# a flake of paint



## Hotmale

Hi,
I've got another problem. What is the word for "flake" in Polish other than "(o)drobina"?
"Płatek" doesn't seem right to me either. 
Have you got any ideas?

"She scrubbed at *a flake of paint* on the doorjamb with a chapped fingertip."

Thanks


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## Seana

Hi Hotmale,

<a flake of paint> 

In Polish it can be better said *'płat farby'*


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## Thomas1

Po polsku powiedziałbym poporstu:
_zeskrobywał odpadającą farbę_

A co do samego tłumaczenia _flake _to myślę, że _płat_ jest ok. Dodam tylko, że można by było powiedzieć też _(odpadający/odrywający się) kawałek_.



Tom

PS: całe zdanie jest trochę dziwne.


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## AndrzejR

For me it is _odpadająca farba_.


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## Hotmale

Thanks mates!



Thomas1 said:


> całe zdanie jest trochę dziwne.



trochę 

PS. What about *a flake of mud*? Is it translatable? 

X of błoto?


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## AndrzejR

*flake of paint* - łuszcząca się farba (this is also OK)

*a flake of mud -* I have no idea how to translate this


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## Seana

Yes I think _płat błota_ (a flake of mud) is good but it could also be said
- _gruda błota_ (a clod of mud);
- _kawałek błota (_a little piece of mud_);_
_- kawał błota _( a large piece of mud);
_- resztka błota ( _rest of mud);
_- warstwa błota _(a layer? spoil? of mud).


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## Hotmale

Seana said:


> Yes I think _płat błota_ (a flake of mud) is good but it could also be said
> - _gruda błota_ (a clod of mud);
> - _kawałek błota (_a little piece of mud_);_
> _- kawał błota _( a large piece of mud);
> _- resztka błota ( _rest of mud);
> _- warstwa błota _(a layer? spoil? of mud).




Thanks, Seana for your suggestion  .


_A little/large piece of mud_ sounds strange. I think _a bit of mud _is better.
_The rest of mud _I believe is incorrect. You can say _a (remaining) splatter of mud_ or _a clump of mud_, if it's a solid mass.

How to translate it well, is another thing  

Have a nice day,
Hotmale


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## Hotmale

AndrzejR said:


> *flake of paint* - łuszcząca się farba (this is also OK)



Thanks, Andrzej.


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## Thomas1

Hotmale said:


> Thanks mates!
> 
> 
> 
> trochę
> 
> PS. What about *a flake of mud*? Is it translatable?
> 
> X of błoto?


What's the context please?

Seriously, is _flake_ used with mud at all in English? _Flake_ is supposed to be thin, sheetlike, but mud is not so. I would say a piece/lump/layer of mud but flake doesn't do the job well, at least to me. Even in Polish it sounds bad. Anyway, I don't want to be categorical of course since there may be context about which people haven't dreamt yet, in which it chimes in; so if you provide a context that explains away/justifies the use of _flake_ with _mud_ I am likely to change my point of view. 


Tom


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## cyanista

Thomas1 said:


> What's the context please?
> 
> Seriously, is _flake_ used with mud at all in English? _Flake_ is supposed to be thin, sheetlike, but mud is not so. I would say a piece/lump/layer of mud but flake doesn't do the job well, at least to me. Even in Polish it sounds bad. Anyway, I don't want to be categorical of course since there may be context about which people haven't dreamt yet, in which it chimes in; so if you provide a context that explains away/justifies the use of _flake_ with _mud_ I am likely to change my point of view.
> 
> 
> Tom



I've wondered about this, too. I suppose it is not very widespread, otherwise there would be more Google-hits (as of now, there are only six).

As I imagine it, it's a thin small piece of dried mud (as in a dry puddle or on someone's clothes).

Consider these examples:

She said most people will walk right past something interesting – such as a *flake of mud* that has curled up as it dried out, resembling a chocolate shaving or a scroll of ancient paper – without even giving it a second thought. Source

My suede boots are soaking, the hem of my skirt       splattered with *mud*. When it dries I will *flake it off* carefully with my       fingernail so as not to ruin the suede; no one will notice. Source

I must admit I'm having a hard time trying to translate it into Russian.


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## Thomas1

Looks like I'll have to convert.  Here are a few more:


> I gazed fixedly at the soft, downy hair that grew in the crease of his earhole, at the tiny *flakes of mud* attached to his skin, at the graduated wrinkles at the top of his trunk.
> 
> Source





> A thick mass in its final desiccation may show cracking like the hexagonal *flakes* *of mud* at the edge of a pond, or the thick axes of a slowly drying […]
> Source





> Usually this happened when the pond had dried down to caked brown *flakes of mud* clinging to the sides and a slimy green mess at the bottom […]
> Source





> The water felt immediately alleviating, and at last, Eleanor began to relax. Dried *flakes of mud* melted from her skin and drifted to the surface, clouding the water as she dipped her head back, submerging her crunchy curls.
> Source





> Her *mud* was already cracked and *flaking off*
> Source


From what I can see I think _flake_ if used with mud is a rather rare link. I don’t know if I would use it, but if you insisted on employing it I’d most likely imagine something like this (without any context of course), but even then I’d rather use different wording (e.g. _dried, cracked soil/mud_). I also think that it is more palatable when used wiht verbal forms. I wonder how natives feel this kind of urge.


Tom


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## Hotmale

Thomas1 said:


> Looks like I'll have to convert.  Here are a few more:
> 
> 
> 
> From what I can see I think _flake_ if used with mud is a rather rare link. I don’t know if I would use it, but if you insisted on employing it I’d most likely imagine something like this (without any context of course), but even then I’d rather use different wording (e.g. _dried, cracked soil/mud_). I also think that it is more palatable when used wiht verbal forms. I wonder how natives feel this kind of urge.
> 
> 
> Tom



Hi Tom,
Indeed, _a flake of mud_ is not a common collocation, but it is not rare either.  A google search produces more results when you type in _flakes of mud._ IMHO the image you attached doesn't show _a flake of mud._ It is a very solid, dry mass (which _flake_ is not) rather than a thin wet piece of mud.
Anyway I've aready had this collocation translated. A friend of mine suggested _rozbryzg błota, _which I like a lot.
Using it is not about insisting on anything. I was just curious how to translate a seemingly untransaltable phrase into Polish 

Regrds,
Hotmale


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## Hotmale

Thanks, cyanista


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## Thomas1

Hotmale said:


> Hi Tom,
> Indeed, _a flake of mud_ is not a common collocation, but it is not rare either. A google search produces more results when you type in _flakes of mud._ IMHO the image you attached doesn't show _a flake of mud._ It is a very solid, dry mass (which _flake_ is not) rather than a thin wet piece of mud.
> Anyway I've aready had this collocation translated. A friend of mine suggested _rozbryzg błota, _which I like a lot.
> Using it is not about insisting on anything. I was just curious how to translate a seemingly untransaltable phrase into Polish
> 
> Regrds,
> Hotmale


I said _without context_, and you haven’t provided it, which makes the possibilities of the translation almost countless. Anyway, the citations I quoted say about the kind of flake I linked to. 

The flake you’re depicting is a kind of a snow flake, which is associated differently in Polish, firstly, because snow brings about connotations, and, secondly, because in this case it translates as diminutive. However, let’s not forget about _płat skóry/farby_ which are dry and the second one’s solid. The description by you doesn’t hold true for me as a general definition of the term in question. _Rozbryzg błota_ sounds somewhat formal to me.

The total of 36, comparing to 10,500 for “piece of mud” and 9,900 for “lump of mud”, (the plurals have considerably lower counts, though still higher than flake’s, but it’s, I think, a different story) doesn’t convince me. 


Tom


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## Hotmale

Thomas1 said:


> I said _without context_, and you haven’t provided it, which makes the possibilities of the translation almost countless. Anyway, the citations I quoted say about the kind of flake I linked to.
> 
> The flake you’re depicting is a kind of a snow flake, which is associated differently in Polish, firstly, because snow brings about connotations, and, secondly, because in this case it translates as diminutive. However, let’s not forget about _płat skóry/farby_ which are dry and the second one’s solid. The description by you doesn’t hold true for me as a general definition of the term in question. _Rozbryzg błota_ sounds somewhat formal to me.
> 
> The total of 36, comparing to 10,500 for “piece of mud” and 9,900 for “lump of mud”, (the plurals have considerably lower counts, though still higher than flake’s, but it’s, I think, a different story) doesn’t convince me.
> 
> 
> Tom



Do you need context to translate _a bottle of milk, a flake of snow, a dash of milk_? 
I don't think that _a flake of mud_ can be translated in dozens of ways. 
As I said, it's not a very common collocation, but a collocation nonetheless.
If it is in my grammar books, then it wasn't listed there by mistake. 

I don't understand the reference to _a flake of *snow *_(aren't we discussing  a _flake of *mud*)_ and your saying that "snow brings about connotations" (?).

Regrds,
Hotmale


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## arturolczykowski

Thomas1 wrote:




> Looks like I'll have to convert.




Hi everybody, I'm new here.

Thomas1, I think that you shouldn't use the word "convert" here. If I understand you properly you should say "I'll have to repent". "Convert" to polish "nawrocenie" but in the meaning of "changing religion" , if you've done something wrong or haven't been right you must "repent"


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## Hotmale

Hello arturolczykowski  and welcome to the forums.


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