Episode 09 · Powtórka — Shoes Off, There's a Draught!

Welcome back to Kazimierz. Over the last few weeks, Tom has been collecting the puzzle pieces of a new life. He's found a room, learned how to say hello, swap names, and navigate the very serious desk of Pani Kowalska.

But today is a milestone. Today, he isn't just ordering tea at the café or filling out forms. He's been invited upstairs. Seven-year-old Zosia and her mum, Magda, have asked him up to their flat.

The door swings open, and there's a flurry of hellos. But as Tom steps over the threshold and right onto the hallway rug in his outdoor boots, Magda's eyes go wide.

Zdejmij buty! Załóż kapcie.

Zdejmij buty! Załóż kapcie. — Take your shoes off! Put slippers on. · ZDAY-meey BOO-tih! ZAH-woosh KAHP-cheh.

If there is one unbreakable rule in a Polish home, it's this. You do not wear outdoor shoes inside. Magda says, Zdejmij buty! Załóż kapcie. Take your shoes off! Put slippers on.

Zdejmij buty! Załóż kapcie. — Take your shoes off! Put slippers on. · ZDAY-meey BOO-tih! ZAH-woosh KAHP-cheh.

Let's break that down. Zdejmij buty means take off your shoes. The word Zdejmij starts with a Z-D, buzzing right into the D. And buty are shoes. Say it with me. Zdejmij buty.

Zdejmij buty! Załóż kapcie. — Take your shoes off! Put slippers on. · ZDAY-meey BOO-tih! ZAH-woosh KAHP-cheh.

And what do you put on instead? Slippers. Załóż kapcie. The word kapcie has that soft C-I sound in the middle, like a gentle ch. Kapcie. Try that part. Załóż kapcie.

Zdejmij buty! Załóż kapcie. — Take your shoes off! Put slippers on. · ZDAY-meey BOO-tih! ZAH-woosh KAHP-cheh.

Now put it all together, naturally, like Magda handing you the guest footwear. Zdejmij buty! Załóż kapcie.

Zdejmij buty! Załóż kapcie. — Take your shoes off! Put slippers on. · ZDAY-meey BOO-tih! ZAH-woosh KAHP-cheh.

Tom is now wearing a pair of overly large, woolly kapcie. He walks into the living room. It's wonderfully warm in here. Actually, it's roasting. Being used to draughty English houses, Tom casually reaches over and pushes the window wide open.

Zamknij okno, bo przewieje!

Zamknij okno, bo przewieje! — Shut the window — there's a draught! · ZAHM-kneey OAK-noh, boh psheh-VYAY-yeh!

Zosia gasps as if he's just let a tiger into the room. She yells, Zamknij okno, bo przewieje! Shut the window, because there's a draught! Or more literally, because the wind will blow through you.

Zamknij okno, bo przewieje! — Shut the window — there's a draught! · ZAHM-kneey OAK-noh, boh psheh-VYAY-yeh!

In Poland, the cross-breeze is the enemy of health. Zamknij okno means shut the window. You hear that M-K-N cluster? Zamknij okno. Try it.

Zamknij okno, bo przewieje! — Shut the window — there's a draught! · ZAHM-kneey OAK-noh, boh psheh-VYAY-yeh!

And the reason? Bo przewieje. The word bo means because. And przewieje has that tricky R-Z, making a zh sound, blending into the W. Przewieje. Say it with me. Bo przewieje.

Zamknij okno, bo przewieje! — Shut the window — there's a draught! · ZAHM-kneey OAK-noh, boh psheh-VYAY-yeh!

Now say the whole panicked warning, just like Zosia. Zamknij okno, bo przewieje!

Zamknij okno, bo przewieje! — Shut the window — there's a draught! · ZAHM-kneey OAK-noh, boh psheh-VYAY-yeh!

Crisis averted. Tom is now safely wearing slippers in a sealed, draft-free room. Before we settle onto the sofa, let's do a quick recap of our first two home rules.

First, Magda told him to take his shoes off and put on slippers. Zdejmij buty! Załóż kapcie. Zdejmij buty! Załóż kapcie. Then, Zosia saved him from the deadly breeze. Zamknij okno, bo przewieje! Zamknij okno, bo przewieje!

Now that the room is secure, Zosia climbs onto the sofa next to Tom. She remembers how they practiced pointing at things in the square, and decides to give him a guided tour of the living room.

To moja mama, a to Bocian.

To moja mama, a to Bocian. — This is my mum, and this is Bocian. · toh MOY-ah MAH-mah, ah toh BOH-chahn.

Zosia is recycling the phrases she taught Tom before! She points to Magda and says, To moja mama, a to Bocian. This is my mum, and this is Bocian, her plush stork.

To moja mama, a to Bocian. — This is my mum, and this is Bocian. · toh MOY-ah MAH-mah, ah toh BOH-chahn.

The word to means this is or it is. A very useful little word. To moja mama. Notice the J in moja sounds like a Y. Try the first half. To moja mama.

To moja mama, a to Bocian. — This is my mum, and this is Bocian. · toh MOY-ah MAH-mah, ah toh BOH-chahn.

Then she adds the linking word a, meaning and, to introduce the next thing. a to Bocian. The C in Bocian makes a soft ch sound. Try the second half. a to Bocian.

To moja mama, a to Bocian. — This is my mum, and this is Bocian. · toh MOY-ah MAH-mah, ah toh BOH-chahn.

Tom gets the hang of it. He points to the window. To jest okno. He points to his oversized slippers. To są kapcie. Zosia beams. He's learning her world.

Just then, Magda comes back from the kitchen. She's carrying a wooden tray with three steaming mugs, placing it on the low table in front of them.

Tu jest herbata. Tu nie ma zimna!

Tu jest herbata. Tu nie ma zimna! — Here's the tea. No cold in here! · too yest hair-BAH-tah. too nyeh mah ZHEEM-nah!

Magda says, Tu jest herbata. Tu nie ma zimna! Here is the tea. There is no cold here! She's teasing Tom a bit about his window-opening habit.

Tu jest herbata. Tu nie ma zimna! — Here's the tea. No cold in here! · too yest hair-BAH-tah. too nyeh mah ZHEEM-nah!

Tu jest means here is. Tu jest herbata. Say that with me, nice and relaxed. Tu jest herbata.

Tu jest herbata. Tu nie ma zimna! — Here's the tea. No cold in here! · too yest hair-BAH-tah. too nyeh mah ZHEEM-nah!

Then she says, Tu nie ma zimna. Nie ma is how you say there isn't. When we say there isn't something, the word after it changes its ending. So the cold, zimno, becomes zimna. Tu nie ma zimna. Try it.

Tu jest herbata. Tu nie ma zimna! — Here's the tea. No cold in here! · too yest hair-BAH-tah. too nyeh mah ZHEEM-nah!

Say the whole cozy thought. Tu jest herbata. Tu nie ma zimna!

Tu jest herbata. Tu nie ma zimna! — Here's the tea. No cold in here! · too yest hair-BAH-tah. too nyeh mah ZHEEM-nah!

Tom sits back. He feels the ridiculous fluffy slippers on his feet. He hears the quiet hum of Polish being spoken around him. He looks at the stork. For the first time since getting off the train, he doesn't just feel like a guest. He feels folded into a home.

Before we go, let's review today's home phrases one last time. Magda's strict shoe rule: Zdejmij buty! Załóż kapcie. Zdejmij buty! Załóż kapcie.

Zosia's panic over the breeze: Zamknij okno, bo przewieje! Zamknij okno, bo przewieje! The simple introductions: To moja mama, a to Bocian. To moja mama, a to Bocian.

And the ultimate comfort of the room: Tu jest herbata. Tu nie ma zimna! Tu jest herbata. Tu nie ma zimna!

Later that night, Tom walks back to his own bare attic room. He stops on the street and looks up at Magda's lit window. He's starting to care about the people behind it. But tomorrow, he needs to find a way to pay for his own room. It's time to find a job.

Will Tom's Polish be good enough to get hired? Find out in our next episode. Remember, we drop new lessons every Tuesday and Friday. See you next time on Fablingo Polski!