# "od kuchni" in English



## Catherine de Taller

Hi, 

How to say "poznac cos od kuchni" in English?


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## .Jordi.

_Behind the scene_,_ from the backstage_ maybe?
Is there any context?


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## BezierCurve

_To know something like the back of your hand?_


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## bg1

"To know something like the back of your hand" means you know it very well, like the back of your hand which is always visible to you 

"Poznać coś od kuchni" has special meaning! It means you know the workshop, you know the process behind or the process of creating. For example, in many technologies, engineers use different theories as the well known rules. Some other people (scientists) know why these rules are true (they can prove the rules mathematicaly). We say they know the technology "ze strony kuchni" or "od kuchni". Therefore, "znać od kuchni" is something more than "know well"!


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## arturolczykowski

to know something from the inside


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## NotNow

arturolczykowski said:


> to know something from the inside


 
Or to know something inside and out.


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## arturolczykowski

But this means "to know something well", doesn't it?


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## NotNow

arturolczykowski said:


> But this means "to know something well", doesn't it?


 
I guess so, but it seems to fit bg1's definition too.


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## bg1

arturolczykowski said:


> But this means "to know something well", doesn't it?



It depends in contects. I think the sentence has the original root in technology language, where knowledge is divided into layers (levels).

Also in science researches you can find some ideas by your own methods but when you present the results to public, you do it in different way (like you can bring dishes for people at the table). People can understand clearly your thesis (like they can taste the dishes) but they cannot know how could you find it (like they don't know how you cooked the dishes). Now you can say: "Teraz prezentuję zagadnienie ze strony kuchni i powiem państwo jak na to wszystko wpadłem"


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## Slovianka

Well, Zang, you would rather not say so in an official situation. Of course, as a lecturer you could say so to the students to make them smile or laugh. Nevertheless your previuos explanation of the meaning of the expression "znać coś od kuchni" was perfect. It means - like in the kitchen - to know not only a product but also the process behind it, but its usage expands far beyond the kitchen's walls.


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## bg1

Slovianka said:


> Well, Zang, you would rather not say so in an official situation. Of course, as a lecturer you could say so to the students to make them smile or laugh. Nevertheless your previuos explanation of the meaning of the expression "znać coś od kuchni" was perfect. It means - like in the kitchen - to know not only a product but also the process behind it, but its usage expands far beyond the kitchen's walls.



Oh yeah, I would not use it in international conferences but in (Polish) university or science institute lectures you can use it even without ... laughing.


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## bg1

... and I rarely show my "kuchnia". A magician is magic just because people don't know his "kitchen" ;-))


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