Wiersze Jana Brzechwy o zwierzętach

What does “proszę państwa” mean in Polish?

Proszę państwa is how you address a group politely in Polish — “ladies and gentlemen,” literally “I ask the lords-and-ladies.” Every Pole also hears it as the start of a poem: Proszę państwa, oto miś — “Ladies and gentlemen, here is the bear” — the most quoted line of Jan Brzechwa’s ZOO, the animal verses recited in this clip that generations of Polish children know by heart.

Państwo is a wonderfully overloaded word: it means “ladies and gentlemen / you all” in polite address, “Mr. and Mrs.” (państwo Kowalscy), and even “the state” — context does all the work. Brzechwa (1898–1966) is Poland’s beloved children’s poet; the clip runs through his zoo, from the bored tiger (nic, nudzi mi się — “nothing, I’m bored”) to the dzik (wild boar) everyone flees up a tree.