# Polish terms of endearment suggestions please... **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [November 13, 2011, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/polish-terms-of-endearment-suggestions-please/602771 "2011-11-13T04:41:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![dada2fish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ccd318/32.png) [@dada2fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dada2fish)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2011, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/polish-terms-of-endearment-suggestions-please/602771/1 "2011-11-13T04:41:19Z")
I have a 20 month old son and I’d like to come up with special pet name for him. Since I am 100% Polish I thought it would be even more special if the name was Polish. In looking for suggestions online, I found mostly romantic names or names that are generally used for females. I didn’t find anything that fit from a mother to a son and they never give an audio pronounciation for them. Unfortunately, all of my relatives who spoke fluent Polish have died, so suggestions from family are no help. My dad, who was fluent in Polish and who died before my son was born, had a cool nick name for my cousins son. I have no idea how to spell it, but written phonetically it was SCHNU-deck. I was told it meant something like “string bean”. My cousins son is tall and thin. That would’ve been a great name for my son since he is built like a stringbean, but it’s been taken. I know usually pet names happen organically, but I’m hoping one might click and stick. So, all you Polish speakers of the SDMB, any suggestions? ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2011, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/polish-terms-of-endearment-suggestions-please/602771/2 "2011-11-13T17:11:00Z")
My mother calls our daughter MilliCal _Mala Schwinka_ – “Little Pig”. It rhymes with the Polish diminutive form of her real name. And, apparently, calling someone a “pig” in many European languages is taken as a form of endearment. YMMV. ---
**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2011, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/polish-terms-of-endearment-suggestions-please/602771/3 "2011-11-14T20:46:37Z")
Often, Poles have nicknames that seem a bit random to American ears. My mother’s cousin is called Blackberry, and I knew a Mosquito once, for example. Poles are HUGE on diminutives - tack on a diminutive ending onto practically any noun and voila! Common ones I’ve heard are Kitty (Kotka or Koteczko) and Sunshine (Sloneczko). ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2011, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/polish-terms-of-endearment-suggestions-please/602771/4 "2011-11-14T23:23:34Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > My mother calls our daughter MilliCal _Mala Schwinka_ – “Little Pig”. It rhymes with the Polish diminutive form of her real name. And, apparently, calling someone a “pig” in many European languages is taken as a form of endearment. YMMV. _Mała świnka_ would be the Polish spelling, if interested. “Little piggie” (_świnka_ is the diminutive of “pig.”) My own nickname was _pietruszka_, which means “parsley,” and is arrived add from my given name: Peter -\> Piotr (Polish) -\> Piotruś (diminutive Peter, like “Pete”) -\> Piotruszek (double diminutive, maybe “Petey”) -\> Pietruszka (parsely). My brother’s nickname was _mrówka_ (“ant.”) One friend of mine was _bocian[_ (“stork.”) You could do _kotek_ or _koteczek_ (“kitty(cat)”), _misiu_ or _misiek_ (“bear”), _słońce_ or _słoneczko_ (“sun”/“sun” diminutive.) Pretty much anything can work, especially when you tack on a diminutive. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2011, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/polish-terms-of-endearment-suggestions-please/602771/5 "2011-11-14T23:25:25Z")
> [@MissSwitac](#): > > My dad, who was fluent in Polish and who died before my son was born, had a cool nick name for my cousins son. I have no idea how to spell it, but written phonetically it was SCHNU-deck. I was told it meant something like “string bean”. My cousins son is tall and thin. I bet this is _sznurek_, which means “string” and is the diminutive form of _sznur_ (“rope.”) ---
**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2011, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/polish-terms-of-endearment-suggestions-please/602771/6 "2011-11-15T00:31:06Z")
Green beans: “fasolka.” If you still wanted that one. (They’re commonly served [topped with bread crumbs](http://polishvegankitchen.blogspot.com/2010/11/quick-side-dish-breaded-green-beans.html).) ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2011, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/polish-terms-of-endearment-suggestions-please/602771/7 "2011-11-15T00:37:12Z")
> [@purplehorseshoe](#): > > Green beans: “fasolka.” If you still wanted that one. > > (They’re commonly served [topped with bread crumbs](http://polishvegankitchen.blogspot.com/2010/11/quick-side-dish-breaded-green-beans.html).) _Fasolka/fasola_ is just the general word for “beans” in Polish, not necessarily green beans. [For example.](http://www.e-commerce.pl/zdjecia/Przetwory-warzywne/Fasolka-2906-big.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![anya\_marie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ebca7d/32.png) [@anya\_marie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anya_marie)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2011, 9:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/polish-terms-of-endearment-suggestions-please/602771/8 "2011-11-18T09:09:15Z")
How do you pronounce \*\*\* słoneczko\*\*\* ? ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2011, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/polish-terms-of-endearment-suggestions-please/602771/9 "2011-11-18T14:29:31Z")
> [@anya\_marie](#): > > How do you pronounce \*\*\* słoneczko\*\*\* ? Something akin to swoh-NETCH-koh. Oh, yay internet, [here’s an audio sample](http://www.forvo.com/word/s%C5%82oneczko/). ---
**Author:** ![Chessic\_Sense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7c8e57/32.png) [@Chessic\_Sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chessic_Sense)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2011, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/polish-terms-of-endearment-suggestions-please/602771/10 "2011-11-18T18:05:34Z")
My mother insisted that swearing wasn’t really swearing if it was in an unintelligible\* language. Thus, all her kids were lovingly called ‘gówno’, ‘dupa’, and ‘dupa jasz\*\*’ on occasion. \*…to those around us. \*\*I’m guessing that’s how it’s spelled. It was certainly pronounced “yush” by her. ---
**Author:** ![Chessic\_Sense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7c8e57/32.png) [@Chessic\_Sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chessic_Sense)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2011, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/polish-terms-of-endearment-suggestions-please/602771/11 "2011-11-18T18:12:20Z")
> [@anya\_marie](#): > > How do you pronounce \*\*\* słoneczko\*\*\* ? In general, a z paired with a consonant acts like the english h in the same manner. Thus, sz=sh and cz=ch. The ł always sounds like a w while the written w sounds like a v. There is no written v. So just pretend you’re a Russian four-year-old that reads Z’s as H’s and you’ll be most of the way there! ---
**Author:** ![missred](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/missred/32/14096_2.png) [@missred](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/missred)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2011, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/polish-terms-of-endearment-suggestions-please/602771/12 "2011-11-18T18:13:00Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > _Fasolka/fasola_ is just the general word for “beans” in Polish, not necessarily green beans. [For example.](http://www.e-commerce.pl/zdjecia/Przetwory-warzywne/Fasolka-2906-big.jpg) My grandfather’s nickname was Fasolka. I never knew what the translation was before this. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![dada2fish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ccd318/32.png) [@dada2fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dada2fish)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2011, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/polish-terms-of-endearment-suggestions-please/602771/13 "2011-11-19T02:13:37Z")
Thank you for your suggestions. Pulykamell, I think you’re right about my Dad’s nickname being sznurek. How do you pronounce it? Was I close? I really like sloneczko and we’ve said schwinka in my family, but it was usually used in a negative way. I found some others that might work, but I’m not sure how to pronounce them. misiu = teddy bear kotku = baby kochanie = sweetheart zabka = frog and tygrysku = tiger (easy enough to pronounce, but I wanted to list because I like them) ---
**Author:** ![Terr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/839c29/32.png) [@Terr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terr)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2011, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/polish-terms-of-endearment-suggestions-please/602771/14 "2011-11-19T02:30:02Z")
słoneczko is the best one I think. “Little Sun” literally, but the meaning in English would be something like “sunshine” or “ray of sunshine”. ---
**Author:** ![anya\_marie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ebca7d/32.png) [@anya\_marie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anya_marie)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2011, 8:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/polish-terms-of-endearment-suggestions-please/602771/15 "2011-11-20T08:52:06Z")
I’m of Mexican descent, but my dear Stephen is Polish. With my handwriting, I cross my z’s and 7s , is this going to be a problem whenever i’m using the Polish I’ve picked up here? ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2011, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/polish-terms-of-endearment-suggestions-please/602771/16 "2011-11-20T15:26:41Z")
> [@MissSwitac](#): > > Thank you for your suggestions. > Pulykamell, I think you’re right about my Dad’s nickname being sznurek. How do you pronounce it? Was I close? SHNOO-rek, but the “r” is a flap, which many people say sounds like a “d” in English, so “SHNOO-dek” would be close. Although, when I say _sznurek_ and SHNOO-dek, it’s slightly different for me. > [@](#): > > misiu = teddy bear MEE-shoo > [@](#): > > kotku = baby KOHT-koo (it literally means “kitten.”) > [@](#): > > kochanie = sweetheart koh-HAHN-yeh > [@](#): > > zabka = frog ZHAB-kah > [@](#): > > and tygrysku = tiger (easy enough to pronounce, but I wanted to list because I like them) tih-GRIH-skoo (“ih” representing a short “i” sound, as in “bit.”) ---
**Author:** ![flatlined](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/eb9ed0/32.png) [@flatlined](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flatlined)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2011, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/polish-terms-of-endearment-suggestions-please/602771/17 "2011-11-20T22:12:21Z")
My Polish friend said that you wouldn’t want to know what his mother called him at times. He did suggest this[lullaby](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J7VvksM_iJs&feature=youtu.be). He said he remembers his mother singing this for him. Here are the words: Na Wojtusia z popielnika Tekst kołysanki Na Wojtusia z popielnika Iskiereczka mruga Chodź opowiem ci bajeczkę, Bajka będzie długa. Była sobie raz królewna, Pokochała grajka, Król wyprawił im wesele… I skończona bajka. Była sobie Baba Jaga, Miała chatkę z masła, A w tej chatce same dziwy… Cyt! iskierka zgasła. Patrzy Wojtuś, patrzy, duma, Zaszły łzą oczęta. Czemuś mnie tak okłamała? Wojtuś zapamięta. Już ci nigdy nie uwierzę Iskiereczko mała. Najpierw błyśniesz, potem gaśniesz, Ot i bajka cała. (At least, I _think_ these are the words to the linked song, I mean. Communication problems happen often with him.) ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2011, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/polish-terms-of-endearment-suggestions-please/602771/18 "2011-11-21T00:59:33Z")
> [@flatlined](#): > > (At least, I _think_ these are the words to the linked song, I mean. Communication problems happen often with him.) The words are a _little_ different here and there in the linked song, but it’s the same song. ---
**Author:** ![flatlined](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/eb9ed0/32.png) [@flatlined](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flatlined)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2011, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/polish-terms-of-endearment-suggestions-please/602771/19 "2011-11-21T04:08:21Z")
Thank you. I didn’t think that my friend would send me a dirty Army song…but sometimes we miss links. And he is a man…so the joke could have been on me. ---
**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2011, 5:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/polish-terms-of-endearment-suggestions-please/602771/20 "2011-11-26T05:49:30Z")
Perhaps, there is some form of “tiny cabbage”, like the French, “Petite Chou”, “Kohlchen” or “Sprout”. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/polish-terms-of-endearment-suggestions-please/602771.md?page=2)