body
• trzeba / ~ one should
• stolica / capital (city)
• opalać się / to sunbathe
• umawiać się | umowić się / to make an appointment
• wiersz / poem
• wieś / village
• szczęście / luck, happiness
• księżyc / moon
• wystawa / exhibition
• wielbłąd / camel
• zmieszany / confused
• skarpetki nie od pary / unmatched socks
• trójkąt bermudzki / Bermuda triangle
• kołnierzyk / collar
• kolszulka polo / polo shirt, golf shirt
• zarozumiały / arrogant, immodest
• szpak / starling
• gęsi / goose, geese
• bocian / stork
• zmiany / changes
• dziobać / to peck at sth or somebody
• spieszyć się | pospieszyć się / to be in a hurry
• wreszcie / finally [2nd appearance I'm sure, can't seem to remember it]
• zrezygnowany / resigned
• bić | zbić / to beat, to hit
• szyć | uszyć / to sew, to stitch
• ślimak / snail, slug
• reguła / rule
• nagle / suddenly
• zerknąć / to glance, to peek
• znowu / again
• własny / own
• zdarzać się | zdarzyć się / to happen
• krzyczeć / to shout
• spodnie / pants
• surdut / jacket
• przewracać | przewrócić / to knock down, to knock over
• macać | pomacać / to feel
• palto / coat
• piec / stove
• komin / chimney
• dziura / hole
• wzywać | wezwać / to call, to summon

Zwroty:

• dawno temu nie widzieliśmy się / long time no see

More to come later today! The sordid weekend part was just a cheap spoof to draw some hits. We bloggers are very competitive about these sorts of things!

Dopełniacz: 1, Kolin: 0

I've been getting a lot of Polish homework done today. Exercises on cases mostly, including genetive / dopełniacz singular and accusative / biernik singular. I was motivated to finally write a grammar entry summarising a few suffix rules for a case or two. My pride swelled and I attempted my homework exercises on dopełniacz plural. Argh. I thought dopełniacz was going to be one of the easy ones. As it turns out I have learned the easy ones already. I will attack dopełniacz again once my frustration level dips to a more tolerable level.

I am lacking somewhat on my understanding of what constitutes a hard or soft stem sound in Polish. I understand the concept but once I try to apply the 'rules' I get confused about the results! My wife can check my homework to see what is correct and give me the correct answers, but you really need someone with training to explain 'WHY.' So when I'm not in Polish class, I have a few good books!

Thus, this evening those of you waiting for grammar summaries (yes, I can hear the crowd clammering for grammar summaries) will have to be placated by tonight's vocabulary. Really, vocabulary needs to be my major aim these days, since I seem to need to look up a word from almost every sentence in my homework.

Słownictwo:

Remember that czasowniki are listed in two forms: niedokonany | dokonany

• ziemia / earth, soil (rzecz)
• doniczka / flowerpot (rzecz)
• skrzynka / window box (rzecz)
• drabinka / small ladder or trellis (rzecz)
• nawóz / fertiliser (rzecz)
• uczciwy / honest (przy)
• odwiedzać | odwiedzić / to visit
• łamać | złamać / to break
• chwalić | pochwalić / to praise, to glorify
• odkrywać | odkryć / to uncover
• rozwiązywać | rozwiązać / to solve
• próbować | spróbować / to test, to try
• marzyć / to dream
• mijać | minąć / to pass, to go past
• cierpieć / to suffer
• odmawiać | odmówić / to refuse, to decline
• komponować | skomponować / to compose
• drapać | podrapać / to scratch
• piec | upiec / to bake, to roast
• deptać | podeptać / to tread, to trample
• dostosowywać | dostosować / to adjust or adapt to
• maszerować | pomaszerować / to march
• przekonywać | przekonać / to convince
• święcić | święć / to bless
• świętować | poświętować / to celebrate
• poświęcać | poświęcić / to sacrifice, to expend
• dziwić się | zdziwić się / to surprise
• cieszyć się | ucieszyć się / to delight, to gladden
• płaszcz / overcoat (rzecz)
• teczka / briefcase, folder (rzecz)
• pozostały / remaining (przy)
• zajęcia / classes (rzeczownik, liczba mnoga)
• żołnierz / soldier (rzecz)
• wielu / much, a lot (zaimek)
• niewiele / not much, not many (zaimek)
• pismo / writing, alphabet (rzecz)
• wyraz / word (rzecz)

Czasowniki

I know lately this blog has been more vocabulary lists than anything else . . . I'm working on getting some grammar notes on here but right now I'm up to my eyeballs in new words. I'm swimming in them. It's hard to get the grammar when you have to look up every second word!

From this point forward, all verbs (where applicable) will be listed in both their perfective and imperfective forms. I'm terribly slow at the mental processing required to differentiate, translate, and label verbs into these categories. Some books use the perfective/imperfective distinction, and I get confused when I see the Polish books using 'dokonany' and 'niedokonany.' Which is which? I know the answer but it always takes me a while to get there.

THEREFORE, I will not be using the perfective/imperfective labels. Verbs will also now be listed in both niedokonany and dokonany forms. For that matter, verbs are no longer verbs. They are czasowniki. The vocabulary lists will use the Polish terms for the various parts of speech. So continues the slow transformation of this blog from an English one to a Polish one. I hope to one day be ostracized by Warsaw's English language blogging community.

Here it is one last time:

niedokonany = imperfective.

dokonany = perfective.

Verbs will be listed in the following fashion: 

niedokonany | dokonany

na przykład / for example:

kupować | kupić / to buy

Basics:

• rzeczownik / noun
• czasownik / verb
• przymiotnik / adjective
• przysłówek / adverb
• liczba pojedyncza / singular
• liczba mnoga / plural
• rodzaj męski / masculine
• rodzaj żeński / feminine
• rodzaj nijaki / neuter
• bezokolicznik / infinitive
• zaimek / pronoun
• przyimek / preposition
• czas przeszły / past tense
• czas teraźniejszy / present tense
• czas przyszły / future tense

 Słownictwo: (you'll figure out the abbreviations)

• atut / trump (rzecz)
• zaleta / virtue, advantage (rzecz)
• plus / plus, advantage (rzecz)
• obiecywać | obiecać / to promise (czas)
• zarośnięty / unshaven, shaggy, overgrown (przy)
• nieogolony / unshaven (przy)
• ogolony / shaved, shaven (przy)
• rozczochrany / unkempt, tousled (przy)
• żółw / tortoise, turtle (rzecz)
• nagle / suddenly (przysł)
• pukanie / knock (rzecz)
• niemowlę / baby (rzecz)
• kac / hangover (rzecz)
• zmywarka / dishwasher (rzecz)
• plecak / backpack (rzecz)
• pidżama / pyjamas (rzecz, lm)
• odwiedzać | odwiedzić / to visit (czas)

Zwroty:

• na łonie natury / in the open
• dawno temu / long ago
• jaka jest różnica między A a B? / what is the difference between A and B?

M jak Milość

In keeping with my mission of Polish immersion, I'm planning to start watching more Polish TV. We got a TV just after Christmas, but sadly I'm watching the English channels more than the Polish ones. 'Talking heads' news programs are terribly boring and unproductive when it comes to learning language. The sillier the show the better. Juvenile talk/activity shows such as those on VIVA Polska and other such networks are more entertaining and provide more . . . context for language learning. Cooking shows would be good. I need to find some.

'M jak Milość' is a Polish classic. It's a weekly soap opera and has been on the air for over a decade. You can watch it on TVP (14 episodes behind) with English subtitles, but it takes away all the fun. The original broadcasts are on TVP2 at 2045 on Monday and Tuesdays. I'm going to start watching. Yes, I know it's a ridiculously silly soap opera. I hope to get hooked and eventually start sending angry letters to the producers (in perfect Polish of course) if they kill the wrong character or end the wrong relationships. Are you a fan already? Who'll watch with me?  We can do Tuesday evening 'M jak Milość' discussion nights. More information on TVP2's 'M jak Milość' page.

Grammar notes still to come this weekend. Here's today's vocab. Sink or swim! I'll refine my method for vocab. listing soon to clarify the differences between imperfective and perfective verb forms. Vocabulary entries to be highlighted with yellow, and grammar with green.

Słownictwo:

• dokąd / where to? (pron)
• coraz / increasingly (adv)
• coraz lepiej / better and better
• cierpliwość / patience (n)
• latarka / flashlight (n)
• włożyć / to insert, to put in (v perf)
• członek / member of a club (n)
• komitet rodzicielski / parent-teacher association (n)
• początek / start (n)
• pech / bad luck (n)
• udawac się / to have success (v)
• udać się / to have success (v, perf)
• wynajmować / to rent (v)
• wynająć / to rent (v, perf)
• zwiedzać / to visit (v)
• zwiedzić / to visit (v, perf)
• zaczynać / to begin, to start (v)
• zacząć / to begin, to start (v, perf)
• głośno / loudly (adv)
• cicho / quietly (adv)
• potrzebny / necessary, needed (adj)
• okropnie / terribly, awfully (adv)
• wdzięczny / thankful (adj)
• ocieplić się / to warm up the weather (v, perf)
• piosenka / song (n)
• szeptać / to whisper (v)
• opowiadać / to tell (v)
• opowiedzieć / to tell (v, perf)
• wierny / faithful (adj)
• wrażenie / sensation, impression (n)
• plotka / rumour (n)

Zwroty:

• poza tym . . . / besides . . .
• w drodze / on the way
• w drodze powrotnej / on the way back

Saturday Evening Vocabulary

More vocab from Friday's class, including some notes on the dative case (Celownik) coming tomorrow or Monday.

Słownictwo:

• zakłopotany / embarrassed (adj)
• olśnienie / flash of insight (n)
• luka / gap, loophole (n)
• brakować / to lack (v)
• zabraknąc / to lack (v, perf)
• narzekać na / to complain about (v)
• kłocić się / to quarrel, to argue (v)
• korzystać z (czegoś) / to use (something) (v)
• oszczędności / savings (n)
• świnka skarbonka / piggy bank (n)
• przybywać / to arrive (v)
• przybyć / to arrive (v, perf)
• ubywać / to go away, to disappear (v)
• ubyć / to go away, to disappear (v, perf)
• zbyt / too (adv)
• zbyt szybki / too quick
• zmarszczka / wrinkle (n)
• siwy / grey (adj)
• zwariowany / mad, crazy (adj, informal)
• szalony / mad, insane (adj)
• starczać / to be enough (v)
• starczy! / that's enough!
• starczyć / to be enough (v, perf)
• zamiast / instead of (prep)
• właściciel / owner (n)
• mandat / ticket (n) from the police

Zwroty:

• Chyba żartujesz? / Are you kidding me?

Powinien . . .

A note to anyone reading this blog for the first time: I don't purport to be an authority on the Polish language. I'm just recording my notes and experiments - some are bound to fail. Follow my advice at your own risk!

One new topic from our last class was 'powinien.' It is a bit of a strange one. I guess it translates pretty directly as 'should,' but there are different forms for each pronoun. There's also no infinitive or 'bezokolicznik' form. Here's how it looks:

• (ja) powinienem . . . (masc)
• (ja) powinnam . . . (fem)
• (ty) powinieneś . . . (masc)
• (ty) powinnaś . . . (fem)
• (on) powinien . . .
• (ona) powinna . . .
• (ono) powinno . . . (neut)
• (my) powinniśmy . . . (masc)
• (my) powinnyśmy . . . (fem)
• (wy) powinniście . . .

Pretty straightforward. So now I should go out and give lots of advice. As usual one should examine oneself before casting the first stone.

• Powinienem jeść więcej lody. / I should eat more ice cream.
• Powinieneś zgolić te śmieszne wąsy. / You should shave that ridiculous moustache.
• Powinnaś zrobić sobie przerwę. / You (fem) should take a break.
• Powinniśmy pomóc Henrikowi doiść do domu. / We should help Henrik walk home.

Do you have any advice for me? What should I do?

Słownictwo na dziś: (I'll certainly add to this after today's class!)

• dodatkowy / additional (adj)
• pole / field (n)
• pole naftowe / oilfield (n)
• środek pobudzający / stimulant (n)
• żaglowiec / sailing ship (n)
• bosman / bosun a job on a sailing ship (n)
• wychować się / to grow up
• dbać o . . . / to care for (v)

I'll try to separate pure vocabulary from phrases from now on, as well as include appropriate prepositions that co-locate with verbs. No sense learning everything twice. The same goes for you folks learning English vocabulary. I strongly recommend you include some kind of determiner before each item in your vocabulary lists. Any determiner will do. This helps train your brain to include determiners in your writing and speech. for example:

• THE tree
• MY book
• A house
• AN hourglass
• HIS shoes

Back to Polish.

Zwroty / phrases:

• daj (mi) spokój! / give me a break!
• przypuszczam, że... / I suppose, that . . .
• w porównaniu z . . . / compared with . . . 
• W porównaniu ze swoją siostrą jest bardzo rozsądna. / Compared with her sister, she's very sensible.

Masz Wyrostek?

I'm struggling to keep up with the volume of vocabulary I need to learn to stay afloat in my class. While the class proceeds, I'm simultaneously trying to catch up with the grammar and vocabulary in Hurrah Po Polsku 1 at home. It's a challenge.

Thanks to those adding to my vocabulary lists. It makes it more fun having you involved.

Dzisiejsze słownictwo: (you know what this means by now)

• wnuczka / granddaughter (n)
• uczennica / schoolgirl (n)
• śpiewać / to sing (v)
• czasopismo / periodical or magazine (n)
• uczeń / schoolboy (n)
• płuco / lung (n)
• wyrostek / appendix (n)
• żołądek / stomach (n)

I've also been testing myself with a set of flash cards on the tram . . . I'll post this vocab bit by bit as I master it! I've gone flash card crazy. I'm going to buy some card stock to make cards of my own for recent vocabulary. It's a lot and I need to work on it more. My tram rides seem to go by so quickly now that I am studying vocabulary instead of playing with my phone or looking out the window. I almost feel like riding an extra stop or two to master those cards that are pestering me.

As soon as I perfect making simple tables in blogger, I'll start posting summaries of personal pronouns (zaimek osobowy) and noun endings for biernik and narzędnik.

Wątroba? Nerka?

 Dzisiejsze słownictwo / today's vocabulary:

• dzisiejsza gazeta / today's paper
• rodzić się / to be born (v)
• przez 10 lat . . . / for 10 years . . . 
• ciężarówka / truck (n)
• podróżowałem dookóła swiata / I travelled around the world.
• żaglowiec / sailing ship (n)
• wychować się / to grow up (v perf)
• lekkomyślny / light-minded (adj)
• sprzątnij po sobie świnio! / clean up after yourself, pig!
• przycisk / button (n)
• mogłaby pani powiedzieć 'przepraszam' / you could say 'excuse me'
• wyspać się / to get enough sleep (v perf)
• wreszcie / at last (adv)
• ciągle / still, continuously
• on ciągle jeszcze jest bez pracy / he is still jobless
• pasować / to fit, to suit (v)
• on powinien . . . / he should . . .
• ona powinna . . . / she should . . .
• ukryć / to hide (v perf)
• wątroba / liver (n)
• nerka / kidney (n)
• zostać / to become (v)
• wziąć / to take (v perf)

Time to Catch Up

My first two Polish classes have been great. I've found a course at The Centre for Polish Studies on Swiętokrzyska. I received a recommendation for the school from a friend and so far I'm really very glad I took his advice. We will learn grammar, hence the title of this blog post.

I bought myself a copy of "Hurrah! Po Polsku" last year, and have been making half hearted attempts at working through it on my own and with my wife's help. So far I'm not past chapter five of twenty. What that means is that although I'm speaking a lot more than I was a few months ago, my knowledge of grammar is pitiful. In my new class, we have been doing exercises from well into the second book in the "Hurrah" series, and I'm already way behind! This weekend I am spending some time working through my book and trying to teach myself some of the basic grammar. I need to catch up fast.

I'm no language genius. This stuff is difficult for me to understand, and studying Polish at home reminds me of that frustrated feeling I had while studying for mandatory French classes in school. Grammatical rules confused and irritated me. Polish possessive pronouns in the dative / celownik did so today. I tend to get a little overwhelmed by how much there is to learn so I know I need to break things into pieces. My goals this weekend include:

1. continue studying and recording new vocabulary
2. reviewing and practicing endings for instrumental / narzędnik with adjectives and nouns.
3. reviewing nominative possessive pronouns
4. reviewing and practicing endings for accusative / biernik

I've decided to forgo maintaining one separate, mammoth vocabulary document, and instead post the new vocabulary each day as part of a blog post. Vocabulary preceding today remains on a separate page.

Today's vocabulary so far:

• podniecać / to excite, to thrill esp. sexually (v)
• doczekać / to wait until (v)
• "Nie mogę się ciebie doczekać."
• strzał w dziesiątkę / bull's eye, right on the money
• chyba / probably
• szkoda, że . . .  / It's a pity that . . . 
• o co ci chodzi? / what do you mean?
• nie szkoda ci czasu? / Aren't you wasting your time?
• reżyser / director film (n)
• urzędnik / clerk, office worker (n)

A Student Once Again

I ventured out today for my first Polish course since last summer. I've got a course now, 90 minutes three times a week. There's just three of us plus our teacher so it's great so far! After just one class it's hard to say how hard it will be but we all enjoyed the class and I think my classmates are around the same level as me. I was a little anxious this morning because I hadn't been on the receiving end of a teacher's questions for so long. Honestly, I was so excited for my course to start that I had trouble sleeping last night. I wasn't exactly bright-eyed and bushy-tailed (try explaining that one to your English students) this afternoon but I had fun.

After a long day I'm far from having enough energy to blog in Polish but I will partially update the słownictwo tonight with some of the new words we used today in class. Today you only get the Polish half. When I get a minute I'll add the English translations. One thing is for certain - my vocabulary really needs a lot of work. My słownictwo from today's class alone has 39 new words on it. I also already have homework!

It's fun to be making faster progress in Polish again and blogging more. Thanks to my new and old readers. As always, your comments are welcome! I'm especially grateful to you patient souls who provide a correction from time to time. Thanks for participating and I hope someone out there is learning as much as I am.

While you're here, click the Facebook 'like' icon to the right so you can be informed via Facebook of updates and other Borsuk na Pradze news, contests, and explorations of Polish and Warsaw. Leave your comments and suggestions in the language of your choice.

Kurs Polskiego - jutro!

Dobry Wieczór!

Dziś wieczorem mam dobrą wiadomość. Jutro popołudniu zaczynam nowy kurs polskiego. Nie miałem lekcje polskiego w szkole od czerwiec rok temu. Wiem, wiem, robię duży błędy z przypadki. Jest trudny język! Mam nadzieje, że moja nauczycielka jest miła. Już znam jej imię: Kasia! Nie jestem zaskoczony!

Podniecać się nowym kursem.

Też, uaktualniłem Słownictwo / Vocabulary dziś wieczorem.

Vocabulary / Słownictwo

Building vocabulary is hard work. Through the course of the day I refer to the dictionary in my phone a handful of times. Just as often, I ask my wife what something means. How much of this do I remember? Very little.

I'm starting to keep a daily log of the words I needed in a day. I haven't yet found a consistent way of keeping track of new words while I'm moving through the city but I suspect that good old pen and paper will prove the best solution.

I will post my daily lists here. For those of you reading this blog for amusement, you won't be bothered by the daily (weekly?) lists, because I will add them to the vocabulary page here: Słownictwo / Vocabulary. Later, you can find this page in the column to the right under "Reference."

For those of you using this page to help you learn Polish, (anyone?) you can refer to the vocabulary page periodically to see what has been added. I'll try to mention in my regular blog posts when the vocab page has been updated. Go check the first list now and tell me what you think. Is this a good way to organise vocabulary?

Dictionary Discoveries: Translated

Yesterday I posted about discovering that the Polish/English dictionary has a history feature, which keeps an effective log of the words I needed in my travels. Scroll down and read that post, 'Dictionary Discoveries' first if you haven't already.

I said that upon first inspection that I could only remember the translation or definition of 18 of the 48 recorded words. I hope you're following along and learning vocabulary too. This list is equally valuable for learners of Polish or English. Here's the list again, this time with translations. Do you know them all?

I have chosen the only the meaning and part of speech I was interested in at the time. There are, of course, many other possibilities.

1. food / jedzenie (n.)
2. meldunek / registration (n.)
3. przyszłość / future (n.)
4. airmail / pocztą lotniczą (n.)
5. pillowcase / poszewka (n.)
6. single / pojedynczy (adj.)
7. good / grzeczny (adj., in this case meaning 'well behaved')
8. help / pomoc (n.)
9. patience / cierpliwość (n.)
10. odbierać / to pick up (v.)
11. czegoś / something (pronoun, genitive case)
12. anything / coś (pronoun)
13. something / coś (pronoun)
14. płyn / liquid or fluid (n.)
15. bleach / wybielacz (n.)
16. comfortable / wygodny (n., in this case of a chair, a bed, glasses . . . )
17. wide / szeroki (adj.)
18. shiny / błyszczący (adj.)
19. makler / (stock)broker (n.)
20. walk / chodzić piechotą (v.)
21. ratusz / town hall (n.)
22. change / reszta (n.)
23. ring / pierścionek (n.)
24. forget / zapominać (v.)
25. celny / customs (adj. 'what kind of officer?')
26. służba / service (n.)
27. graniczny / border (adj.)
28. młodzież / youth(s) (n.)
29. march / maszerować (v.)
30. March / marzec (n.)
31. galop / gallop (n. I love these ones! Free word!)
32. dopiero / only (adv.)
33. begin / po pierwsze (v. 'To begin with, I'd like to know . . . )
34. when / kiedy (adv.)
35. try / starać się (v. to make an effort)
36. salmon / łosoś (n.)
37. happy / szczęśliwy (adj.)
38. ławka / bench (n.)
39. orchid / orchidea (n.)
40. stoic / stoik (n.)
41. zboczony / perverted (adj.)
42. zbocze / slope (n.)
43. spleen / śledziona (n.)
44. stukot / clatter (n.)
45. żal / regret (n.)
46. grudzień / December (n.)
47. obowiązujący / valid (adj.)
48. loyal / lojalny (adj.)

So, how many did you know? How many did you learn?

Dictionary Discoveries

Tonight while riding the #24 home to Grochów, I, like many others on the tram, was playing with my cellphone. That's 'mobile' to you international English speakers. I have a great Polish/English dictionary in my phone that I use many times a day. While trying to compose a text message in Polish, I was looking hopelessly for the 'copy and paste' feature in the dictionary - a sorely lacking feature. Trying to flip back and forth between an SMS and the dictionary page displaying 'food.' It's hard to remember how to spell 'żywność,' which didn't seem to me to be the correct word for food. My wife tells me that the word I was looking for was 'jedzenie.' Of course. Apparently 'żywność' is too scientific, and 'pokarm' is a little too biological in meaning. Great, now how do I remember that?

While searching for the copy and paste feature, I stumbled across 'history.' Low and behold my dictionary has, unbeknownst to me, been collecting my search history and building a list of words to study! Perfect. It's great to have a dictionary at your fingertips but when it is that easy to find the right word, sometimes it is a little difficult to remember.

Without further delay, I present you with the list of my last 48 dictionary searches in Polish or English, in reverse chronological order:

1. food
2. meldunek
3. przyszłość
4. airmail
5. pillowcase
6. single
7. good
8. help
9. patience
10. odbierać
11. czegoś
12. anything
13. something
14. płyn
15. bleach
16. comfortable
17. wide
18. shiny
19. makler
20. walk
21. ratusz
22. change
23. ring
24. forget
25. celny
26. służba
27. graniczny
28. młodzież
29. march
30. March
31. galop
32. dopiero
33. begin
34. when
35. try
36. salmon
37. happy
38. ławka
39. orchid
40. stoic
41. zboczony
42. zbocze
43. spleen
44. stukot
45. żal
46. grudzień
47. obowiązujący
48. loyal

This is a fantastic resource; It is the perfect list of the words I needed in the real world. Moreover, I certainly don't remember all of them, so it is a great study list. Of 48 words, I only just now remember the translation or meaning for 18 of them.

Now for the fun part - I can remember what I was doing when I was looking up most of these words! I seem to come back to this idea again and again - finding a way to make each small lesson memorable in some way can be the key to putting it into long term memory. I find any tactic useful that helps hold something in short term memory long enough so I can use it enough times for it to settle into a more permanent place.

Now, on with the word list, and where applicable, a note on why the word was relevant in my day:

1. food: riding home on the tram tonight, hungry
2. meldunek: waiting in the urząd for my new zameldowanie
3. przyszłość:
4. airmail: mailing a letter home to Canada. We found out the hard way that letters can take months when sent by regular mail. A letter we mailed to Australia on September 27 finally arrived in Sydney LAST WEEK!
5. pillowcase: shopping for pillowcases
6. single: thinking about espresso: 'pojedyńcze czy podwójne?'
7. good: likely a good dog in the street
8. help: wondering if a bleeding man near my apartment needed help
9. patience: thanking the optical shop sales clerk for helping me in Polish
10. odbierać: picking up my new glasses
11. czegoś: shopping for glasses
12. anything: looking for glasses
13. something: looking for glasses
14. płyn: reading labels in the shop, looking for denatured alcohol
15. bleach: more labels, still looking for denatured alcohol
16. comfortable: glasses shopping
17. wide: glasses . . .
18. shiny: you guessed it . . .
19. makler: a student was looking for this word in a lesson
20. walk
21. ratusz: getting off the metro at Ratusz Arsenał
22. change
23. ring
24. forget: returning something my brother 'borrowed' from a restaurant
25. celny: in the airport reading a worker's jacket crest
26. służba: in the airport, reading same jacket crest
27. graniczny: still at the airport . . .
28. młodzież: talking about Polish sail training ships
29. march
30. March
31. galop: talking (rather, listening) about horses with my wife?
32. dopiero: listening to TOK FM on the tram
33. begin
34. when
35. try
36. salmon: buying a salad at Cafe Colombia on Nowy Świat
37. happy
38. ławka: sitting on a bench with friends in Łazienki Park
39. orchid: buying orchid mix on Waszyngtona
40. stoic
41. zboczony: no idea what I was looking for!
42. zbocze
43. spleen
44. stukot: talking about workplace noises with a student
45. żal
46. grudzień
47. obowiązujący
48. loyal

I'll be revisiting this topic, and checking in with more vocabulary lists. I'll have to quiz myself with these words. My dictionary also has a 'learning' feature, where it will provide either a random word, or a 'word of the day.' I discover enough words each day that I don't see the use of this feature for now.

Quiz yourself - how many of these words do you know? I'll post the translations/answers in my next post.

What were the last 5 Polish or English words you learned? To my students reading this, extra points for adding your comments below!

Świnka! Kwiczy!

As mentioned in an earlier post, I am amused and interested by animals and the various names for animal sounds. It is entertaining to discover the differences in the words we use to describe animal sounds in different languages. Besides, animals are just plain fun to talk about. Easy vocabulary building. Knowing the nominative forms of animals, you can easily insult those around you by calling them various animal names. Mast of early first Polish statements were in some form related to "You are a/an X." / "Ty jesteś X." Careful with this!

Today I'll list a few common (and uncommon) animals, along with a little discussion about how they sound. Let's start with some basics everyone ought to learn, along with my best guess of how we name their sound. The next level of entertainment would be how we actually vocalise their sounds. For example, we say in English that a dog barks, although if we imitate a bark we usually say something like 'woof,' or 'ruff.' Poles however, use the verb 'szczekać' for 'bark,' but might imitate the sound as 'how how.' Fun!

• cow / krowa
• moo / muczeć
• horse / koń
• whinny / rżeć
• dog / pies
• bark / szczekać
• cat / kot
• meow / miałczeć
• mouse / mysz
• squeak / piszczeć
• lion / lew
• roar / ryczeć
• tiger / tygrys
• roar / ryczeć
• bear / niedźwiedź
• roar / ryczeć
• bird / ptak
• chirp / ćwierkać
• pig / świnia
• squeal / kwiczać kwiczeć
• oink / ??
• snort / prychać or parskać (or the perfective forms prychnąć and parsknąć?). More about perfective and imperfective forms another day.

Now, on to a few others:

• snake / wąż
• hiss / syczeć
• badger / borsuk
• ?? / ??
• hamster / chomik
• squeak / piszczeć
• rat / szczur
• squeak / piszczeć
•  donkey / osioł
• bray / ryczeć
•  giraffe / żyrafa
• ?? / ??
•  zebra / zebra
• whinny? / rżeć
•  monkey / małpa
• screech? / skrzeczeć
• deer / jeleń
• ?? / ??
• frog / żaba
• ribbit / kumkać
• croak / rechotać - have I got these the right way around?

Do you agree with my summary? What have I missed? I have left question marks on the ones I'm not sure about. I'll leave the discussion of the diminutive forms for later. Maybe I have chosen some remarkably silent animals. I'm interested in the similarity between ryczeć (from roar and bray) and rżeć for whinny. Of course, I don't expect to always find direct, literal translations and understand that gaps and differences do exist.

Do donkeys and horses sound different? Tell me what your favourite animals are and I'll add them to another list. Help me fill out the chart by commenting below!