Day 59: Forty Characters, One Carnation
At a florist's near the cemetery in Grudziądz, Nadia (A), sixteen, orders a wreath for her grandfather's funeral from Olaf (B), the young man behind the counter, and wants something personal on its ribbon.
How to study this lesson 3 steps
- Read the situation under the title. It says who is talking and how they know each other, which decides how politely they speak.
- Read the dialogue line by line with its translation, until every line makes sense. Point at (or tap) a Polish word to see what it means.
- Spend at least 30 minutes listening to native Polish, for example from the Resources page. It doesn't matter if you don't understand it yet.
Dialogue
Audio recordings are on the way. For now, each lesson is the dialogue with its English translation.
Keys: E hide English · ← → previous / next day · point at a word to see its meaning
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A
Dzień dobry, chciałam zamówić wieniec na pogrzeb dziadka, tylko żeby na szarfie nie było „Ostatniego pożegnania”.
Hello, I'd like to order a wreath for my grandad's funeral, only without 'Last Farewell' on the ribbon.
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B
Wyrazy współczucia. Na szarfę wejdzie najwyżej czterdzieści znaków, więc lepiej coś krótkiego. Ma pani jakiś pomysł?
I'm sorry for your loss. The ribbon takes forty characters at most, so something short is best. Do you have anything in mind?
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A
Wujek napisał już nekrolog, ale brzmi jak pismo z urzędu: „Zmarł emerytowany motorniczy, przeżywszy lat osiemdziesiąt jeden”. Masakra.
My uncle's already written the death notice, but it sounds like a letter from the council: 'A retired tram driver has died, having lived eighty-one years.' Cringe.
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B
Motorniczy? Czy to przypadkiem nie pan Czesław, który co piątek kupował u nas jeden czerwony goździk?
A tram driver? It isn't Mr Czesław, by any chance, who used to buy one red carnation from us every Friday?
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A
Tak, to on! Dla babci, co tydzień przez czterdzieści lat. Skąd pan o tym wie?
Yes, that's him! For Grandma, every week for forty years. How do you know about that?
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B
To kwiaciarnia mojej mamy. Pan Czesław zawsze mówił: „Jeden, bo żona jest tylko jedna”, po czym targował się o złotówkę.
It's my mum's shop. Mr Czesław always said, 'Just the one, because I've only got the one wife,' and then haggled over a złoty.
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A
To cały dziadek. Kiedyś tak się zagadał z pasażerką, że przejechał dwa przystanki. A tą pasażerką była babcia.
That's Grandad all over. Once he got so caught up chatting to a passenger that he drove straight past two stops. And that passenger was Grandma.
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B
Takiej historii żaden nekrolog nie pomieści. Ale na szarfę proponuję coś w jego stylu.
No death notice could hold a story like that. But for the ribbon, I'd suggest something in his style.
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A
Dobra, już wiem: „Dziadku, Ty też byłeś tylko jeden. Nadia”. Zmieści się?
OK, I've got it: 'Grandad, there was only one of you too. Nadia.' Will it fit?
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B
Czterdzieści znaków, co do joty. Goździki do wieńca na koszt firmy: pan Czesław wytargował je sobie przez czterdzieści lat.
Forty characters, down to the last letter. The carnations for the wreath are on the house: Mr Czesław spent forty years haggling for them.
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