• Listen

  What it means

  Literally “to catch the germ,” this is the Polish equivalent of “getting the bug” or “getting hooked.” It means to suddenly develop a deep and contagious passion for a new hobby, interest, or activity. Once you “catch the germ,” you become obsessed with learning more about that specific thing.

  Vocabulary

  • złapać — to catch
  • bakcyl — germ / bacterium
  • pasja — passion
  • zainteresowanie — interest

  Grammar note

  'Bakcyla' is the masculine accusative singular form of 'bakcyl.' Note that although it is an inanimate object, it takes the '-a' ending in the accusative, which is common for many masculine nouns in colloquial or idiomatic Polish.

  Cultural context

  This is a friendly, informal expression. It's often used when someone starts a new sport, begins learning a language, or discovers a new genre of music.

  Intermediate

Noticed a typo, a wrong translation, or anything that doesn't look right? We'd love to fix it — just let us know via the contact page. Thank you!