NOT BORING ONLY IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN LANGUAGES

Polish 'tak' = English 'yes'
Polish 'nie' = English 'no'
Ok, easy so far.

Polish 'no' = something else.

First week in Poland and a neighbour dropped in to say hello. I asked him if he would like a beer (he spoke English) and he replied, "No."

We talked for 10 minutes or so, and then he said, "Where is my beer?"

"Sorry, I offered you a beer, and you said you didn't want one."

"No I didn't, I said, "'No.' That means 'yes' in Polish."

Shortly afterwards I nearly caused a fatal accident when the mechanic who was driving my UK left-hand drive car asked me if it was safe to overtake, and I replied, "No." Should have said, "Nie."

Said with a slightly rising intonation, 'no' can mean:

Ok,
Really?
Go on - tell me more!
Just as I thought,
and many more..

In a recent episode of a Polish soap opera, in which a gunman has barricaded himself into a flat, a huge policeman gently pushes aside two smaller colleagues who are ineffectually trying to break down the door, bursts it in with one deft movement of his shoulder, turns his head to the camera, and says...."No?"

Here the meaning is clearly, 'What did you think of that, then?'