English translation

Hello, in this video I will tell you about abbreviations that are used in text communication. It used to be SMS, today it is rather either Facebook Messenger or WhatsApp, or any other applications, where you can exchange private messages.

This video is intended for people who learn Polish, and who want to increase their exposure to the language through the content like this. However, if you do not speak Polish fluently yet, then turn on the subtitles, either Polish or English, to increase your understanding of the material which will be discussed in this video.

In English, (one such) common abbreviation is „btw”. „Btw” is an abbreviation that means „by the way”. Sometimes it is also used in Poland. I.e. there are many anglicisms in the Polish language. And one of such anglicisms is „btw” which has been adopted as an abbreviation that is used primarily by younger Poles.

Similarly, for example, in Spanish there is an abbreviation „tb”, which means „también”. And in French „svp”, which means „s’il vous plaît”. These two abbreviations are not popular in Poland, because (you know) they come from those countries.

However, we have a few abbreviations which are typically Polish, and I will tell you about them today. Importantly, these are abbreviations that I use myself. Some more often than others, but these are the abbreviations that I am familiar with.

The first abbreviation I want to tell you about is „wgl”, meaning „w ogóle”. „W ogóle” literally means generally, but we often also use it as an equivalent of the abbreviation „btw”. So when we want to change a topic from one to another, we say „w ogóle”, and then we tell something which belongs to the second topic. And (in writing) we simply write it as „wgl”, and it stands for „w ogóle”.

The second abbreviation is „nwm”, i.e. „nie wiem” [„I don’t know”]. We use it either as a simple answer to some question, so someone asks us something, and we can’t answer either yes or no, or provide a specific answer, so we write „nwm” – „nie wiem” [I don’t know]. But „nwm” can also be used in a normal [*complete] sentence, for example in combinations such as: „I don’t know what”, „I don’t know when”, „I don’t know how”. When our sentence contains a phrase like that („I don’t know what”, „I don’t know how”, „I don’t know why”, „I don’t know why”) this „nie wiem” [„I don’t know”] shortens to „nwm”, and all that remains is: „nwm dlaczego”, „nwm po co”, „nwm co”, „nwm jak”.

Another very popular abbreviation is „bd”. „Bd” is an abbreviation of „będę” [„I will be”], but also of any other conjugation of the verb „to be” which contains (specifically) the sound „d” or „dz” inside, i.e. for example: „I will be”, „you will be”, „he/she will be”, „we will be”, „you will be”, „they will be”. In each such case, you can replace the full word with a single abbreviation, „bd”. Then, if you write in Polish, you don’t have to wonder which conjugation it is, because it will always be „bd”… Not bad! And I know that for many of you this may be a big help because I also learned the conjugation of some words in foreign languages, and I know that they are not always simple.

Another abbreviation is „jbc”, which means „jakby co”. „Jakby co” could be translated into English as „just in case”, that is, if we write something to someone, but we don’t know whether this information is necessary for them, then we can add „jakby co”: „jakby co, I’m home” – „jbc I’m home” or… „jakby co, I’m not at home” – „jbc I’m not at home.”

I use these four abbreviations very often in communication with my friends, but there are other abbreviations that might be a bit older, maybe they’re a bit out of use now, but I still use them sometimes, and it’s worth knowing them as well. And there will also be four of them, so there will be eight of them in total.

The first one from this second pool of abbreviations is „ocb”. „Ocb” means „o co biega”, or else „o co chodzi”. In English it can be translated as „what’s the point”. If we don’t know how certain events unfold, or what is the point of a given message or event, then we can even write „nwm ocb”, which would mean: „I don’t know what’s the point.”

The next three abbreviations are related to finishing a conversation.

The first (such) abbreviation is „pzdr”, which means „pozdrawiam” [„greetings”]. In Polish, e-mails often end with the words „pozdrawiam”, or „serdecznie pozdrawiam”, or „pozdrowienia”. Just remember that „pzdr” does not mean exactly the same as „pozdrawiam”, because it is a much less official [or formal] abbreviation. So, while you can sometimes even write to your boss: „pozdrawiam”, which would be the equivalent of the English „regards”, you wouldn’t write to him „pzdr”, unless you know each other well, and have been working together for many years. „Pzdr” also has a slightly ironic, sarcastic, eccentric note to it, so one has to be a little careful when they use this abbreviation. And I also think that these days it’s a little less popular than it still was ten or fifteen years ago.

It’s the same with the two other abbreviations, i.e. „dozo”, which means „do zobaczenia” [„see you later”] and „nara”, which means „na razie” [„for now”]. „Nara” is also often used in youth slang, on the street, it doesn’t necessarily have to be text messages. When I went to school, I often said goodbye to my friends with the words: „no to nara”” („no to na razie”). I’m not sure what it’s like today, probably today’s youth use slightly different slang.

Anyway, those were eight abbreviations that I use myself, some of them more often, the first four, i.e. in „wgl”, „bd”, „nwm”, [„jbc”], and [I use] the second four a little less often, i.e. „ocb”, „nara”, „pzdr”, „dozo”. I hope this video will help you know what these abbreviations mean when one of your Polish friends uses them in a conversation. Maybe you know some other abbreviations, either in your native language or in Polish. Write in a comment what abbreviations do you use, and what do they mean?

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