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Polish · Insults & Idiots

zamknij mordę

ZAHMK-neey MOR-deh · /ˈzam.kɲij ˈmɔr.dɛ/

Shut your trap / shut the hell up.

3/5 Watch your audience

genuinely rude; friends only, never at work

Literally

"shut your muzzle"

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

How to use it

Morda is an animal's muzzle, so this is "shut your snout" — a genuinely rude silencer, a full register below the neutral "zamknij się" (shut up) and a register above the nuclear "zamknij ryj" (ryj = a pig's snout; don't). Watch-your-audience 3: between close friends mid-banter it can pass as rough play, at anyone else it's an escalation. The gentle, grandma-approved end of the same idea is "cicho bądź" (hush) — a phrase that has defused a thousand car arguments.

Heard in the wild

Zamknij mordę, przez ciebie nic nie słyszę.

Shut your trap, I can't hear a thing because of you.

Where it lands

Poland (universal)

Quick answers

What does "zamknij mordę" mean?
In Polish, "zamknij mordę" means "Shut your trap / shut the hell up.". Literally it's "shut your muzzle". Morda is an animal's muzzle, so this is "shut your snout" — a genuinely rude silencer, a full register below the neutral "zamknij się" (shut up) and a register above the nuclear "zamknij ryj" (ryj = a pig's snout; don't). Watch-your-audience 3: between close friends mid-banter it can pass as rough play, at anyone else it's an escalation. The gentle, grandma-approved end of the same idea is "cicho bądź" (hush) — a phrase that has defused a thousand car arguments.
Is "zamknij mordę" offensive?
It's genuinely rude — a 3/5 (Watch your audience) on the Punch-o-Meter. Fine among friends, never at work or with people you've just met.
How do you pronounce "zamknij mordę"?
Say it "ZAHMK-neey MOR-deh" — capitals mark the stressed syllable. In IPA: ˈzam.kɲij ˈmɔr.dɛ.

Related in Polish

skurwysyn skoor-VIH-sin Son of a bitch — a hard, aimed insult with the kurwa root inside. ty kurwo tih KOOR-voh You whore / you bitch — the aimed kurwa, a different animal entirely. baran BAH-rahn Idiot / blockhead — the barnyard 'you idiot.' chuj KHOOY Dick / prick — the anatomical heavy hitter, and a productive root of its own. chuj ci w dupę KHOOY chee v DOO-peh Fuck you / shove it — the classic anatomical dismissal. spierdalaj spyehr-DAH-lie Fuck off / piss off.

The same idea, elsewhere

Via concepts like "Shut up".

how to say "Shut up" →

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