co do cholery?
In Polish, "what the hell" can be expressed as co do cholery? or co do diabła?
Meaning: an intensive form of what (phrase)
Ways to say it
| Polish |
|---|
| co do cholery? |
| co do diabła? |
Both phrases are used as intensifiers to express surprise or annoyance.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase co do cholery? is literally constructed as "what" + "to" + "cholera", while co do diabła? is literally constructed as "what" + "to" + "the devil".
Which one should you use?
Co do cholery? is a common way to express everyday frustration, whereas co do diabła? is a more direct equivalent to the English "what the devil?"
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
Both forms are informal and should be avoided in formal or polite settings.
How does it change in a sentence?
The phrase functions as an intensive and can be placed at the end of a question, such as Co ty robisz do cholery? (What the hell are you doing?).
Did you know?
- The word cholera refers to the disease cholera, which caused devastating epidemics in Poland during the 19th century. Using the disease as a curse word was a way to express fear and anger toward an invisible, deadly force.
- In Polish, calling someone choleryk describes a person with a violent temper or a tendency to explode in anger, derived from the same root as co do cholery?
- The word co comes from the Proto-Indo-European root *kʷ-, which is the same ancestor for the English word 'what'.
Examples in context
- Co do diabła? Dlaczego trasa jest zablokowana?What the devil? Why is the road blocked?
Sources
- Wiktionary, “what the hell” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries co, do, CC BY-SA 4.0.
