Episode 07 · My Family, My Home

Welcome back to Kazimierz. Last time, Tom got his first real Polish teacher: seven-year-old Zosia, who introduced him to her stuffed stork, Bocian. Tom finally started to see the world around him as something he could actually name.

Today, they're sitting on the steps outside Pani Basia's café. Zosia has swiped her mum's phone and is treating Tom to a high-speed photo gallery of her entire life. She thrusts the screen under his nose.

To moja mama, a to mój tata.

To moja mama, a to mój tata. — This is my mum, and this is my dad. · toh MOY-ah MAH-mah, ah toh mooy TAH-tah

She's introducing her parents. To moja mama, a to mój tata. This is my mum, and this is my dad.

To moja mama, a to mój tata. — This is my mum, and this is my dad. · toh MOY-ah MAH-mah, ah toh mooy TAH-tah

Notice the word for 'my'. Because mama is feminine, it's moja. But tata is masculine, so it's mój. Moja mama. Mój tata. Say it with me. To moja mama, a to mój tata.

To moja mama, a to mój tata. — This is my mum, and this is my dad. · toh MOY-ah MAH-mah, ah toh mooy TAH-tah

To moja mama, a to mój tata.

To moja mama, a to mój tata. — This is my mum, and this is my dad. · toh MOY-ah MAH-mah, ah toh mooy TAH-tah

Kto to?

To mój dziadek.

Tom remembers his lesson from last time! Kto to? Who's that? And Zosia answers: To mój dziadek. That's my grandad.

Kto to? — To mój dziadek. — Who's that? — That's my grandad. · KTOH toh? — toh mooy JAH-deck

Let's look at that word for grandad: dziadek. The D-Z-I at the start sounds a bit like the 'j' in jingle. Dziadek. Because it's masculine, it uses mój. To mój dziadek. Try asking and answering. Kto to? To mój dziadek.

Kto to? — To mój dziadek. — Who's that? — That's my grandad. · KTOH toh? — toh mooy JAH-deck

Mam brata i siostrę.

Mam brata i siostrę. — I've got a brother and a sister. · mahm BRAH-tah ee SHOS-treh

Mam brata i siostrę. I have a brother and a sister. Mam is a magic word in Polish—it means 'I have'.

Mam brata i siostrę. — I've got a brother and a sister. · mahm BRAH-tah ee SHOS-treh

Normally, brother is brat and sister is siostra. But Polish is a language of cases. When you *have* them, they are the object of the sentence, so the endings shift. Brat becomes brata. Siostra becomes siostrę. You don't need to memorize a chart, just learn the phrase as it is. Mam brata i siostrę.

Mam brata i siostrę. — I've got a brother and a sister. · mahm BRAH-tah ee SHOS-treh

Mam... brata. I... siostrę.

Mam brata i siostrę. — I've got a brother and a sister. · mahm BRAH-tah ee SHOS-treh

Let's pause and review what Zosia has shared from her photo gallery so far. First, introducing her parents. To moja mama, a to mój tata. To moja mama, a to mój tata. This is my mum, and this is my dad. Then Tom pointed to a photo. Kto to? To mój dziadek. Kto to? To mój dziadek. Who's that? That's my grandad. And finally, siblings. Mam brata i siostrę. Mam brata i siostrę. I've got a brother and a sister.

Ile masz lat?

Listen to Tom! He's asking her age. Ile masz lat? Literally, it means 'How many years do you have?' In Polish, you don't *be* an age, you *have* years. Masz means 'you have'.

Mam siedem lat.

And Zosia answers perfectly. Mam siedem lat. I have seven years. Notice that number? We learned siedem when Kuba was swapping phone numbers with Tom. Mam siedem lat.

Ile masz lat? — Mam siedem lat. — How old are you? — I'm seven. · EE-leh mahsh laht? — mahm SHEH-dem laht

Try it with me. Let's ask the question first. Ile masz lat? ... And answer like Zosia. Mam siedem lat.

Ile masz lat? — Mam siedem lat. — How old are you? — I'm seven. · EE-leh mahsh laht? — mahm SHEH-dem laht

Tu jest kuchnia, a tu mój pokój.

Tu jest kuchnia, a tu mój pokój. — Here's the kitchen, and here's my room. · too yest KOOH-nyah, ah too mooy POH-kooy

She's playing him a very shaky video tour of her flat. Tu jest kuchnia, a tu mój pokój. Here is the kitchen, and here is my room.

Tu jest kuchnia, a tu mój pokój. — Here's the kitchen, and here's my room. · too yest KOOH-nyah, ah too mooy POH-kooy

Let's look at the rooms. Kuchnia is kitchen. The C-H makes a soft breathy sound. Kuchnia. And pokój means room. That O with the line over it sounds like a double 'O' in English, and the J is a 'Y'. Pokój. Say it naturally. Tu jest kuchnia, a tu mój pokój.

Tu jest kuchnia, a tu mój pokój. — Here's the kitchen, and here's my room. · too yest KOOH-nyah, ah too mooy POH-kooy

Later that evening, Tom walks back to his new place. It's an attic room. Just a bed, a desk, a window overlooking the rooftops of Kazimierz. It's completely bare.

Tu jest mój pokój.

He has no family photos to point to yet. No shaky videos to share. But for the first time, he looks at the empty space and thinks about what he might want to build here. It's small, but it's a start.

Let's review everything we picked up today before Tom goes to sleep. To moja mama, a to mój tata. To moja mama, a to mój tata. This is my mum, and this is my dad. Kto to? To mój dziadek. Kto to? To mój dziadek. Who's that? That's my grandad. Mam brata i siostrę. Mam brata i siostrę. I've got a brother and a sister. Ile masz lat? Mam siedem lat. Ile masz lat? Mam siedem lat. How old are you? I'm seven. And finally, the home tour. Tu jest kuchnia, a tu mój pokój. Tu jest kuchnia, a tu mój pokój. Here's the kitchen, and here's my room.

Great job today. Tom's room is pretty empty right now, but he's starting to find a home in the language. New episodes of Fablingo Polski come out every Tuesday and Friday. Subscribe so you don't miss what happens next. Do widzenia!