# I thought you were my friend but you told the boss..



## Todd The Bod

I wanted to translate this phrase: "I thought you wer my friend, but you told the boss I was late to the meeting in front of everybody..."

I'm thinking it'd be: "Myslawem ze jestes moj prycielu ale powedjawes do Bos ze bylem late do Meeting..." and then I'm lost.


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## wolfbm1

Try this: "Myślałem, że jesteś moim przyjacielem ale powiedziałeś szefowi, że spóźniłem się na zebranie."

"Myslalem, ze jestes moim przyjacielem ale powiedziales szefowi, ze spoznilem sie na zebranie."

"Myslawem zhe jestes moim pshi-ah-tsheluhm ale powedjawes shefovi ze spoznilem sie na zebranie."


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## Todd The Bod

Thanks, and it was really nice of you to break it down like that.  I'll search the individual words too to see which part means what, which I'm sure'll help my Polish as well.


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## NotNow

Wouldn't _na spotkanie_ be better than _na zebranie_?

I think a _zebranie _is a large, formal meeting. such as Parliment or the UN.


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## Todd The Bod

Then "spóźniłem się na zebranie." must mean I arrived late to the meeting then, hunh?


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## NotNow

More like, I arrived late to the assembly or convection. _Spotkanie_ is used for a meeting at the office.

I also have doubts whether you should use _przyjąciel_.  Please do a search on this word in this forum and decide for yourself.


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## Todd The Bod

It says friend for it.  What is the connotation that makes you point it out to me?


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## NotNow

_Przyjąciel_ means best friend, someone who is almost a member of one's family.  One usually has only one or two best friends in the Polish sense of the word.  It would be very unusual for your best friend to be talking to your boss.   

In addition, to have us properly translate your sentence, we must know whether you are speaking to a man or to a woman.


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## wolfbm1

I thought it was "company meeting" we were talking about. So "zebranie" is not the worst counterpart. See: (translatica.pl/slowniki/wyszukiwanie-polsko-angielsko-polskie/meeting/?show=best). And "spotkanie" can sound like "rendezvous" (translatica.pl/slowniki/po-angielsku/spotkanie/).

I forgot to translate: "in front of everybody". That would be: "przy wszystkich" (pshi WSHIstkih).

Friend = przyjaciel - moim przyjacielem

buddy= kumpel - moim kumplem


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## majlo

Wolf, in my opinion you mislead Todd by writing "friend = przyjaciel". I don't know whether you're unfamiliar of the difference between these two words, but I would definitely follow NotNow's suggestion. In English everyone may be everyone's friend, but in Polish _przyjaciel_ is, so to speak, one of a kind.

Also, I wouldn't agree as to the _zebranie-spotkanie _thing. To me it shouldn't be _zebranie_, for reasons already stated by NotNow. In a little less formal context, the word _zebranie _could be used for a "parent's meeting at school". Otherwise, especially in a company environment, I'd go for _spotkanie_.


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## NotNow

Todd, you can avoid the friendship dilemna by rewriting the sentence.  Perhaps you may want to say, "I thought you were nice, but you told the boss I was late to the meeting in front of everyone" or something along that line.


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## wolfbm1

OK then. What about this: "Wydawało mi się, że jesteśmy kumplami, a ty powiedziałeś szefowi wobec wszystkich, że spóźniłem się na spotkanie."
or this:
"Wydawało mi się, że mi dobrze życzysz, a ty powiedziałeś szefowi przy wszystkich, że spóźniłem się na spotkanie."

You could add (use your own judgement though!): "Myślałem, że masz więcej rozumu w głowie." (I thought you had more oxygen in your brain.)


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## NotNow

These will work!


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## ><FISH'>

wolfbm1 said:


> You could add (use your own judgement though!): "Myślałem, że masz więcej rozumu w głowie." (I thought you had more oxygen in your brain.)


I like this very much


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## Todd The Bod

Would "kumpel" be okay then for a buddy you work with but who's not a good friend you hang out with or a best friend?  And this is a man, but what if it were a woman.  Lastly, this was an official but informal meeting of about 15 to 20 people.


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## NotNow

The usual translation of _kumpel_ is buddy or pal.  The word applies to women too.  I should say that I have heard women use the word.  I don't know if they used it correctly.

The meeting that you describe is a _spotkanie_.


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## El Torero

feminine version of _kumpel _is sometimes _kumpela_ 
to me _kumpel_ sounds... strange ;] I do have friends though who use this word frequently


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## Piotr_WRF

For me, _kumpel_ sounds too colloquial, too. In a workplace setting I'd use _kolega_ meaning _colleague_.


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## NotNow

Piotr_WRF said:


> For me, _kumpel_ sounds too colloquial, too. In a workplace setting I'd use _kolega_ meaning _colleague_.


 
It doesn't make sense to say, "I thought you were a colleague..." Surely, one knows who his co-workers are.


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## PawelBierut

NotNow said:


> It doesn't make sense to say, "I thought you were a colleague..." Surely, one knows who his co-workers are.



In Polish _kolega_ not only: mean colleague, co-worker, classmate but also: friend, mate, buddy --> so in Polish the frase makes sense, and what's more frase like _'Myślałem, że jesteś kolegą._' can mean (of course not literally) sth like _'I thought that you were nice', 'I thought that I could trust you' _and things like that.

I don't know the opinion of others but I wouldn't leave the word _kolega_ alone if it means: colleague, schoolmate etc.

I'd say in such cases:

colleague = kolega z pracy
schoolmate = kolega ze szkoły (or szkolny kolega)
classmate = kolega z klasy (or klasowy kolega)


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## wolfbm1

I agree PawelBierut, 





> In Polish _kolega_ does not only mean: colleague, co-worker, classmate but also: friend, mate, buddy.


 
So,  the sentence: "Wydawało mi się, że jesteśmy _kolegami_ ... " will do the job and is more on the careful side. The sentence: "Wydawało mi się, że jesteśmy _kumplami_ ... " sounds a bit funnier, is colloquial and indicates that the speaker is willing to joke about the whole thing.

As far as "company meeting = spotkanie", I'm surprised that now in Poland "spotkanie" is used to mean "company meeting". Probably the word "meeting" itself is also used. To me "narada, posiedzenie" or even "zebranie" sound more Polish. But that's my opinion.


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## Ben Jamin

NotNow said:


> Todd, you can avoid the friendship dilemna by rewriting the sentence. Perhaps you may want to say, "I thought you were nice, but you told the boss I was late to the meeting in front of everyone" or something along that line.


 
 "Przyjaciel" in this context is a good choice, in the meaning "ally, not enemy", not necessarily a "friend for ever". "Nice" sounds a bit childish here.
An alternative to "przyjaciel" might be "dobry kolega", if you want to avoid the "przyjaciel" problem.


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## Piotr_WRF

NotNow said:


> It doesn't make sense to say, "I thought you were a colleague..." Surely, one knows who his co-workers are.



I should have been more precise, the word _kolega_ alone has a broader meaning than English _colleague_. As PawelBierut pointed out in his post, _(work) colleague_ would be indeed _kolega z pracy_.


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## Ben Jamin

NotNow said:


> It doesn't make sense to say, "I thought you were a colleague..." Surely, one knows who his co-workers are.


 Yes, in English. This is different in Polish. Colleague in English is not the same as kolega in English. Kolega is more like buddy, mate. Colleague is 'współpracownik", or informally "the guy that works with me".


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