# I couldn't have put it better myself



## cpuzey1

Hej
Jak w temacie, jak najładniej wyrazić to po polsku?


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## Thomas1

Może: sam bym tego lepiej nie powiedział?
Jest też: dobrze powiedziane, odpowiednik 'well said.'


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## majlo

There's also the word _Dokładnie!_ which pretty much conveys the idea (I hear it more and more often), and is, by the way, an English calque. I myself like it and use it, though.


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## BezierCurve

Another option: 

Sam nie mógłbym wyrazić tego lepiej.


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## Thomas1

A more Polish version of Majlo's suggestion may be: (no) właśnie. It's quite frequent in spoken Polish.


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## dn88

I think the most common and closest Polish equivalent would be:

_Sam bym tego lepiej nie ujął._


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## kknd

I'd opt for more proper _właśnie_ instead of awful _dokładnie_ (wrong calque from English "exactly" from "exact", _dokładny_); generally i'd propose something like: _Lepiej bym tego nie ujął_.


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## majlo

How is "dokładnie" wrong? I myself like this word and use it because it perfectly conveys the idea. It's short and to-the-point. I don't see anything awful about it.


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## cpuzey1

I always remember my previous Polish teacher constantly telling me to avoid the use of _dokładnie _for precisely the reason highlighted by kknd (wrong calque from the English word "exactly") and to use _właśnie _instead. However, whether or not it is "wrong" is not really for me to say; I am neither a native Polish speaker nor an expert on Polish philology. 

Interestingly, the same teacher also told me to avoid the phrase _w międzyczasie _(also quite common I thought) for a similar reason: incorrect use of Polish and calque from the German _In der Zwischenzeit_. Any thoughts?


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## Thomas1

> w międzyczasie _pot_. pomiędzy jedną a drugą czynnością: Rano mam zebranie, po południu cocktail party, a w międzyczasie rozmowy z delegacją japońską. · _Błędne w zn._ 'w tym czasie; tymczasem'. Np.: Zrobię pranie, a ty w międzyczasie, _poprawnie_: w tym czasie, posprzątaj.
> Nowy słownik poprawnej polszczyzny PWN c Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN SA


It's the same as English 'meanwhile' which has both meanings:


> _adv._*
> 1. * During or  in the intervening time: Meanwhile, life goes  on.
> *2. * At the same time: The court is deliberating; meanwhile, we must be  patient.
> 
> 
> http://www.thefreedictionary.com/meanwhile


#1 is equal to 'in the meantime', to the Polish colloquial usage of 'w międzyczasie' and to the German 'in der Zwischenzeit.'
#2 is equal to the incorrect Polish 'w międzyczasie'. 
The German dictionaries I consulted don't say that 'in der Zwischenzeit' means #2. Although, the meaning of 'Zwischenzeit' is exactly the same as Polish 'międzyczas.'

PS: there should be a separate thread for each question you have.


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## majlo

cpuzey1 said:


> Any thoughts?



Yes, too many people are smart alecks. 

Seriously, I myself use _międzyczasie_; not because it's _not_ a calque from German though. It's simply shorter and the preposition  is not essential to the meaning. I hope the usage of "dokładnie" will spread to such an extent that the grumblings of all those anti-calque-don't-use-this-but-use-that experts will be just empty words.


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## Thomas1

I don't think anyone uses it because it is, or it isn't, a calque from German, Majlo, that's not germane here. Rather because it's convenient.

Having said that, it seems that Germans use 'in der Zwischenzeit' in the same way. 

Personally, I think that the remark by PWN makes sense logically.


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## majlo

I believe it is germane. I think there are people who, using certain words and expression, take into consideration the fact whether they're calques from foreign language or not. To me it's also one of the factors in choosing particular wordings, only not more important than the very convenience.


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