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Does anyone know a Polish term that might be used for a woman who is like an aunt? You will often hear of a non-relative be called Aunt or Auntie for a very close friend of the family rather than Miss or Mrs in English. We have a close friend who is from Poland who does not want to be called by her last name by the children and Pani is too formal for her, but I had having the children just call her by her first name. Thanks for any advice :)
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Hi guys - I'm not a native speaker, but I'm a pretty good speaker and live in Poland. Ciocia (sounds more or less like "cho-cha" is definitely the formal version. The children in orphanages are usually taught to call female caretakers "ciocia" or "aunt" and that's what our daughters call our adult Polish female neighbors. Other Polish children often call other female adults that as a form of respect as well. Ciotka is more informal: "auntie." Kids could also say "ciociu" or "ciotko" which is also more or less like "auntie" (it's the vocative form).
So much for internet translation sites! Thanks for clearing that up. This summer, my two youngest kids and I met a friend that I used to work with. Her mother and grandmother spoke Polish, so she remembered a few words. She jokingly told my kids to call her ciocia, and I didn't understand, so she said it was aunt. I told her that my oldest used ciotka for aunt. We both "knew" we were right, so we decided that maybe it was a regional dialect. I now proof that we were both right, but not for the reason we thought.
I'm laughing as I read these posts, because my husband was always very confused in Poland. "Is she a REAL Ciocia or another of those fake ones?" There is a term in Polish "przyszywany/a" which means "sewn on". So when someone is very close to the family, they get "sewn on" by being called Ciocia or Wujek. Also, if someone is related but rather remotely (second cousin once removed, blah blah) they also often get auntified. I have a TON of Ciocias in Poland. And now, all of the kids of my Polish friends in the US call ME Ciocia. In fact, we mothers now refer to each other as "Ciocia X" when talking about each other in front of the kids. Ciotka is definitely not only less formal, but also somewhat less respectful, though it can be said in a nice or joking manner without malice. But, for example, my uncle will say to his wife "Hey Ciotka, get me my slippers" just to annoy her. So it can be perceived as not quite as polite. my .02
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