Pierwsze dziesięć
The ten you cannot get through a day without.
przepraszam
interjection
- EN
- sorry, excuse me
- RU
- извините, прошу прощения
Przepraszam, czy mogę przejść?
Excuse me, may I pass?
Also how you get past someone in a crowd. Poles say it far more often than Russians say извините.
tęsknić
verb · imperfective, + za + instr.
- EN
- to miss, to long for
- RU
- скучать (по кому-то)
Tęsknię za tobą.
I miss you.
Takes za + instrumental: tęsknię za tobą — never po tobie, however hard скучаю по pulls in that direction.
kac
noun · masculine
- EN
- hangover
- RU
- похмелье
Mam straszny kac po wczorajszej imprezie.
I have a terrible hangover after yesterday's party.
Mieć kaca — it takes the animate accusative -a despite being a state, which is a quirk worth remembering.
bałagan
noun · masculine
- EN
- mess, chaos
- RU
- беспорядок
W moim pokoju jest straszny bałagan.
There's a terrible mess in my room.
Same Turkish root that gave Russian балаган, but Polish kept only the 'mess' sense and dropped the fairground booth.
zaraz
adverb
- EN
- in a moment, right away
- RU
- сейчас, сразу
Zaraz wracam!
I'll be right back!
Means 'in a minute' — while Belarusian зараз means right now, and that shift is the trap. If a Pole says zaraz wracam, settle in.
dogadać się
verb · reflexive, perfective
- EN
- to come to an agreement, to get along
- RU
- договориться
Zawsze udaje nam się dogadać.
We always manage to come to an agreement.
The core verb of Polish social and bureaucratic life. Also means simply 'to communicate successfully' in a foreign language.
fajny
adjective
- EN
- cool, nice
- RU
- классный, клёвый
To był naprawdę fajny film.
That was a really cool movie.
The default positive adjective. Leaning on it is the tell of a textbook learner — alternate with spoko and niezły.
przystanek
noun · masculine
- EN
- stop (bus or tram)
- RU
- остановка
Wysiądź na następnym przystanku.
Get off at the next stop.
You get off NA przystanku — locative. A train station is a dworzec, and the two are not interchangeable.
załatwić
verb · perfective
- EN
- to arrange, to sort out, to get done
- RU
- уладить, организовать
Muszę załatwić kilka spraw w urzędzie.
I need to sort out a few things at the office.
No clean English equivalent: to get a thing done through effort, persistence or the right contact.
na zdrowie
phrase
- EN
- cheers; bless you
- RU
- будем здоровы; будь здоров
Na zdrowie! — powiedział, unosząc kieliszek.
Cheers! he said, raising his glass.
One phrase does both jobs — the toast and the response to a sneeze — where Russian needs two.
Drill these ten · later morning
Drill these ten