Potoczne II
Ten more you will hear this week. Several are rude enough to be worth recognising and not saying.
ogarniać
verb · imperfective, colloquial
- EN
- to handle, to get; to be sorting out
- RU
- разбираться, врубаться
Ogarniasz, o co chodzi?
Do you follow what's going on?
The imperfective you will hear far more than the perfective. Nie ogarniam is the universal admission of being lost.
wkurzony
adjective · colloquial
- EN
- annoyed, wound up
- RU
- злой, взбешённый
Był wkurzony całe popołudnie.
He was wound up all afternoon.
The adjective from wkurzać się. The stronger form swaps one letter and is genuinely crude — hear it before you try it.
zwalić
verb · perfective, colloquial
- EN
- to botch; to dump on someone
- RU
- завалить; свалить (на кого-то)
Zwalili całą robotę na mnie.
They dumped the whole job on me.
Zwalić winę na kogoś is to pin the blame on them. Related to zwalić się, to collapse in a heap.
gadać
verb · imperfective, colloquial
- EN
- to chat, to talk
- RU
- болтать, говорить
Gadaliśmy do drugiej w nocy.
We talked until two in the morning.
Casual but not rude. Nie ma o czym gadać — nothing to discuss — closes a conversation firmly.
nawijać
verb · imperfective, slang
- EN
- to rattle on; to rap
- RU
- трещать, тараторить
Nawija bez przerwy o swojej pracy.
He rattles on non-stop about his job.
Literally to wind, as thread onto a spool. In hip-hop it means to rap, which is the same image of unspooling words.
walnąć
verb · perfective, colloquial
- EN
- to whack; to knock back (a drink)
- RU
- врезать; хлопнуть (рюмку)
Walnął się w kolano o stół.
He whacked his knee on the table.
Blunt and physical. Walnąć się also means to make a real mistake, and walnąć piwo is to down a beer.
kicha
noun · feminine, slang
- EN
- a washout, a bummer
- RU
- облом, отстой
Impreza to była totalna kicha.
The party was a total washout.
Literally a gut — the bicycle inner tube came later, by shape. Close to lipa but flatter: disappointment rather than deception.
z góry
phrase · adverb
- EN
- in advance
- RU
- заранее
Z góry dziękuję za pomoc.
Thanks in advance for your help.
Literally from above. Z góry dziękuję ends roughly every second Polish email asking for anything.
na luzie
phrase · adverb
- EN
- relaxed, casually
- RU
- расслабленно, без напряга
Podszedł do tego na luzie.
He took it in his stride.
The locative of luz. Also literally in neutral, of a car — the same image of nothing being engaged.
co jest?
phrase · colloquial
- EN
- what's up? what's going on?
- RU
- что такое?, в чём дело?
Co jest, wszystko w porządku?
What's up, everything all right?
Concerned or confrontational depending entirely on tone. The fuller co jest grane — literally what is being played — is the friendlier version.
Drill these ten · earlier morning · later morning
Drill these ten