Na grzyby i na mecz
The Polish weekend has institutions: the allotment, the grill, the forest in September and the match. The words, and the one Sunday law that catches every newcomer.
działka
noun · feminine
- EN
- allotment garden; a plot; a portion
- RU
- садовый участок; доля
W sobotę rodzice jak zwykle są na działce.
On Saturday my parents are at the allotment, as usual.
Not a дача: a fenced few hundred square metres inside the city, one of about a million in rodzinne ogrody działkowe, shed and rule book included. Also a plot, a portion, a dose.
podpałka
noun · feminine
- EN
- a firelighter, kindling
- RU
- растопка, жидкость для розжига
Kup węgiel i podpałkę, bo bez niej nie rozpalimy.
Get charcoal and firelighters, we won't get it going without them.
From podpalić, to set fire to. The small word nobody remembers until the barbecue will not start — and the one every Polish grill packs next to the kiełbasa.
ognisko
noun · neuter
- EN
- bonfire, campfire; hearth, focus
- RU
- костёр; очаг
Wieczorem rozpaliliśmy ognisko i piekliśmy kiełbaski.
In the evening we lit a fire and roasted sausages.
One word where RU has костёр and очаг: kiełbaska na patyku over it, and ognisko domowe is the family hearth. Also the focus of a disease and a music club, ognisko muzyczne.
grzybobranie
noun · neuter
- EN
- mushroom picking
- RU
- сбор грибов
We wrześniu cała wieś jedzie na grzybobranie.
In September the whole village goes mushrooming.
The formal noun; in speech you simply go na grzyby. Every Sanepid station will identify your basket for free, which shows how seriously the season is taken. RU по грибы is the same religion.
wypad
noun · masculine
- EN
- a quick trip, an outing; get out!
- RU
- вылазка; пошёл вон
Zrobiliśmy sobie wypad za miasto na jeden dzień.
We did a one-day trip out of town.
From wypaść, to pop out: wypad w góry, wypad na piwo. Standing alone with an exclamation mark it is a blunt 'get out!', so mind the tone and the punctuation.
niedziela handlowa
phrase · noun
- EN
- trading Sunday
- RU
- торговое воскресенье
Jutro niedziela handlowa, więc zrobimy zakupy.
Tomorrow is a trading Sunday, so we will do the shopping.
Since 2018 most shops shut on Sundays; the handful of open ones are announced in the news like holidays. Żabka survives because the franchisee mans the till himself. The law is zakaz handlu.
kibic
noun · masculine
- EN
- fan, supporter
- RU
- болельщик
Kibice Legii zapełnili cały stadion.
Legia fans filled the whole stadium.
From German Kiebitz, the onlooker at a card game. Kibicować komuś takes the dative. A kibol is the hooligan cousin and not a word to use about your friends.
remis
noun · masculine
- EN
- a draw, a tie
- RU
- ничья
Mecz skończył się remisem jeden do jednego.
The match ended in a one-all draw.
French remise, and it goes into the instrumental after skończyć się. RU ничья is a frozen adjective; Polish has a real noun, so bezbramkowy remis and the verb zremisować both exist.
dogrywka
noun · feminine
- EN
- extra time; a run-off
- RU
- дополнительное время; овертайм
Po dogrywce wciąż było zero do zera.
After extra time it was still nil-nil.
From dograć, to play to the end. Football first, then karne. The same word is a run-off in an auction and a tie-break in a quiz — anywhere a result has to be forced.
sędzia kalosz
phrase · colloquial
- EN
- rubbish ref! (the stadium chant)
- RU
- судью на мыло!
Po karnym cały stadion krzyczał: sędzia kalosz!
After the penalty the whole stadium was chanting 'rubbish ref!'
Literally 'the referee is a galosh' — as useless as an old rubber boot. Russian stadiums send the referee to soap; Polish ones call him footwear.
Drill these ten · earlier morning · later morning
Drill these ten