Day 116 of 128

Day 116: Bought, Not Conquered

In a taxi from the railway station in Malbork, a passenger visiting the town (A) asks the driver (B) about the history of the castle he is being driven to.

How to study this lesson 3 steps
  1. Read the situation under the title. It says who is talking and how they know each other, which decides how politely they speak.
  2. 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.
  3. 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

  1. A

    Dzie艅 dobry, pod zamek poprosz臋. Podobno Krzy偶ak贸w nikt st膮d si艂膮 nie wykurzy艂?

    Good afternoon, to the castle, please. They say nobody ever drove the Teutonic Knights out of here by force?

  2. B

    Nikt. Jagie艂艂o po Grunwaldzie oblega艂 zamek prawie dwa miesi膮ce, po czym zarz膮dzi艂 odwr贸t, a Krzy偶acy siedzieli tu jeszcze blisko p贸艂 wieku.

    Nobody. After Grunwald, Jagie艂艂o besieged the castle for almost two months, then ordered a retreat, and the Knights stayed here for nearly another half-century.

  3. A

    To jak w ko艅cu zamek trafi艂 w polskie r臋ce? Na mocy jakiego艣 traktatu?

    So how did the castle end up in Polish hands in the end? Through some treaty?

  4. B

    Po prostu go kupili艣my. W czasie wojny trzynastoletniej zakonowi zabrak艂o na 偶o艂d, wi臋c najemnicy znale藕li nabywc臋: Kazimierza Jagiello艅czyka.

    We simply bought it. During the Thirteen Years' War the Order ran out of money to pay its soldiers, so the mercenaries found a buyer: Casimir Jagiellon.

  5. A

    Czyli najwi臋kszy zamek z ceg艂y na 艣wiecie sprzedano jak u偶ywane auto, bo kto艣 zalega艂 z wyp艂at膮?

    So the biggest brick castle in the world was sold off like a used car because someone was behind with the wages?

  6. B

    Dok艂adnie. Zar贸wno wtedy, jak i dzi艣 najemnik jest wierny, dop贸ki mu p艂ac膮.

    Exactly. Then as now, a mercenary stays loyal as long as he gets paid.

  7. A

    A skoro o nale偶no艣ciach mowa: czemu licznik pokazuje czterdzie艣ci z艂otych, je艣li z dworca idzie si臋 tu kwadrans?

    And speaking of paying: why does the meter say forty z艂oty, when it's a fifteen-minute walk from the station?

  8. B

    Bo pojechali艣my na drugi brzeg Nogatu, sk膮d jest najpi臋kniejszy widok na zamek. Wyk艂ad mia艂 pan gratis.

    Because we went over to the other bank of the Nogat, where you get the best view of the castle. The lecture was free.

  9. A

    Wobec tego p艂ac臋, zanim mnie pan sprzeda razem z walizk膮 pierwszemu lepszemu kr贸lowi.

    In that case I'll pay up, before you sell me, suitcase and all, to the first king who comes along.

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