# Siwy vs. Szary



## EdK

Are there any rules regarding the use of siwy vs. szary?  I heard "siwe" used specifically for hair color and nothing else and I've heard szary, -a, -e to describe anything else that's gray, so is siwe specifically used for hair color?  Would szare sound wrong if it were used to describe hair color?


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## Ben Jamin

EdK said:


> Are there any rules regarding the use of siwy vs. szary?  I heard "siwe" used specifically for hair color and nothing else and I've heard szary, -a, -e to describe anything else that's gray, so is siwe specifically used for hair color?  Would szare sound wrong if it were used to describe hair color?


No, you can't use these words interchangeably.
You can describe a special kind of blond hair as *szary *(szary blond) even though it is not exactly grey. Grey colour, as far as I know, does not occur as a hair colour in humans (cats, chinchillas and rabbits can be grey).
*Siwy *in Polish describes only the very special colour of hair that has lost its pigment, and is actually a kind of white. This colour usually does not occur in man made products. Some animals can loose their pigment, and become *siwy*. A kind of horse hair colour is also called *siwy*, but is actually different from the "human hair grey".


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## jasio

On top of what Ben Jamin wrote, also a smoke can be "siwy" (there is even an idiomatic expression 'został tylko siwy dym', literally 'only a gray smoke was left', meaning that there is nothing really left), a handful of names of places like 'Siwy Wierch", "Siwa Przełęcz", "Siwy Staw" (all of them in Slovakia, as far as I am aware), several names of species (like kur siwy, _gallus sonneratii_), and it would really be about everything. "Szary" is much more popular, and is used in most (if not all) other contexts. 

BTW: here you can find several examples of 'siwy' objects: http://pl.wiktionary.org/wiki/siwy.


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## Thomas1

There’s also the expression “siwy jak gołąbek” (as grey as a pigeon).
I sometimes come across “siwy” used to mean “szary” in spoken or written language. Here’s a relevant dictionary definition:siwy
[...]​*4. *_książk._ «białoszary, jasnopopielaty»
○ Siwe oczy.
○ Siwe chmury.
○ Siwy dym papierosa.
○ Trawy siwe od mrozu.

_Uniwersalny słownik języka polskiego_, PWN​


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## Ben Jamin

Thomas1 said:


> I sometimes come across “siwy” used to mean “szary” in spoken or written language. Here’s a relevant dictionary definition:siwy
> [...]​*4. *_książk._ «białoszary, jasnopopielaty»
> ○ Siwe oczy.
> ○ Siwe chmury.
> ○ Siwy dym papierosa.
> ○ Trawy siwe od mrozu.
> 
> _Uniwersalny słownik języka polskiego_, PWN​


It is mostly poetic langauge.


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## Ben Jamin

Thomas1 said:


> There’s also the expression “siwy jak gołąbek” (as grey as a pigeon).


 But it is used to describe a human hair colour.


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## Thomas1

Yes. The point is that the hair is compared to a piegeon's plumage (which is grey).


Ben Jamin said:


> It is mostly poetic langauge.



It isn't when I hear it from someone describing, for instance, a plumbing pipe. I'd add, however, it's not a frequent use of "siwy".


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## Ben Jamin

Thomas1 said:


> Yes. The poing is that the hair is compared to a piegeon's plumage (which is grey).
> 
> 
> It isn't when I hear it from someone describing, for instance, a plumbing pipe. I'd add, however, it's not a frequent use of "siwy".


That's why I wrote "mostly".


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## EdK

Wow.  Thank you all so much for the many responses to my question.  This is now very clear for me.


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