Chwila moment
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What it means
Literally “a moment, a moment.” A quintessentially Polish expression meaning “just a second” or “one moment please.” The redundancy of two near-synonyms is entirely intentional and charming.
Vocabulary
- chwila — moment / while
- moment — moment
Grammar note
Both words mean roughly the same thing — their pairing is a fixed colloquial expression, not a grammatical construction.
Cultural context
A beloved quirk of Polish speech. Foreigners learning Polish often find this delightful redundancy one of the most memorable phrases.
Beginner
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