Polish Language Blog

Although death (śmierć) makes us all democratically equal, Polish burial sites (miejsca pochówku) may differ in looks and value a lot. The difference depends mainly on finance. The bigger and more ostentatious the grave (grób) or tomb (grobowiec), the more affluent the family is. The sites range from simple earth graves for 200$ to giant double tombs for 10.000$. The chosen material matters a lot.

The typical materials for the graves are sandstone (piaskowiec), marble (marmur) or granite (granit), the cheaper graves are made of wood. The quality (jakość), color (kolor) and type (rodzaj) of the chosen material depends also on the availability of the material in certain geographical region and also on the fashion and style in the time when the grave was built. The earth and semi-earth graves (which has a rock material as a grave frame) allow to plant flowers and plants on the top of the grave. So, only families who live in the neighborhood can affort to take care of the earth or semi-earth grave. Below are photographs of a variety of graves found in Polish cemeteries.

There are so many sayings about each month in Poland. I try to give you few of them each month, so here are few about November:

Na Wszystkich Świętych od zrębu utnij gałąź dębu: jeśli soku nie ma, będzie tęga zima.

On All Saints’ Day cut oak branch: if the juice is gone, winter is going to be stout.

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Czasy niekiedy bywają, że Wszyscy Święci w bieli przybywają

Often times tend to be that All Saints come in white (All Saints Day is November 1st)

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Po Wszystkich Świętych, gdy się deszcz rozpada, może słota potrzymać aż do końca listopada.

After All Saints’ Day, when the rain falls down, rainy weather may hold until the end of November.

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Jak listopad ciepły – marzec mrozem przewlekły. Gdy listopad mroźny, to lipiec nie groźny

If November warm, then March frost chronic. When the November cold, it’s not dangerous in July

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Jaki listopad trzeci, taki marzec się kleci.

March is going to be just like November 3rd 

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Deszcz z początkiem listopada, mrozy w styczniu zapowiada

Rain in early November frosts in January announced

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Deszcze listopadowe budzą wiatry zimowe.

November rains raise winter winds.

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Gdy w listopadzie gawrony gromadnie latają, deszcze albo śniegi zapowiadają.

When in November rooks flying in droves, rains or snows promise.

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Gdy w listopadzie liść na szczytach drzew się trzyma, to w maju na nowe liście spadnie jeszcze zima.

When in November, on the tops of the trees leaf clings to it, in May snow will fall on new leaves.

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Jaki listopad, taki będzie marzec, prorokuje stuletni starzec.

March will be just like November, prophecy old man.

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Gdy łagodna jesień trzyma, będzie krótka, ostra zima

When the mild autumn stays, it will be a short, sharp winter

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Deszcz w połowie listopada, tęgi mróz w połowie stycznia zapowiada

Rain in mid-November promises stout frost in mid-January

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Gdy listopad z deszczami, grudzień zwykle z wiatrami

When the rains in November, December is usually windy

Do następnego razu… (Till next time…)

If you’re new to Polish, we’ve created this simple table of Polish numbers up to 20 just for you. We’ve also included a video with voice pronunciation. Make sure you practice your pronunciation, it helps commit your language learning to your permanent memory.

When you’re ready for more, check out our Polish Numbers 1 – 100, and even higher numbers beyond that.  Happy language learning!

And here’s the video: