# Hello neighbors



## mgl

Hello neighbors

Could I say: "Siema sąsiedzi!" In a very informal way?


Thanks



> *One question for each thread.
> Write the sentence also in the thread, not only in the title, thanks.*


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## BezierCurve

Yes, that will most probably make them smile. Older people might not get it right, mind.


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## DW

mgl said:


> [...]
> Could I say: "Siema sąsiedzi!" In a very informal way?
> [...]



You sure could, why not? I mean, you could say both "Siemaneczko, sąsiedzi!" and "Witam sąsiedztwo!" as well, but you should, you know, always keep in mind that both colloquial and formal language are used, but most often in quite different situations.


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## Ben Jamin

mgl said:


> Hello neighbors
> 
> Could I say: "Siema sąsiedzi!" In a very informal way?
> 
> 
> Thanks



This is what you say to your crony.


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## Thomas1

mgl said:


> Hello neighbors
> 
> Could I say: "Siema sąsiedzi!" In a very informal way? [...]


Do you know your neighbours?
If so, what terms are you on?
Are you more or less the same age?

The word 'siema' has got a different language register from the English 'hello' or Portuguese 'olá/oi'.


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## dreamlike

We have no way of answering this question without more context, which is ever so important in cases such as this. I know of some grumpy, not necessarily old, men who'd take offence at being greeted this way.


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## Ben Jamin

Thomas1 said:


> Do you know your neighbours?
> If so, what terms are you on?
> Are you more or less the same age?
> 
> The word 'siema' has got a different language register from the English 'hello' or Portuguese 'olá/oi'.


Yes, it's about the same as "high five" in English (AE).


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## Drejfus

If your neighbours are about your age and you want to treat them like your friends/pals/good acquitances - surely, say to them "siema" or "jak leci?" ("how's it going?") as a greeting.

If the're older than you, but you think that they have some sense of humour, especially if they've been friendly to you - try "Witam sąsiedztwo" (as proposed above) or "Witam serdecznie" (warmly/cordialy greetings)/ "Ciepło witam" / "Jak tam dzionek?" (how's the day goin'?").

Just be aware that if talking to someone who you're adressing "pan" or "pani", even when you know this person quite well, informal might not be appropiate and will test someone's will to make your relation more personal.


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## BezierCurve

I can't imagine people getting offended by a foreigner who's doing his best to greet them (even in an informal way). Unless they're very posh or too old to know it, that is.


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## mb11

Drejfus said:


> If your neighbours are about your age and you want to treat them like your friends/pals/good acquitances - surely, say to them "siema" or "jak leci?" ("how's it going?") as a greeting.
> 
> [...]
> 
> Just be aware that if talking to someone who you're adressing "pan" or "pani", even when you know this person quite well, informal might not be appropiate and will test someone's will to make your relation more personal.



I guess, I agree with that. Well, I would say if you're about the same age and you know each other (a bit) & it's clear you get along you could do so.


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## Ania R.

For a less colloquial albeit still informal greeting I would go with simply "Witam sąsiadów". "Siema sąsiedzi" is, of course, correct for a very informal greeting, but it sounds a little out there. I don't think you would normally greet anybody this way, unless you were trying to be colloquial or funny on purpose. I'm not sure how else to explain it. You would probably use that (along with some other examples provided by *Drejfus*) only in certain contexts and usually with people that you know well or at least meet occasonally.


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## rudolphru

I don't know about you, but I think the word "siema", despite being pretty widespread, remains downright unnatural and contrived.


I associate it mainly with Jurek Owsiak, who I think was its originator, and the sanitized slang invented by Polish TV in the 90s to represent how young people speak minus the vulgarities. I wouldn't use it unless I wanted to imitate TV speak.  

I'd stick to "dzień dobry" and say something along the lines of "Dzień dobry, co tam u sąsiadów".


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