One challenge in learning a language comes up when a word in one language is also a word in another, but with a completely different meaning. The word “no” is a good example of that. In English, of course, it is a negative response. And it is such a basic word, and so frequently used that it is hard for a lot of people to not associate this word with negation.<\/p>\n
You see in Polish, there is also a word that is spelled and pronounced exactly like the English no. Its meaning, however, is closer to yeah. That\u2019s right, no means yeah. More or less. If someone asks you a question, in Polish, you aren\u2019t likely to reply with no\u2026 you might say tak (yes), or nie (no), but not no. Instead, you will say no when you are agreeing with what someone just said \u2014 sort of like saying yeah, or uh-huh, or just nodding to indicate that you\u2019re still paying attention.<\/p>\n
Here are some examples:<\/p>\n
Jeste\u015b zainteresowany?<\/strong> (Are you interested?)<\/p>\n No, jestem<\/strong> (Yeah, I’m)<\/p>\n \n Naprawd\u0119?<\/strong> (Really?)<\/p>\n No!<\/strong> (Yeah)<\/p>\n \n Masz ochot\u0119 na lody? <\/strong>(Do you feel like ice cream?)<\/p>\n No, du\u017c\u0105 ochot\u0119! <\/strong>(Yes, I really do!)<\/p>\n \n No to dobra<\/strong> (yes it\u2019s good – usually t the end of conversation)<\/p>\n No oczywi\u015bcie!<\/strong> (of course!)<\/p>\n Are you confused yet?<\/p>\n You will probably hear “no” a lot of times during the conversation…sometimes people just say it to let you know that they are listening to you!<\/p>\n Do nast<\/strong>\u0119pnego razu… <\/strong>(Till next time…)<\/p>\n \n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" One challenge in learning a language comes up when a word in one language is also a word in another, but with a completely different meaning. The word “no” is a good example of that. In English, of course, it is a negative response. And it is such a basic word, and so frequently used…<\/p>\n