Image: Daniel Kruczynski, Wikimedia Commons license 🙏
It took me forever to learn the word pieniądze. If you have the same issue, here are a few songs to aid your memory. Plus a bunch of simpler (informal/slang) words you could use instead.
Money in the musical Metro
My first suggestion comes from the musical Metro, set up by Studio Buffo in 1991 and *still running today* (how cool is that!).
One of the songs in the Metro soundtrack is called Pieniądze, which is the most common and most neutral term for money in Polish. The track is perfect for learning this word, as it repeats it slowly over and over:
What is Metro about?
[Click on the arrow to expand:] Metro is about a group of idealistic individuals in Warsaw’s underground system. Rejecting conventional careers, they want to follow their dreams.
After forming a troupe of street performers, they’re rejected at an audition with a theatre director. Instead, they set up their own performance. As they become more successful, the theatre director returns and the performers realise they have to choose between idealism and commercialism.
You can watch the whole Metro musical on YouTube (turn on captions if it’s hard to follow).
Kasa, forsa, hajs
If you ever forget how to say pieniądze (I know I did!), there are many other Polish words for money.
Just be aware that they differ a lot in level of formality and tone:
Kasa: A common but informal version of money that also means “cash” and “cash register/checkout”.
Fun fact: the Polish version of the musical Mamma Mia is called “Kasa Kasa Kasa” (well they could hardly go with “pieniądze pieniądze pieniądze”, for obvious reasons 😃).
Forsa: Informal slang. Polish people might find it amusing if you casually throw in this word in a conversation.
Hajs: Very informal slang. Like “forsa”, Poles might not expect to hear it used by someone who’s learning Polish.
Playlists with songs about money in Polish
I found tons of smashing tunes with money references and decided they deserve their very own playlist:
Just remember what Golec Uorkiestra says: “pieniądze to nie wszystko” (money isn’t everything). And listen out for a variation of this phrase in the track “Pieniądze nie śmierdzą” (money doesn’t smell) by Siwers, Ero JWP, Sokoł, and DJ 600V!
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