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Polish · The Essential Ten

no co ty!

noh TSOH tih · /nɔ ˈt͡sɔ tɨ/

No way! / Come on! / You can't be serious.

1/5 Grandma-safe

mild, playful; fine on daytime TV

Literally

"well what you"

Word-for-word — which is rarely what it means.

How to use it

The everyday Polish "no way," powered by the mighty particle "no" — which in Polish means yes, well, come on, and hmm, depending on delivery. Flat, it's skeptical ("come off it"); bright and rising, it's delighted disbelief ("no way, really?!"). Also does duty as modest deflection: compliment a Pole and you'll often get "no co ty" back, meaning "oh stop it." Grandma-safe and endlessly useful — one of the fastest ways to sound like you actually speak Polish rather than recite it.

Heard in the wild

Zaręczyli się? No co ty, serio?!

They got engaged? No way, seriously?!

Where it lands

Poland (universal)

Quick answers

What does "no co ty!" mean?
In Polish, "no co ty!" means "No way! / Come on! / You can't be serious.". Literally it's "well what you". The everyday Polish "no way," powered by the mighty particle "no" — which in Polish means yes, well, come on, and hmm, depending on delivery. Flat, it's skeptical ("come off it"); bright and rising, it's delighted disbelief ("no way, really?!"). Also does duty as modest deflection: compliment a Pole and you'll often get "no co ty" back, meaning "oh stop it." Grandma-safe and endlessly useful — one of the fastest ways to sound like you actually speak Polish rather than recite it.
Is "no co ty!" offensive?
It's on the mild end — 1/5 (Grandma-safe) on the Punch-o-Meter. mild, playful; fine on daytime TV.
How do you pronounce "no co ty!"?
Say it "noh TSOH tih" — capitals mark the stressed syllable. In IPA: nɔ ˈt͡sɔ tɨ.

Related in Polish

kurczę KOOR-cheh Shoot / darn — the softest rung of the euphemism ladder. masakra mah-SAHK-rah A disaster / unbelievable / total carnage — the all-purpose 'this is insane.' o Jezu oh YEH-zoo Oh God / oh no / oh wow — everyday mild alarm, despite the holy name. no weź! noh VESH Oh come on! / Give me a break! ja pierdolę yah pyehr-DOH-leh Holy shit / un-fucking-believable — vulgar astonishment at the state of things. o w mordę! oh v MOR-deh Whoa / well I'll be damned — surprise, as if you'd just been punched.

The same idea, elsewhere

Via concepts like "No way".

how to say "No way" →

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