Ludzie z jednego spotkania
Ten people you have met in every meeting, at every family table and in every group chat. Polish has a name for each, and most of them are not compliments.
gaduła
noun · masculine and feminine, colloquial
- EN
- a chatterbox
- RU
- болтун, болтушка
Nasz nowy kolega to straszna gaduła.
Our new colleague is a terrible chatterbox.
From gadać, to chat. For a man both ten gaduła and ta gaduła work; for a woman, ta gaduła. Affectionate or exasperated, depending on how long the story has been.
mruk
noun · masculine, colloquial
- EN
- a taciturn, uncommunicative person
- RU
- бука, молчун
Szwagier to mruk, ale złoty człowiek.
My brother-in-law hardly says a word, but he's a gem.
From mruczeć, to purr or mumble — the gaduła's opposite, who answers in single syllables. Often forgiven: mruk, ale porządny.
maruda
noun · masculine and feminine, colloquial
- EN
- a moaner, a whinger
- RU
- нытик, зануда
Nie bądź marudą, będzie fajnie.
Don't be such a moaner, it'll be fun.
From marudzić, to grumble and dawdle. Nie marudź! is what Polish parents say to children and Polish colleagues say about the coffee machine.
mądrala
noun · masculine and feminine, colloquial
- EN
- a know-it-all, a smart alec
- RU
- умник, всезнайка
Zawsze musi się wtrącić, taki mądrala.
He always has to chip in, such a know-it-all.
Mądry, wise, with a sneer on the ending. Mądrala does not have to be wrong — the problem is that he is right out loud. Mądry Polak po szkodzie is the proverb for everyone else.
ważniak
noun · masculine, colloquial
- EN
- a self-important person, a big shot
- RU
- важная птица (иронично), воображала
Od kiedy jest kierownikiem, zrobił się z niego ważniak.
Since he became a manager, he's become so full of himself.
From ważny, important. A ważniak acts as though he matters more than everyone in the room. The Russian eye catches важный straight away; the Polish noun is never a compliment.
lizus
noun · masculine, colloquial
- EN
- a suck-up, a sycophant
- RU
- подлиза
Znowu przyniósł szefowi kawę, lizus jeden.
He's brought the boss coffee again, the crawler.
From lizać, to lick — the same image as Russian подлиза. The verb is podlizywać się, to suck up. In lizus jeden, the jeden adds emphasis: scornful or teasing, depending on who says it.
sztywniak
noun · masculine, colloquial
- EN
- a stiff, a bore at parties
- RU
- сухарь, зануда
Nie bądź sztywniakiem, zatańcz z nami.
Don't be such a stiff, come and dance with us.
From sztywny, stiff, an old borrowing related to German steif. A sztywniak cannot relax, and wyluzuj — chill out — is what people say to him.
nudziarz
noun · masculine, colloquial
- EN
- a bore
- RU
- зануда
Opowiadał o swoim kredycie przez godzinę. Straszny nudziarz.
He talked about his loan for an hour. A terrible bore.
From nuda, boredom. Not to be confused with nudysta, which is a different kind of party. The feminine is nudziara.
dusza towarzystwa
phrase · noun, feminine
- EN
- the life and soul of the party
- RU
- душа компании
Ciocia Ela to dusza towarzystwa na każdym weselu.
Auntie Ela is the life and soul of every wedding.
Word for word the Russian душа компании, with towarzystwo, company, in place of компания. The one compliment on this list — and it declines as feminine even for a man.
pantoflarz
noun · masculine, colloquial, derogatory
- EN
- a henpecked husband
- RU
- подкаблучник
Nie pójdzie z nami, bo żona nie pozwoli. Pantoflarz.
He won't come with us because his wife won't let him. Henpecked.
Russian puts him under the heel, Polish under the slipper: być pod pantoflem. Same man, different footwear.
Drill these ten · earlier morning · later morning
Drill these ten