To make/cause characters or animated objects appearing in computer games to respawn (zrespić się), and thus to be reborn to appear/reappear. To summon a character or object. In other words: respawnować (ang. respawn). See: respawn/resp, (z)respić się
Example of usage
– What is respawnować a boss, champion, etc.? Or how to respić effectively
– On certain maps, as they do not appear on all maps, and the best way to respić them is as I will describe in a moment. You only walk on two fields and hit mobs so that the fields are not certain and you have a chance to zrespować a mob other than the normal one /https://forum.comper.games/showthread.php?11160-Jak-respi%C4%87/
Bober – an allusion to memes and videos featuring a beaver (a fur-bearing animal) collected under the phrase: “What a nice bober,” e.g., https://memy.jeja.pl/326627,ale-fajny-bober.html. In this case, the slang uses the incorrect nominative singular form – bober instead of bóbr, likely inspired by the regional word bober, meaning bób (a type of legume) or the nickname of a well-known rapper – Bober (Patryk Bobryk), as well as the common Polish surname Bober. The humorous element also reveals itself in the metonymy when the word is used to denote a person who behaves irrationally or is under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
The word itself has been recorded in slang dictionaries since 2007, referring to an unshaven pubic area and the phrase czochrać bobra (to scratch the beaver), and later as a synonym for marijuana or the smoke produced while smoking.
Examples of usage:
1.”What a nice bober” / https://memy.jeja.pl/326627,ale-fajny-bober.htm
2.”The bober finally got angry and took matters into his own teeth” /https://memy.jeja.pl/326627,ale-fajny-bober.html
3.”What a nice bober, XD” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MMyOq7NgqOg.
4.”What are you doing, bober?” /H/
5.”[Bober] this word was invented recently and it’s funny xD” /H/
A popular hashtag that has emerged in recent years, created by shortening the phrase “Nikogo to nie obchodzi” / “Nikogo to nie interesuje.” It is used in internet comments and posts to quickly convey that a given piece of information is not interesting.
Examples of usage:
1.”Sure, it’s #nikogo, but I wanted to thank Galakta for sending me the lost tank three days after I wrote the email.” /Facebook.com/
2.”I know it’s old and #nikogo, but I wanted to admire Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice. So I’ll do it quickly. If I can.” /Facebook.com/
Hashtag related to so-called cancel culture (ang. cancel culture). Used for mass boycotting or encouraging the boycott of a public figure, brand, or company due to their statements or actions that contradict the values recognized by a particular community.
Example of usage:
#JKRowlingisoverparty /https://twitter.com/hashtag/jkrowlingisoverparty?lang=en/
Neologisms with the suffix –awka create names for discussion groups that emerge in social media, focused on various topics. The origin is associated with the acronym JBwA (‘Jak będzie w Akapie’ – How will it be in AKAP). Each thematic section (there are over 5,000) has hundreds of thousands of members. For example, the largest of them are: Ciekawostkawka (Curiosity Group) with 237,934 members, Słodziawka – a section for cute images (188,448 members), Rozkminiawska – a section for deep reflections (187,903 members), Perfekcjonizmawka (Perfectionism Group) with 170,683 members, and even Składniawka – a section for alternative Polish language (88,427 members) (see https://sekcje.github.io/, , accessed 25.05.2021). Numerous virtual communities of this type arise in response to the playful needs of participants (fun and humor, sharing interesting facts, enjoying time together) and do not signify lasting social bonds or any communal obligations.
The suffix –awka signals the name of a thematic, closed Facebook discussion group focused on a specific question (e.g., Pytawka), the idea of humanism (Humanistawka), a specific sense of humor (Cringawka), community (Studentawka), etc., which is associated with the popular page Jak będzie w akapie? (abbreviated as JBwA; Jebawka). The acronym AKAP refers to anarcho-capitalism—a political and economic system proposed by American economist Murray Rothbard (see also ancap in English). For young internet users, it has become a pretext for creating a branching and unrestricted structure of threads, unconstrained by the limitations of topic, language, or convention. Thus, JBwA serves as a symbolic identification for a multi-thousand-strong Facebook subculture.
The topics of the groups are created in two ways:
1.By recreating the structure of a question, e.g., Jak będzie w anty-śmieszkizmie? (How will it be in anti-humor?); Jak będzie w kosmosie? (How will it be in space?); Jak będzie w depresji? (How will it be in depression?); Jak będzie w charytatywności? (How will it be in charity?);
2.By derivation with the suffix -awka, analogous to the ending of the abbreviation Jebawka (e.g., Bezbekawska / Sypialniawka / Żalawka / Menelawka);
3.By syntactic expansion, e.g., Jak będzie w akapie – sekcja mitomanów (How will it be in AKAP – section of mythomaniacs); Jak będzie w akapie – sekcja past (How will it be in AKAP – section of pastes); Jak będzie w akapie – sekcja prac domowych (How will it be in AKAP – section of homework).
A list of all sections is available at: https://akapedia.pl/Jak_b%C4%99dzie_w_akapie%3F.
Neologisms with the suffix -ara form a group of names for women who are enthusiasts or fans of something, e.g., jesieniara ‘a person who loves autumn and everything associated with it,’ rzepiara ‘a person who takes pictures in rapeseed fields and shares them on social media.’ The suffix has long been present in colloquial language, where it serves to create augmentative feminine names like kociara ‘a cat lover.’ The suffix -ara is currently very productive, often used to create ad-hoc feminine attributive names that are perceived as neutral, especially when referring to their creators. Sometimes these terms are used mockingly, e.g., koniara, skarpeciara, tapeciara, zodiakara.
Examples of usage:
1.”I am a Vivaldiara because I love all four seasons.” /https://jezykozaur.com/2020/10/18/moje-ulubione-slowa-ktorych-prozno-szukac-w-slownikach/
2.”In winter – a skokara, in summer – a zeglara, which is my next object of interest = sailing.” /https://mobile.twitter.com/norskbib/status/1388765408849694721/
3.”A zodiakara is such a cool space because I can talk about what interests me, and someone actually reads it. https://goingapp.pl/more/astrologiczne-memiarstwo-rozmowa-z-zodiakara-zrynsztoku/.
‘Cool, fun’
The words have been known in colloquial Polish for a long time. You can read about the interesting etymology of these words here: https://nck.pl/projekty-kulturalne/projekty/ojczysty-dodaj-do-ulubionych/ciekawostki-jezykowe/KLAWO_jak_cholera_,c,50012 or here: https://wsjp.pl/haslo/podglad/60661/klawy
Example of usage:
[own translation]
– Look, I bought these trousers. Do you like them?
– Yeah, cool! /from a conversation between teenagers/
[Eng. ‘Roll a lozenge!’]
See also: Idź dmuchać beton.
Example of usage:
[own translation:]
– Could you give me a sip? I’m thirsty.
– Turlaj dropsa, I’m thirsty too XD /from a conversation between teenagers/
A verb meaning ‘to try too hard to achieve something; to strive intensely to prove one’s worth in a particular field.’ It is derived from the English “to try hard” and was popularized by computer gamers who put in great effort to win (“tryhard” – a player who wants to win at any cost). The verb “(try) hardzić,” with the same meaning, is also in use.
Example of usage:
[own translation:]
A borrowed term from English, used to describe a person who puts excessive effort into achieving success in a particular area. Unlike others who engage in activities for enjoyment, a “tryhard” is fully committed to winning, prioritizing results over fun. See: tryhardować. Compare with spocony gracz, spoceniec.
Example of usage:
[own translation:]
– Will you invite Ola to go bowling?
– No, she’s a terrible tryhard, she’ll ruin our fun /overheard/
(Eng. ‘to troll a game’)
(In the context of multiplayer computer games) to intentionally play against one’s own team, deliberately hindering other players. The expression is also sometimes used to describe athletes or individuals making jokes that are not funny.
Examples of usage:
[own translation:]
‘Great, excellent’. This term refers to objects, phenomena, or people. It is often used to express admiration or positive emotions. It is frequently intensified with prefixes like “giga-” or “mega”usually written separately, e.g., giga koks, mega kox. The popularity of “kox” may stem from Minecraft, where one of the rarest and most valuable items, the Enchanted Golden Apple, is nicknamed “kox.” This nickname may also reference the old variety of apples, Cox’s Orange Pippin, known for its slightly orange flavor and often called “Cox.”
Kox/ koks is a synonym of the word ‘kot’[Eng. ‘cat’] with a similar meaning, e.g. Giga kot in repairing.
Examples of use:
[own translation]
See more: Bartek Chaciński, Słowo na niedzielę: kox, https://polifonia.blog.polityka.pl/2021/04/18/slowo-na-niedziele-kox/.
A child; a young, inexperienced person, somebody who knows little or is emotionally unstable (from the English ‘kid’).* The term is sometimes used in a derogatory or condescending way.
Examples of use
[own translation]
[Eng. ‘Corona holidays’]
‘A synonym for remote school lessons conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic caused by SARS-CoV-2 infection. This term can also refer to free time away from traditional schooling, or even learning in general, due to real or faked Internet connection issues. The word is often used as a hashtag #koronaferie.
The word was formed similarly to the German noun Coronaparty or the English phrase corona party.
Example of usage:
[own translation]
‼️IMPORTANT‼️
Due to koronaferie and in order to make some money I can write:
– essays for Polish language classes (from antiquity to positivism)!! […] #koronaferie /https://twitter.com/xzoessx/status/1242739151436382208/
[Eng. ‘a horse girl’]
‘A horse enthusiast, a girl who is passionate about horses and horse riding’. The term is sometimes used pejoratively to describe a girl obsessed with horses. The negative stereotype of a “koniara” is common online.
Examples of usage:
[own translation]
-She’s a horse girl.
-Oh, that makes sense now /https://www.miejski.pl/slowo-Koniara/
In the video, you can see Ms. Dorota’s initiation. She’s a horse girl now, too! Bravo! /https://www.facebook.com/KurnikPolski/posts/4182688591808197/
‘To call someone’. The word is formed from the English verb ‘call’, meaning “to phone or to make a call”.
See: dać (komuś) kolnąć
Example of usage:
[own translation]
I’m shocked you don’t know the solution. Look, Kuba can just kolnąć to Rysio C, and the problem is solved… […] https://twitter.com/Jinxop/status/1204280607381032965/
The word comes from the English “vibe” meaning ‘vibration, atmosphere, climate’. It signifies a good atmosphere, the right climate, or positive interaction with someone. It is a colloquial synonym for the expression “positive vibes”. “Wibing” means blissful relaxation in a soothing atmosphere.
Examples of usage:
A Polonized spelling of the English word “vibe”. Used to mean ‘good atmosphere, positive emotions’.
Examples of usage:
[pronounced: uajfu]
A word used by fans of Japanese comics (manga) and animation (anime). It refers to someone’s favorite female character. It can be used to highlight someone’s excessive obsession with a fictional character. It is derived from the Japanese pronunciation of the English word “wife”. The male equivalent of waifu is husbando.
Examples of usage:
Official statement: I have become a manga freak (mangozjebem ) and I’m proud of it. Anime is life, and Winry Rockbell is my waifu. Thank you for your attention and have a nice day /https://mobile.twitter.com/yoshimayo1/status/1377215091523878913/
Recently, I had the opportunity to create one of my first waifus, I hope you like it UwU /post in a cosplay group/
’A lot, very much’. The expression “w opór” functions both as an adverb – “very”, and as an indefinite numeral – “a lot”. It is a slang transformation of the general term “do oporu” meaning ‘to the limit’.
Noted since 2010.
Examples of usage:
A term popular in communication among computer gamers, synonymous with exclamations like “Awesome!”, “How cool!”, “Nice!”. It is a verbal equivalent of the emoji – a photo showing a surprised man’s face. It expresses excitement and satisfaction, sometimes replacing the word “pogChamp”. It is often used as a reaction to good news.
Source: https://www.frankerfacez.com/emoticon/185074-VISLaud
Examples of usage:
1. Greetings to Lukie VISLAUD /https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-3HtExbx9O8/
Variant: owo/OwO
A verbal equivalent of the emoji “UwU” or “OwO”. It signifies something cute, sweet, or endearing. The “U” symbolizes squinting, almost closed eyes, and the “w” represents the mouth. It is associated with a sense of well-being and happiness. “OwO” emphasizes excitement, surprise, or astonishment. Its style is reminiscent of anime films or manga comics. On English-language manga sites, it appeared as early as the beginning of the 21st century, and in digital communication in East Asia even earlier (see .https://www.dictionary.com/e/slang/uwu/). “UwU” is often used in comments or reactions to pleasant, friendly content. The emoticon “:3” has a similar meaning.
“UwU” is also sometimes combined with the gesture of two hands with index fingers pointing towards each other, symbolizing shyness or an (sometimes ironic) assessment of behavior considered overly polite or “sugary”.
“UwU” also appears in expressions such as “uwu girl,” referring to artificially created, excessively “sweet” images of girls. This portrayal is accompanied by an appropriate voice modulation with a higher pitch. Compare with “pickmegirl.”
Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=krLdReeEV88&t=3s
Examples of usage:
Colloquially used to describe someone who is stupid, unintelligent, or strange, who has something wrong in the head; used insultingly about someone behaving abnormally. The lexeme – an abbreviation of the word “upośledzony” (handicapped) – is popular in social media and direct conversation.
The word “upoś” has a more humorous connotation.
Examples of usage:
‘Shoes, most often men’s shoes.’ The singular form of the noun ‘kiks’ originally denoted a ‘mistake, misstep, or misunderstanding.’ The new meaning has become established in the plural, similar to other slang forms with the ‘-ksy’ suffix (e.g. ‘soksy’ [Eng. ‘socks’], ‘oksy’ [Eng. Glasses]) in youth speak.
In commercial discourse, it typically has a narrower meaning – the synonym of sneakers.
The word is popular in direct communication and on social media.
Examples of use:
[own translation]
A child; a young, inexperienced person, somebody who knows little or is emotionally unstable (from the English ‘kid’).* The term is sometimes used in a derogatory or condescending way.
Examples of use
[own translation]
To be fashionably and stylishly dressed and to look good. The phrase originates from the American slang meaning of the word drip (‘fashionable clothing, style, appearance’). The term is also used as a verb: ‘You’re dripping = You have the drip’. This comes from the figurative use of the verb ‘drip’ in the phrase ‘drip with’ (e.g., ‘dripping with jewelry’ — ‘decked out in jewelry’). Someone who ‘kapie dripem’ looks fashionable and classy.
Examples of use:
/https://www.facebook.com/105595091260337/posts/od-ciebie-kapie-dripem-a-ode-mnie-dopem/151230936696752/
A girl or woman who runs a YouTube channel. She is also known as a YouTuber.
Example of use:
[own translation]
She literally said: drop everything and become a jutuberka who immediately has an impressive number of followers
/https://mobile.twitter.com/ilymydiego/status/1405128871729668103/
A person who runs a channel on YouTube. The person is known as a youtuber.
Example of use:
[own translation]
friz, aka frizoluszek, is just an ordinary jutuber to you, but the whole world to me
/https://mobile.twitter.com/dilucsmierdziel/status/1404143526280142849/
An acronym formed from the first letters of the following words: Jedność (Eng. Unity), Lojalność (Eng. Loyalty), Braterstwo (Eng. Brotherhood). These words appear in the title of an album by the hip-hop group Hemp Gru. The term JLB, which refers to friendship and good relations between mutually supportive homies, is mainly embraced by fans of hip-hop music.
Examples of Usage:
[own translation:]
I’m a simple guy. Forever JLB.
The same as ‘mieć tripa’. See trip.
Examples of usage:
[Eng. ‘a single shot’]
1. A tiny person with a slight build, weak, easy to defeat with a single “shot” – punch.
The word was noted in youth slang as early as 2006 (see Miejski.pl) and is still in use today. It has a pejorative connotation.
2. A colloquial synonym for a single-shot weapon in games such as Fortnite.
Examples of usage:
[own translation:]
1. A ‘jednostrzałowiec’ from the first grade came in and started talking about something /overheard; from a 17-year-old talking to his parents about an incident at school?/
2. When a ‘jednostrzałowiec’ starts practising karate or MMA, he becomes a quarter-shot /https://www.cda.pl/video/1638665c/
3. Single-shot – one of the game modes available in Fortnite Battle Royale.
/https://www.google.com/search?q=jednostrza%C5%82owiec&client=firefox-b-d&sxsrf=AJOqlzUuwvvoJOLTN3L6rplqOxLxUv8vKQ:1679649379296&ei=Y2odZIHgEeKyrgSV8Jog&
[Eng. How is it going, man?]
A greeting popularized in videos by the streamer Skrzypas, who starts his videos with the words: ‘Jak tam chłopie? Wstałeś już? To za robotę się weź ‘ [Eng. ‘How’s it going, man? Have you gotten up yet? Then get to work’] (see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IUFzD3A_Zkk)
It also functions as a synonym for phrases like ‘How’s it going?’ or ‘What’s up?’.
Examples of use:
[own translation]
1. Jak tam chłopie? (…) How’s work? https://www.tiktok.com/@skrzypasskrzypas/video/7128811116263705862?is_from_webapp=v1&item_id=7128811116263705862
[Eng. ‘ball crushers’]
A humorous term for men’s skinny jeans, that is, very tight, narrow pants, usually denim, which “crush the balls.”
Examples of usage:
[own translation]
1. And… Skinny jeans again. Those ‘jajognioty’. As a woman, it puts me off, and it always makes me laugh. /https://twitter.com/Awersja1/status/1309604288017166336/
2. Remember skinny jeans aren’t trousers, skinny jeans are ‘jajognioty’ for subhumans /https://twitter.com/charmwoo_/status/980565780126453760/
A dance routine, a motif in youth culture, viral on TikTok (“me dancing italodisco”), which originated from the inspiration of the musical hit of summer 2023, the song “Italodisco” by the Italian group The Kolors, recorded in May 2023. The song draws stylistically from Italian electronic disco music of the 1980s. The marketing term italo disco was introduced in 1983 by Bernhard Mikulski, who was the founder of the record label ZYX Music.
Examples of usage:
[own translation]
1. – Mom, sign me up for boxing classes. – No, I’ll sign you up for dance classes. – Me, training dance [routine to “Italodisco” by The Kolors] /from a teenager’s conversation/.
2. Only a real friend will send you their video while they are dancing italodisco with a pot on their head. https://www.tiktok.com/@klaudiaczekalska/video/7299750521668177184?lang=pl-PL
3. Mom, when she’s not home: My son is probably studying for tomorrow’s test. Meanwhile, me: [performing the routine to the song “Italodisco”] https://www.tiktok.com/@_rozowa._.pantera_/video/7292872210966973729
4. We’re learning italodisco and dancing in the barn on hay at our summer camp; that’s the plan. /https://www.tiktok.com/@crazytriangle/video/7288736464488140065
Sources:
The Kolors – Italodisco, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qqnABNRHMYM
Wikipedia: Italo disco, https://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italo_disco
Italodisco – hit zespołu The Kolors podbija świat. Przy tym numerze każdy zatańczy!, https://www.eska.pl/news/italodisco-hit-zespolu-the-kolors-podbija-swiat-przy-tym-numerze-kazdy-zatanczy-aa-NN8C-Kjfw-xfi3.html
[Eng. ‘to int’]
To deliberately lose in a computer game, especially a team-based one. The verb comes from the English noun ‘inting/int,’ coined by League of Legends players from the phrase ‘intentional feeding,’ which in this context means ‘feeding the enemy.’ Players who engage in inting, especially at the beginning of the game, are called ‘inters’ or, more generally, ‘trolls’.
Examples of usage:
[own translation]
1. If I could soft int a game with around 7,000 viewers and still not get banned on my account to this day, it means the system is not working, and riot should do something about it asap@ /https://twitter.com/rybson__/status/1300059514608193537/.
2. OK, so I showed some inted games, and based on that you can indeed say that my attitude towards games is crappy and that I’m arrogant ‘cause I brag about it on wykop. Plus the thought process is trolling = unskilled is wrong, so tayler1 is a crappy hardstuck too, right? /https://www.wykop.pl/wpis/26218669/ten-uczuc-kiedy-nudzi-ci-sie-tryhardowanie-i-sobie/.
3. Don’t int, or we’ll lose /a teenager’s comment/
‘in my honest opinion’ or ‘in my humble opinion’
Examples of usage:
[own translation]
1. YOOO my mom agreed, and I’m finally ordering this awesome pen with my St. Nicholas money on allegro, and those pentel calligraphy markers! I mean, my notes are already pretty nice imho, BUT WITH THESE MARKERS, MY NOTES WILL HAVE +100 ATTRACTIVENESS!
/https://twitter.com/ygminvlog/status/1472535920532410371/
2. Nisha top 3 pog – although, IMHO, a bit too high.
/https://twitter.com/egzer_/status/1471921467164143629/
‘bad luck, misfortune, unluckiness’
The motivation for creating this new word came from a random, incorrect spelling of the English word ‘unlucky’. One of the streamers during a Minecraft game asked a fellow player to type “unlucky” in the chat, and the player responded with a misspelled version of the word.
Example of usage:
A girl, a woman.
Examples of usage:
This expression, known in youth slang for several years, has regained popularity among younger teenagers (third place in MSR 2021). It has long been a staple of youthful retort, appearing in many communicative exchanges. It ends unwanted discussions and is a universal response to taunts like: “But who asked?” – “Your mom.” It ends unwanted contact, although the adversary may still try to take the initiative by saying: “Probably yours!” Repeated in thousands of variations, expressions like: “Your dad…” / “Your dad in Winiary…” / “Your drunk dad…” / “Your mom…” are used to create asterisms (repeating expressions to draw attention to what follows) and diazyrms – mocking and depreciating the opponent, e.g., “Your dad bathes in rubber boots”; “Your dad camps on the couch,” “Your mom builds sand snowmen”; “Your mom dances rap in front of the TV”; “Your mom fries salt.” These figures are useful both in “playfully dismissing someone” (MSR 2019) and in creating jokes (“satirical, inoffensive joke” MSR 2019), which function independently, popularized by websites, internet applications, music works, and compilations (e.g., Google Play app Twoja-stara.pl, the portal Twoja stara; trap-rap Hotelowy freestyle o Twoim starym by Parisa Platynova, Songs with lyrics about Your Mom (YouTube.com). The confrontational power of these structures stems from violating important cultural-linguistic norms related to “saving face” (Brown, Levinson), including respecting the interlocutor’s heritage and lineage (in slang, stary and stara are synonyms for parents). Meanwhile, the convention of humorous distance and play gives them a different role. It makes genealogical status (lineage) shaky and expands the meaning. Context determines the semantics in terms of playability, and the possibility of duplication mitigates the invectiveness and brackets the cultural norm. These structures thus function also as euphemisms, jokes, or – as young people say – simply “funny lines” (cf. the tab on Jeja.pl).
[1] Trap-rap is a subgenre of hip-hop (see e.g., https://hhpl.fandom.com/pl/wiki/Trap)
English
Polski