# koleś



## johnnyboyc

i received this word in a message from a friend, but me and my polish speaking friend have no idea what it means. any idea?


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## .Jordi.

johnnyboyc said:


> i received this word in a message from a friend, but me and my polish speaking friend have no idea what it means. any idea?



koleś = guy


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## Piotr_WRF

_Koleś_ is short and colloquial for _kolega_ _(colleague_ or _friend_). In English you would say _pal_, _mate_ or _chum_ (quote from _getionary.com_). I'd also add _buddy_ or even _dude_.


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## .Jordi.

It's a despective word, so I wouldn't translate it as pal, mate etc, because as far as I know, these words in English don't have any pejorative meaning, do they?


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## Piotr_WRF

.Jordi. said:


> It's a despective word, so I wouldn't translate it as pal, mate etc, because as far as I know, these words in English don't have any pejorative meaning, do they?



I wouldn't say it's disrespectful but I agree that you can call someone _koleś_ who you don't know and never met before as e.g. _Jakiś koleś właśnie wszedł do autobusu_ (_Some dude has just got on the bus_). That's why I've added _buddy_ and _dude_ in my post before.

As to whether _pal_, _mate_ and _chum_ can be used in the same way I'm not sure. Maybe some native English speaker could tell us.


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## johnnyboyc

dziekuje bardzo


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## katie_here

Hi, I can try and explain it in English for you, although I'm not totally sure of the actual translation of _Koleś._  Whether it refers to a male friend or a male person you don't know but are addressing or talking about_._ 

Mate is used mainly from one male to another, but not always to a friend, it's just a friendly way to address someone you don't know, but are interacting with. 

Chum isn't really used anymore, but it does mean friend.  Pal is used in the same way as mate. 

Guy and Dude are used to talk about some random man, for example.  There was this guy in the pub....  Other words along the same lines are chap, bloke, geezer. man, lad (if he's young or you come from my locality) (Kid is used in the same way, for a child or young man if you live in Yorkshire). 

Dude is an american word, which is catching on here amongst the younger ones.  Middle aged people and older people wouldn't normally use that expression.


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## arturolczykowski

>Koleś is short and colloquial for kolega (colleague or friend).

I'd never say to my friend "koles". I'm not even sure whether it is true that it is colloquial for "kolega". It is much less respectful than "kolega". Of coure a lot depend on the context and you can say with sort of respect "Ten koles tam to dopiero przystojniacha", where it is used more  like "bloke, guy" but usually it means something like "geezer" but mostly about younger people...


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## Piotr_WRF

arturolczykowski said:


> >Koleś is short and colloquial for kolega (colleague or friend).
> 
> I'd never say to my friend "koles". I'm not even sure whether it is true that it is colloquial for "kolega". It is much less respectful than "kolega". Of coure a lot depend on the context and you can say with sort of respect "Ten koles tam to dopiero przystojniacha", where it is used more  like "bloke, guy" but usually it means something like "geezer" but mostly about younger people...



I agree with you that you wouldn't use _koleś_ in the same way as _kolega_ though etymologically it derives from it. I'd say that it's mostly used when speaking about some guy in the third person and not when addressing him directly. It still doesn't have to be disrespectful, as you said it depends on the context.


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## ramzes_ramzes

From dictionary "Popularny słownik języka polskiego, Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN"
koleś = <<kompan; kumpel>>
so it means pal, mate, chum, buddy, companion...
it is usually used if you don't know the person you are talking about... or you don't really like the person [ex. you don't like your class-mate, and if you will talking about him to your friend you can use word "koleś"]
that word is using by young people...


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## Thomas1

Piotr_WRF said:


> I agree with you that you wouldn't use _koleś_ in the same way as _kolega_ though etymologically it derives from it. I'd say that it's mostly used when speaking about some guy in the third person and not when addressing him directly. It still doesn't have to be disrespectful, as you said it depends on the context.


This something I agree with (e.g. _fajny koleś_) and judging form Katie's resposne, I think these would be fine translations:



katie_here said:


> [...]
> Guy and Dude are used to talk about some random man, for example.  There was this guy in the pub....  Other words along the same lines are chap, bloke, geezer. man, lad (if he's young or you come from my locality) (Kid is used in the same way, for a child or young man if you live in Yorkshire).
> 
> Dude is an american word, which is catching on here amongst the younger ones.  Middle aged people and older people wouldn't normally use that expression.


Guy was my guess before I read the thread.

Tom


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