Ubrania
Clothes, and one false friend that will have you buying the wrong thing.
spodnie
noun · plural only
- EN
- trousers
- RU
- брюки, штаны
Te spodnie są za długie.
These trousers are too long.
Plural only, like брюки — so te spodnie są, never ten spodni jest. There is no singular to reach for.
bluza
noun · feminine
- EN
- sweatshirt, hoodie
- RU
- толстовка
Włóż bluzę, wieczorem będzie chłodno.
Put a hoodie on, it'll be chilly this evening.
RU блуза is a blouse. A Polish blouse is a bluzka — the diminutive is the formal garment and the base word is the sweatshirt, which is backwards from what you would guess.
koszulka
noun · feminine
- EN
- t-shirt
- RU
- футболка
Kup mi białą koszulkę.
Buy me a white t-shirt.
Diminutive of koszula, a shirt. So the small shirt is the t-shirt and the full one is the button-up.
dres
noun · masculine
- EN
- tracksuit
- RU
- спортивный костюм
Chodzi po domu w dresie.
He wanders round the house in a tracksuit.
From English 'dress', and it means nothing of the sort. Dresiarz — a bloke in a tracksuit — is a whole social stereotype.
skarpetki
noun · plural
- EN
- socks
- RU
- носки
Nie mogę znaleźć drugiej skarpetki.
I can't find the other sock.
The singular skarpetka exists and gets used exactly when one has gone missing.
rękaw
noun · masculine
- EN
- sleeve
- RU
- рукав
Podwiń rękawy.
Roll your sleeves up.
From ręka, hand. Z rękawa — off the cuff — is the same gesture Russian makes with из рукава.
zamek
noun · masculine
- EN
- zip; lock; castle
- RU
- молния; замок
Zepsuł mi się zamek w kurtce.
The zip on my jacket is broken.
Three meanings, and Russian splits them the same way with замок — but Polish adds the zip, where Russian says молния. Zamek błyskawiczny is the full name, literally a lightning fastener.
guzik
noun · masculine
- EN
- button
- RU
- пуговица
Urwał mi się guzik od koszuli.
A button came off my shirt.
Also a button you press. And guzik prawda is a flat, slightly rude 'nonsense'.
wełna
noun · feminine
- EN
- wool
- RU
- шерсть
Ten sweter jest z wełny.
That jumper is wool.
Cognate with RU волна in form only — that means a wave. The Russian for wool is шерсть, so there is nothing to lean on here.
bawełna
noun · feminine
- EN
- cotton
- RU
- хлопок
Sto procent bawełny.
One hundred percent cotton.
Literally 'cotton-wool' — bawełna is built on wełna. Owijać w bawełnę, to wrap in cotton, means to beat about the bush.
Drill these ten · earlier morning · later morning
Drill these ten