Does anybody speak Polish?

[Jemnot]

Could anybody tell me what this means please?

Bardzo mi przykro za straty

I know what I "think" it means but I want to hear it from someone else before I use this phrase. I was thinking of giving a present to somebody and saying this to them when I give the present but I just want to make sure that it means what I think it means.

thanks in advance...
x

Bardzo means "very" so: "I am very for "

Sorry I can't help with the rest, but hope this bumps the request...

This means 'I'm very sorry for (your) losses' as in if you had damaged their car or something.

You could say;

'Prosze, to jest moj prezent dla ciebie'- here is my gift for you

Why don't you tell me what is it you want to say and I'll translate.

Oh, sorry, DID you wreck someone's property?

Then you should add 'przepraszam'-'sorry'.

Phonetically it would be psheprasham.

Thank you both so much. My lovely Polish neighbours are quite emotional about the recent tragedy. We rarely have deep conversations because of the language barrier but we give presents to each other over the garden fence to their new baby and my 3 year old, chocolate easter eggs and hand knitted baby bootees!

I know they're emotional about the recent tragedy and I wanted to express my condolences and offer them a couple of bottles of my home made wine and just say to them 'I'm very sorry for your loss'.

thank you
x

thanks for the phonetics wb! I do find Polish so hard to pronounce! I'd love to learn it one day when I find the time. I've been studying it one and off for the last couple of years but busy life tends to get in the way of making a schedule to study.

No, no!

If you want to say "I'm very sorry for your loss'- not losses, you see, even though many people died, you might want to say:

Jest mi bardzo przykro z powodu tej tragedii. Prosze przyjac moje najszczersze ( or najglebsze) kondolencje'

I'm very aggrieved by this trgedy. Please accept my sincere ( or deepest) condolences.

Phonetically:

Iest mee bardzo pshykro z povodou tei tragedi (g like grin). Proshe pshyiowc (soft c) moie kondolencje (j like ii).

Not exactly like that, but I don't know how better to explain it. 'dz' in 'bardzo' is like between d and z.

Saying 'przykro mi za straty' means more like you're sorry someone lost something material. If you really want to use 'loss'substitute 'straty' for 'tragedii'. I know it seems the same, but it's in singular in this instance.

And you're a lovely neighbour!

arrgh...missed the 'deepest'- naygwewbshe- hmmm- nay with aaaa sound, not ay.

so aaaay, like 'right'.

Pheeewww...

Poor neighbours. Yes, it is a shock to have a slice of national life taken out like that, particularly, probably, for those who are away from the country.

It's very good of you to make them feel they are not in any kind of exile, that they are "neighbours" in the old sense, and that they have something of a home here, rather than having left "home" completely behind.

I do appreciate the advice again, thank you. I feel quite bad for them, when I was in Poland a few years back they (the Polish) were really kind to me and really made me feel welcome.

I loved Czestochowa.

I'm actually still not feeling that confident of pronouncing it correctly so I might write it on a card instead and give it to them with the wine. Do you know, when they first moved in, within days they had erected a gazebo in the back garden complete with hanging baskets and a permanent barbeque! Looking at my own overgrown vegetable patch I felt quite inadequate! At least until I noticed the other day that they still haven't removed the Christmas decorations from the back of the house... that made me feel a bit better!