English to Polish Translation for a Wake

August 9, 2013 11:44 AM

My uncle is speaking at a friend's wake tomorrow and would like to say a phrase in Polish. Can you help me translate it?

He wants to say "stay hydrated, you bastard.” I didn't get much context, but I assume he wants something affectionate and jokey -- something light, but obviously not vulgar. Thanks in advance!

posted by jweed to Writing & Language (2 answers total)

Best answer: Bastard is the same word but has a negative connotation in Polish, better to use the word for friend or pal ("kolega", "przyjaciel". Declension: "kolego", "przyjacielu".)

If you want it to be informal, you could say "stary" which means "old guy/buddy" and is used in jokey contexts.

"Stay hydrated" is tricky to translate. One could say "Don't forget to drink" = "Nie zapomnij popic", which can refer to water and alcohol alike. So: "Nie zapomnij popic, stary!"

A popular thing to say would be "Trzymaj sie, stary!" (Take care, buddy!)
posted by travelwithcats at 1:37 PM on August 9, 2013 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: Perfect! Thank you!
posted by jweed at 8:27 PM on August 9, 2013