# gospodyni



## NotNow

I thought someone who makes a living cleaning houses is called a _gospodyn_i, but my cousin, who is a native speaker of Polish, used another term.  Perhaps she used _pokojówka_.  I thought _pokojówka_ referred to someone who works in a hotel.   In any case, what do you call a person who does housework for a living?

Thanks.


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## lukis421

For me, gospodyni is a female host, a hostess if you like, gospodarz being the male version. Pokojówka is somebody whose job is to clean living spaces, they can work in a hotel or clean houses, something you'd call 'cleaning service' in England. I hope that helps


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## jasio

NotNow said:


> I thought someone who makes a living cleaning houses is called a _gospodyn_i,


"Gospodyni" is rather a household owner (or an owner's wife etc), like landlady, husbandwoman, housewife, etc. This word can also be used as a role (one of key roles, in fact), during events - ie. a person representing organising party, both private (like a birthday party), and official (like a business banquet), ie. a host. In a dictionary iv'e also found a meaning of a housekeeper, but I can't recall this word being actually used in this meaning, I'd rather say "gosposia" myself - but still, it's about general domestic work, not just about cleaning. For the latter I would say "sprzątaczka" instead. Besides, as a part of this kind of employment, I would expect that "gosposia" works in one place at a time taking care of all necessary domestic activities (including perhaps cooking, shopping, washing, etc), while "sprzątaczka" comes in - perhaps regularly like every Friday - cleans a house (or an office for that matter) and leaves to clean someone else's house. It was a traditional approach however, as nowadays, in the world of part-time jobs, middle-class refraining from giving full-time employment and iRobots, you cannot actually be sure.



NotNow said:


> My cousin, who is a native speaker of Polish, used another term.  Perhaps she used _pokojówka_.


If your cousin is an old-style gentry person, she (or he) could actually use this word, which means 'a (house)maid'. But still, duties of such a person would not be limited to cleaning, but they would also include small services, like bringing tea, serving at a table, etc. Anyway, I don't know anybody who would run his household this way nowadays.



NotNow said:


> I thought _pokojówka_ referred to someone who works in a hotel.


That's true, and in such case it's a person who cleans the rooms, makes the beds, replaces towels and soaps in the bathrooms, etc.



NotNow said:


> In any case, what do you call a person who does housework for a living?


Well, it very much depends on what kind of a housework. If it's only / primarily about cleaning, I would say "sprzątaczka". If it's about general housework (which cleaning may be a part of), I would say 'gosposia' - albeit some of them may prefer 'gospodyni' as more dignifying. "Pokojówka" sounds for me somewhat outdated, fin-de-siecle or pre-WWII epoque (I often watch movies with Hercules Poirot, Sherlock Holmes - you know, what I mean). If someone runs a household large and rich enough nowadays to employ this kind of domestic service, it could perhaps suite as well - but I don't think I know anyone like that.


An afterthought: I do not think I would use the word 'pokojówka' as the first selection for a person who works as the only domestic servant. I'm not saying that you must have a butler first, but this word seems to fit larger households, employing more people than just one.


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## JTshelty

You can use "sprzątaczka" as said. I would rather use "pomoc domowa". "Sprzątaczka" is rather about cleaning, though. I wouldn't expect her to cook, etc. If you mean "all" things in the household, then perhaps "gospodyni" but I doubt you would find any job offers, as said, it is rather outdated, nowadays, your mother can name herself "gospodyni" if she does such things (not a job, I mean every woman doing it for her family and as it was mentioned in the earlier answer, it can describe a household owner etc.). Anyway, if you use "pomoc domowa" nobody should never get offended. When it comes to "sprzątaczka" I would recommend being careful (your voice, context etc.).


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## zaffy

Sprzątaczka


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## Language conquistador

I would also go for sprzątaczka as the most natural word, however, I believe gospodyni (even though it means a female host in the first place) is also synonymous to sprzątaczka, but it implies more respect to her job. It is as if she was in charge of the house.

Pokojówka is mostly used in the context of hotel/hostel etc.


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## zaffy

I would say, here in the south of Poland 'gospodyni' is extinct, in this context at least. I would use this name to describe a woman who in fact has nothing to do with being a gospodyni. For example to praise my friend's wife who has made a delicious dinner.


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## jasio

Language conquistador said:


> I believe gospodyni (even though it means a female host in the first place) is also synonymous to sprzątaczka, but it implies more respect to her job. It is as if she was in charge of the house.


I would disagree. Indeed, "gospodyni" implies that she is in charge of the house, I already covered that. But "sprzątaczka" is not in charge for the house. She's in charge solely  for the cleaning. Indeed, the term may be percieved somewhat derogatory, but in such cases I've encountered a term "pani sprzątająca" (lit. 'a cleaning lady').

Anyway, it would be worthful if @NotNow provided some context. A different term may be the most appropriate when talking about someone to a third party, different - when addressing the very person, and yet different in a job application or an announcement.


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## jasio

On the other hand, I wonder if derrogatory connotation of the words referring to domestic service (sprzątaczka, pokojówka, służąca, służący, lokaj) are not a result of communist times, when it was rather unusual to have one - both for ideological and for financial reasons. And if you could even afford one, it could still be percieved as a sort of an offence, so people ceized to treat them just as names of job positions.


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## NotNow

zaffy said:


> I would say, here in the south of Poland 'gospodyni' is extinct, in this context at least. I would use this name to describe a woman who in fact has nothing to do with being a gospodyni. For example to praise my friend's wife who has made a delicious dinner.



My family is from southeast Poland, in and around Dębica, and most of my cousins are in their 30s.  I thought these details might help.


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## tewlwolow

jasio said:


> On the other hand, I wonder if derrogatory connotation of the words referring to domestic service (sprzątaczka, pokojówka, służąca, służący, lokaj) are not a result of communist times, when it was rather unusual to have one - both for ideological and for financial reasons. And if you could even afford one, it could still be percieved as a sort of an offence, so people ceized to treat them just as names of job positions.



I would opt for the opposite - it's the capitalism that causes mischief, not "communism". I think, if anything, the derogatory connotations are a form of good old classism - all low-paid jobs are considered "worse" in the era of clerks and managers. But of course what we had in Poland resembled capitalism far closer than any form of communism, so in this crooked sense, your answer might still hold water


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## Ben Jamin

jasio said:


> On the other hand, I wonder if derrogatory connotation of the words referring to domestic service (sprzątaczka, pokojówka, służąca, służący, lokaj) are not a result of communist times, when it was rather unusual to have one - both for ideological and for financial reasons. And if you could even afford one, it could still be percieved as a sort of an offence, so people ceized to treat them just as names of job positions.


I could observe the development of vocabulary in both English and Norwegian over a time span of about 40 years. Both languages have been subject to a substantial impact of political correctness, that is replacing names of occupations, ethnicities, races, health status, and so on with ones sounding more acceptable and noble than the old ones that were classified as derogatory. So, this change has nothing to do with the political system of the country.


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