# I am looking forward to seeing you



## Framais

How do you say "I am looking forward to seeing you" in Polish?
(said from a man to a woman)

I'm about to write to a Polish friend (in English) but wanted to close  my email with a nice touch of Polish language


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## jazyk

Maybe Oczekuję na spotkanie z Tobą (se le dai del tu) or Oczekuję na spotkanie z Panią (se le dai del lei).


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## Orlin

jazyk said:


> Maybe Oczekuję na spotkanie z Tobą (se le dai del tu) or Oczekuję na spotkanie z Panią (se le dai del lei).


 
I think that because you're writing to a friend, definitely the informal version with Tobą will be used.


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## jazyk

Friend is too broad a concept, especially in English.


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## Framais

Thanks very much, that helps!


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## Orlin

jazyk said:


> Friend is too broad a concept, especially in English.


 
I don't know about Polish, but in Bulgarian (as well as Russian and Serbian) formal forms of address are used only between people that don't know each other or a social distance exists between them. I think that any notion of familiarity (regardless of the degree of "friendness") excludes "polite" forms.


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## robin74

jazyk said:


> Maybe Oczekuję na spotkanie z Tobą (se le dai del tu) or Oczekuję na spotkanie z Panią (se le dai del lei).


First, it's not grammatically correct (it's "oczekuję spotkania", nie "oczekuję na spotkanie"). And second, it just sounds awkward in Polish.

I would say "cieszę się na spotkanie z Tobą".


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## BezierCurve

It may seem not correct, but actually it is (see: http://poradnia.pwn.pl/lista.php?kat=16&szukaj=k%B3opotliwych). 

Also, I don't think it sounds awkward, although I agree that you would rarely hear it expressed that way.

PS. The use of "Pani" indeed depends on how close they are to each other. In this case I'd use it only if the letter began with "Mrs/Ms/Ma'am" etc.


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## LucioDaMusk

> How do you say "I am looking forward to seeing you" in Polish?



Wyczekuję spotkania z Tobą.




robin74 said:


> I would say "cieszę się na spotkanie z Tobą".



I would say this is awkward and not correct in my opinion. This also isn't literal translation.


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## majlo

"_Cieszę się na spotkanie z tobą_" _isn't _incorrect.

I might say _Nie mogę się doczekać, aż cię zobaczę. _


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## pani pietruszka

yes, i would definitely say _nie mogę się doczekać, aż cię zobaczę _!
(literally it means _i can't wait to see you_)


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## monczao

robin74 said:


> First, it's not grammatically correct (it's "oczekuję spotkania", nie "oczekuję na spotkanie"). And second, it just sounds awkward in Polish.
> 
> I would say "cieszę się na spotkanie z Tobą".



Do you speak Polish everyday? I don't know why you said _oczekuję na spotkanie _sounds awkward, but trust me it doesn't. Actually _oczekuję spotkania_ sounds so wired, maybe it is correct but i would never say that  

I would translate it to _czekam na nasze spotkanie_ or something with *czekam* instead of _oczekuję_. Oczekuję sounds so official (at least for me) and I would say it sounds like you are not sure if you will see her. You know, that you are waiting for her and you just have a hope it will happen, or you are sure it will happen but you don't know when (probably it will take a while), but czekam is more like i'm waiting and i know it will happen soon.

@Framais: If you like that woman you can say, as majlo wrote:
_nie mogę się doczekać, aż Cię zobaczę_, or _nie mogę się doczekać naszego spotkania

_if it is just a friendship and you don't have any plans you can say:
_
do zobaczenia wkrótce!_ (see you soon!)


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## ><FISH'>

monczao said:


> _czekam na nasze spotkanie_.


This doesn't convey the "I am looking forward to..." part, though, which seems to be the main focus of the phrase.


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## amigdalin

Hi, 
I'm Greta and I'm Polish. 

You can say :"Nie mogę się doczekać na spotkanie z Tobą" or  "Nie mogę się doczekać spotkania z Tobą"


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## majlo

Hi, Greta! Welcome to the forum. 

I wouldn't say "Nie mogę się doczekać na spotkanie z tobą". It doesn't sound natural to me; quite contrary to   "Nie mogę się doczekać spotkania z tobą.


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## amigdalin

it's sound good, and it's correct.


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## majlo

Well, apparently not to my ears.  To me it sounds unnatural and incorrect. Do you have by any chance a source that would prop up the thesis that it's actually correct?

I'm wondering what it sounds like to other Polish native speakers.


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## kknd

I'd go for most simple (and thus natural) solutions like _do (miłego) zobaczenia!_


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## majlo

Inasmuch as it's the simplest solution (maybe too simple? ), I don't really think it conveys the idea of "I'm looking forward to seeing you" which isn't merely "See you". 

Anyway, what do you think about "Nie mogę się doczekać na spotkanie z tobą"?


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## BezierCurve

> Anyway, what do you think about "Nie mogę się doczekać na spotkanie z tobą"?


 
I'd go for "doczekać się _czegoś_". Surprisingly, the other version ("na coś") seems to be also used by some journalists, artists etc. 

Not sure what the experts think about it though. I might try posting a query to Poradnia PWN some time later, as I'm curious myself.


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## robin74

majlo said:


> Well, apparently not to my ears.  To me it sounds unnatural and incorrect. Do you have by any chance a source that would prop up the thesis that it's actually correct?
> 
> I'm wondering what it sounds like to other Polish native speakers.


My dictionary (Słownik poprawnej polszczyzny) has a genitive form as the only correct one, "doczekać się czego".


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## majlo

That's what I thought.


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## Marek_73

Hello to All,

Just found the language forums, and having read a few threads I got drawn in. This discussion is getting so stormy, so I would just like to chip in with my observations and ideas.

I think I can agree with 'monczao' for whom "oczekuje spotkania" sounded wierd. To me "oczekuje spotkania" sounds defiant and provocative in the context discussed above, and can be said by a man who needs and expects an instant, intimate encounter with a girl. If they both do not know each other the message may seem misleading and urging .

Maybe "Z niecierpliwością oczekuję chwili, kiedy będziemy mogli się zobaczyć" could be yet another solution to Framais's question.

regards


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## ilocas2

The verb "look forward" is untranslatable into some languages like Spanish, French and (as I see) Polish. One man who speaks absolutely perfectly Spanish with all its dialects from whole America told me, that for native speakers of Spanish this verb is completly incomprehensible and that they never ever will understand its meaning. It seems that it is also the case of Polish. Native speakers of languages which lack this verb just never will able to understand what this verb want to say.
Main problem is fact, that this verb has completly positive meaning, so it doesn't mean that you can't wait. It means that you are waiting with enjoying, you are waiting with positive feelings or you needn't wait at all, you have only positive feelings about some event that will come or you are thinking about how it will be nice, awesome etc.
But in the end, the best way how to translate it into Spanish, is really "I can't wait".

I wan't to offense anyone, I'm only saying what a man, who speaks fluently Spanish, Portuguese, French, English, Italian, Czech, Slovak, and is very good in German, Polish and Hungarian told me.

BTW - Sorry for my probably ugly English in this contribution, but I hope that you understand what I want to say


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## Marek_73

@ilocas2

On the contrary...

I seem to think the concept of "look forward" is quite understandable for the Polish.

And the learners of the English language are aware of what the verb conveys.

The thing is, many speakers of Polish have had hard and joyful times over expressing the meaning in their own words, and the whole exercise has been a very good possibility of linking ideas.


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## LucioDaMusk

@ ilocas2

"Wyczekuję"

I said it before but no one agreed.


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## BezierCurve

I did (quietly).

This verb is perfect for describing that kind of waiting which is strongly connected with "looking forward" - either metaphorical or physical like during the Christmas Eve (when you look upwards struggling to see the first visible star).


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## cpuzey1

No mogę się doczekać, aż się zobaczymy.


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## Felix_Vallis

Marek_73 said:


> Maybe "Z niecierpliwością oczekuję chwili, kiedy będziemy mogli się zobaczyć" could be yet another solution to Framais's question.



Much too long. 

I would say: " Do szybkiego zobaczenia!
'Do szybkiego' expresses correctly - in my opinion - the original phrase 'I look forward'


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## an-alfabeto

*New question *​
Dobry wieczór!
Would be correct *"Nie mogę się doczekać, aż cię zobaczę w Ateny"* I'm looking forward to seeing you in Athens), said by a woman to a male close friend?
Many thanks in advance.


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## majlo

It should be "Nie mogę się doczekać, aż cię zobaczę w Atenach".


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## an-alfabeto

majlo said:


> It should be "Nie mogę się doczekać, aż cię zobaczę w Atenach".



Cześć, *majlo*!
Thank you very much for answering.


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## LilianaB

Yes, I agree. This is a very good translation of the phrase you were looking for. As to the rest of the thread, and looking forward to something, to me this expression is just a slogan to end a letter. You may just as well say: Czekam z niecierpliwoscia na odpowiedz, na spotknaie, na Pana telefon, itd.


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## comodo

Inna możliwość: Wyglądam niecierpliwie naszego spotkania.


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## dreamlike

The sentence suggested by comodo would raise my eyebrows. That said, there's probably nothing exceptional about it for some people.


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## majlo

If I didn't know it was said in jest, I'd think the speaker was high.


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## kknd

i'd say it's highly formal or comical…


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## an-alfabeto

LilianaB said:


> You may just as well say: Czekam z niecierpliwoscia na odpowiedz, na spotknaie, na Pana telefon, itd.



Cześć, *Liliana B*! 
I' m sorry, I don' t understand Polish.
Could you, please, translate the above phrases? 
Dzięki!


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## dreamlike

As you can readily see, I'm not LilianaB, but I'm glad to help  



			
				LilianaB said:
			
		

> Czekam z niecierpliwoscia na odpowiedz, na spotkanie, na Pana telefon



*I'm eagerly anticipating (or awaiting)* (respectively) your answer / meeting you / hearing from you.


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## an-alfabeto

dreamlike said:


> As you can readily see, I'm not LilianaB, but I'm glad to help
> 
> 
> 
> *I'm eagerly anticipating (or awaiting)* (respectively) your answer / meeting you / hearing from you.



Wielkie dzięki, *dreamlike*! 
Everything is clear now. 
Have a nice Sunday evening.


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## WldCatBluDevil

A native Polish speaker (currently in Poland) suggested a meeting date for next Monday.  I confirmed in a reply email and the native Polish speaker's response (in English) was:  "Thank you.  I'm waiting."

Is it reasonable to assume that the "I'm waiting" reference is a translation from Polish intended to convey "I'm looking forward to it" rather than the literal interpretation we native English speakers would interpret?


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## Gochna

It might be, but I would be more sure if the person had written "I'm waiting for it" or something along these lines. 
Are you sure that the person understood that you have confirmed?


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## WldCatBluDevil

Gochna said:


> It might be, but I would be more sure if the person had written "I'm waiting for it" or something along these lines.
> Are you sure that the person understood that you have confirmed?


The Polish speaker suggested (in English) Monday at 6pm Poland time and my response (in English) was "That works for us.  We will call you at that time."  With having no knowledge of Polish, my immediate reaction to "I'm waiting" was that there was a misunderstanding, but with the above discussion I am a bit more comforted that it was likely an attempted translation that didn't quite get to the intended meaning.  Irony is that I was going to respond "We're looking forward to talking with you on Monday" to confirm, but it appears that "look forward to" is a challenging expression for some languages (including Polish)!


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## WldCatBluDevil

Also, I finished the email with "Have a nice weekend!"


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## Gochna

Given that you said "We will call you at that time", I would guess that the person wanted to express that they _will be waiting for your call_. All seems good then


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## WldCatBluDevil

Gochna said:


> Given that you said "We will call you at that time", I would guess that the person wanted to express that they _will be waiting for your call_. All seems good then


I certainly feel more comfortable now.  Thanks for the input!


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## jasio

@WildCatBluDevil, Please note that nowadays the way of speaking of most Polish speakers is much more direct and straightforward than the native English speakers are used to. Add to it often limited English skills, and you get what you get. It happens sometimes that when I set up a meeting with someone, the confirmation is just "Czekam". I wouldn't call it a very diplomatic expression, and it does not convey a full meaning of "I'm looking forward to meeting you" either. It's closer to "I'm expecting you", but a person who is not very fluent in English could translate it as "I'm waiting" as well.

We also use first or last names to address people only occasionally during conversation. It does not mean that we do not use them at all - we do, of course, but much less often than the English speakers. Consequently, when I speak with Americans or Brits I have an impression that they call me by my name in every second expression (which sounds artificial for me, as if they continuously seeking for my attention), and they may probably have an impression that I ignore them, or just didn't take the effort to remember their names. Also be prepared for misusing articles (in Polish there aren't any, so unlike speakers of Western European languages we rarely use them properly and often we just skip them, especially the definite article), overusing past continuous and future continuous tenses (in attempts to express imperfective aspect which is quite significant in Polish and non-existent in English), mixing present continuous with simple present (in Polish there is only one present tense) and simple past with present perfect (we do not have perfect tenses at all so their inherent relationship with the present moment is very subtle for us), using expressions like "Mister John" to address people (a cliché of a Polish expression used to address people), reducing long vowels to short ones, etc. Most of the speakers I know make these mistakes to a degree, including myself.


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## WldCatBluDevil

jasio, that is very helpful information that will come in useful in our meeting Monday (it's an interview) and if we develop an ongoing working relationship thereafter.  Thank you!


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