Proszę pani, chodzi mi o znaczenie tego wyrażenia, a nie o jego tłumaczenie.

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Breakdown of Proszę pani, chodzi mi o znaczenie tego wyrażenia, a nie o jego tłumaczenie.

• mi: me
• a: and
• ten: this

Questions & Answers about Proszę pani, chodzi mi o znaczenie tego wyrażenia, a nie o jego tłumaczenie.

What does Proszę pani mean here?

It is a polite way to address a woman, something like ma’am, excuse me, ma’am, or, in a school setting, miss/teacher depending on context.

In this sentence, it is not really part of the main grammar of chodzi mi o.... It is just a polite opener used to get the listener’s attention.

Why is it pani, not some special vocative form?

Polish uses pan and pani as polite forms of address. In expressions like Proszę pani, the normal form is simply pani.

So even if a learner expects a special vocative ending, Polish does not use one here. Proszę pani is the standard expression.

What does chodzi mi o mean?

Chodzi mi o is a very common Polish pattern meaning:

• I mean
• I’m referring to
• what I’m asking about is
• I’m concerned with

It should be learned as a whole expression: komuś chodzi o coś.

Also, even though chodzić often means to go or to walk, in chodzić o it has a different idiomatic meaning: to be about / to concern.

Why is it mi, not mnie or ja?