Learn How To Talk About Animals In Polish

Animals are great, wouldn’t you agree? I mean they are always there making you laugh, cry, smile, and more. They are also there to help you learn important lessons about life and your surroundings. Therefore, we should learn about them and take care of them, because they bring us a lot of warmth and love.

On another note, have you ever heard of the Polish legend of The Golden Duck? In Polish, this is known as Złota Kaczka (pronounced as zwoh-tah katch-ka), which translates to golden duck in English, and the story goes something like this:

Once upon a time, in the old town of Warsaw lived a young man called Lutek. Lutek was a poor shoemaker who worked in one of the shoe shops in the area. At nighttime, he was always found listening to locals who love telling interesting and exciting stories. On one starry night, an old man decided to share a story about a cursed princess living in the Ostrogski Castle. The storyteller said that this damned princess turned into a beautiful and magical, golden duck and is now living in the basement of the palace.

Now, after hearing the story, Lutek decided that he wanted to go for a little adventure. A treasure-hunting adventure. As he continued walking through the cold and dark underground of the castle, he found this special room decorated all over with gold, and in the middle of it was a blue lake. And there it was, floating gracefully in the middle of the lake, the bewitched princess who turned into a beautiful and magical, golden duck.

Since Lutek found the duck, he was offered a fabulous prize. The golden duck gave Lutek a coin purse containing 100 ducats and, of course, one very important condition. She told Lutek that the only thing he must do now is to spend the 100 ducats all to himself and that he cannot share the money with anyone, ever.

Lutek spent the day buying a fine suit, a fancy cane, and expensive food. But, he soon realized that he had spent only half of the ducats. Just several steps away, Lutek noticed an injured and starving war veteran begging. Lutek decided to share the rest of his ducats with the war veteran. Right away, the princess appeared. She told Lutek how disappointed she was that he did not meet her one and only condition. As a result, she took away all of the things that Lutek bought and left him empty-handed.

Afterward, the soldier reminded Lutek that it’s not money or the finest of things that will bring him happiness, but a good heart and honest work. Lutek worked as hard as he could, day and night until he became a master shoemaker. And, then, he met a beautiful woman whom he ended up marrying. Once they got married, they both lived happily ever after.

And that’s the legend of The Golden Duck. This beloved Polish tale serves as a gentle reminder that honesty and purity of heart are the only ways to true happiness. A duck isn’t the only animal highlighted in Polish stories. First, you must know what different animals are called in Polish.

• chicken: kurczak (kur-chak)
• cow: krowa (krow-wa)
• dog: pies (pyes)
• puppy: szczeniak (sh-che-nyak)
• bird: ptak (ptak)
• duck: kaczka (katch-ka)
• elephant: słoń (swon)
• cat: kot (kot)
• horse: koń (kony)
• bear: niedźwiedź (nyedj-vyedj)
• tiger: tygrys (tig-ris)
• lion: lew (lev)
• hamster: chomik (kho-mik)
• goat: koza (ko-za)
• guinea pig: świnka morska (shvin-ka mors-ka)
• owl: sowa (so-va)
• pig: świnia (shvin-ya)
• octopus: ośmiornica (osh-myor-ni-tsa)
• rat: szczur (chur)
• rabbit: królik (kru-lik)
• camel: wielbłąd (vyel-bwad)
• fish: ryba (reh-ba)
• giraffe: żyrafa (zhe-rah-fa)
• shark: rekin (re-kin)
• swan: łabędź (wa-betch)
• squirrel: wiewiórka (vye-vyur-ka)
• monkey: małpa (maw-pah)
• frog: żaba (zha-ba)
• rhinoceros: nosorożec (no-so-ro-zhets)
• snail: ślimak (shli-mak)
• turtle: żółw (zhowv)
• zebra: zebra (zeb-ra)
• kangaroo: kangur (kang-goor)
• lizard: jaszczurka (yash-chur-ka)
• mosquito: komar (ko-mar)
• ant: mrówka (mruv-ka)
• squid: kałamarnica (ka-wa-mar-ni-tsa)
• parrot: papuga (pa-pu-ga)
• chameleon: kameleon (ka-me-le-on)
• butterfly: motyl (mo-til)
• snake: wąż (wohzh)
• starfish: rozgwiazda (rozg-vyaz-dah)