Polish · 20 phrases

Frustration & Fatalism

Poland's richest register: the traffic, the paperwork, the weather, the prices. From grandma-safe szlag and the surreal motyla noga up through do dupy, chujowo, and the door-slamming pierdolę to — plus mieć wyjebane, the modern art of not giving a single fuck. Complaining well is a Polish social skill; here's the toolkit.

ale lipa AH-leh LEE-pah What a letdown / lame / a dud. cholera kho-LEH-rah Damn / darn it — the respectable person's curse. dziadostwo jah-DOHS-tfoh Shoddy junk / cheap rubbish. motyla noga! moh-TIH-lah NOH-gah Well butter my biscuit! — a joke curse of surreal, retro charm. niedzielny kierowca nyeh-JEL-nih kyeh-ROHF-tsah Sunday driver — the road-rage taxonomy's gentlest species. no weź! noh VESH Oh come on! / Give me a break!

szlag SHLAHK Damn it — 'szlag by to trafił' = may a stroke strike it. zdzierstwo ZJEHR-stfoh A rip-off / highway robbery. burdel BOOR-del A mess / chaos / a shambles. do dupy doh DOO-pih Crap / worthless / it sucks. pieron PYEH-ron Damn / blast it — the signature Silesian curse. rzygać mi się chce ZHIH-gahch mee sheh KHTSEH It makes me sick — disgust, literal or moral. syf SIF Filth / grime / a dump — squalor as a one-syllable verdict. chujowy khoo-YOH-vih Shit-tier / terrible — the vulgar bottom of the quality scale. kurwica koor-VEE-tsah Blind fury / a rage fit — 'mieć kurwicę' is to be seething. mam to w dupie mahm toh v DOO-pyeh I don't give a shit. mieć wyjebane MYECH vih-yeh-BAH-neh To not give a single fuck — supreme, almost zen indifference. opierdolić oh-pyehr-DOH-leech To chew someone out — 'opierdol' is the bollocking itself; also, to wolf food down. pierdolę to pyehr-DOH-leh toh Fuck this / I'm done — resignation with the door slamming. wkurwiony fkoor-VYOH-nih Pissed off / furious.