Polish Swear Words

November 04, 2021 3 min read

10 Comments

Learn Polish Swear Words
The article title on bad Polish words caught you didn't it? You are not alone! Polish cuss words are one of the things we are asked most frequently. We decided to cover the Polish Swear Words topic in a lighthearted but informative manner. When learning a new language such as Polish, there is a taboo set of basics everyone is interested to know - and those are the swear words. Let’s not be shy. Keep reading to learn how to swear in Polish! (We won't tell!)

What is the F Word in Polish

The first, and most important thing to learn is how to say the f word in Polish.
Or, let’s be more brave - fuck in Polish.

After all, you will need it for many things - to enhance your storytelling, to put a curse on your enemy, to shout out loud in traffic… Hey, some people use it as a comma in a sentence! That’s why this is the most common Polish swear word. And, well, not all Polish bad words are bad… it depends on when you use Polish swearing!

Yes, when it comes to Polish insults - it’s all about the timing.

A true alternative for the English f word - kurwa.

Kurwa (actually meaning bitch, whore), is pronounced as KUR-VA.

Polish Swear Words and Slang

Now that you’ve completed your first lesson on how to say swear words in Polish… It’s time to move on to other Polish curse words.

Here is a Polish swear word list to continue your education, along with the Polish swear words in English translation.

Most common (and most useful!) Polish swear words with pronunciation are:

  • Cholera! - HO-LE-RA, referring to the disease cholera and used as another alternative to the f-word but only referring to the situation (not the person). So if something goes wrong, you can just shout out: Cholera! It’s not too naughty of a word.
  • Spierdalaj! -SPER-DALAI - Fuck off.  Literally used as that.
  • Ja pierdolę! - JA PIR-DOLE, Used as fuck me, but literally meaning I fuck - when something is unbelievable, this is when you would use it.
  • Pieprz się! - PIEPZ SIE, Fuck you. Literally used as that - with the root word being pieprzyć, which is both to put pepper on stuff, as well as to fuck.
  • Dupek! - DU-PEK. Asshole. Again, literally used as that, but only toward males. It can also mean that someone is very, very stupid.
  • Huj! - HUI. Dick. Used the same as dupek, but has a more stronger effect.
  • Gówno! - GUV-NO. Only used to refer to something else that is of bad quality, and often used as Gówno prawda meaning that something is not true.
  • Gówniarz! -GUV-NIAZ. Little shit.Often used for someone who is immature or behaving badly.
  • Srać - To shit or to tell lies. 

A list of how to say bad words in Polish could go on and on, as Poles (and Slavs in general) tend to be very creative when they’re angry. Swear words in Polish can be combined, rephrased, and used however you like - the most important thing is to be careful who you say them to. Swearing in front of your work colleagues or elderly members of your family is considered a big no-no. The same goes for cursing in front of children. So, to make things clear, here is a little disclaimer - swearing in Polish should be used at your own risk.

So, pardon our Polish - hope you learned something fun and practical today.

What are your favorite curse words in Polish? What of these do you find to be funny Polish swear words, and what do you think to be the best Polish swear words? 

10 Responses

Andrew Chmielinski
Andrew Chmielinski

September 23, 2023

I don’t see this listed. English pronunciation: HOLE-YET-A ! Actual meaning ? Thanks.

Gregory n Soltis
Gregory n Soltis

June 19, 2023

I have a polish coworker that laughed and he just shook his head at me when I tried a couple of these phrases.

Browndog
Browndog

May 23, 2023

What does, not sure how it’s spelled.
" Pizda Chatsna kuraviastna Kucha "mean. My dad had some polish friends and said they used it when they all used to get drunk together with him.

Richard Bowden
Richard Bowden

March 04, 2023

Why do Polish people find the English word “bug” funny?

Teresa Panjer
Teresa Panjer

January 23, 2023

Raised with both languages Polish and English I have often heard, cholera jasna, meaning a bright disease. My mom said her dad would very rarely say, jak pzyczepise to jak smoa do gowna. Lol

Mike
Mike

January 23, 2023

When we played cards (pitch) and my Grandpa would play a card to set someone, he would slam the card down and say shah kritch. Sounds close to shah kref. Same meaning??

Danon
Danon

December 15, 2022

„Shah-kref” is probably „Psia krew” melaniny Dog’s blood. We idee it when something is going wrong. Like u try to fix something and u cant u said that. Or when someone said something about other people and u get nervous u said that.

Nell
Nell

December 05, 2022

My Polish grandparents, when frustrated, often exclaimed something that sounded like “Shah-kref!” Any idea what this was?

rachel Claudia gurak
rachel Claudia gurak

September 13, 2022

Thank you my polish dad used to say kur-va then ego mass sounding but not spelt properly.

Bart
Bart

May 04, 2022

You forgot about very important word
PIZDA . PIZDA JEBANA .It’s used every day and has many uses.

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