Chrząszcz

Chrząszcz (a beetle, chafer) by Jan Brzechwa is a poem famous for being one of the hardest to pronounce texts in Polish literature, and may cause problems even for adult, native Polish speakers.

Polish original

W Szczebrzeszynie chrząszcz brzmi w trzcinie
I Szczebrzeszyn z tego słynie.

Wół go pyta: „Panie chrząszczu,
Po cóż pan tak brzęczy w gąszczu?"

Phonetic transcription

[fʂʧε.bʐε.ʂɨ.ɲε xʂɔɰ̃ʂʧ bʐmi ftʂtɕi.ɲε]
[i.ʂʧε.bʐε.ʂɨn stε.gɔ swɨ.ɲε]

[vuw gɔ pɨ.ta pa.ɲε xʂɔɰ̃.ʂʧu]
[pɔ ʦuʂ pan tak bʐɛɰ̃.ʧɨ vgɔɰ̃.ʃʧu]

English translation

In the town of Szczebrzeszyn a beetle buzzes in the reeds
And Szczebrzeszyn is famous for it.

An ox asks him: “Mister beetle,
What are you buzzing for in the bushes?”

Listen to those lines pronounced in Polish

The first line “W Szczebrzeszynie chrząszcz brzmi w trzcinie” (In Szczebrzeszyn a beetle buzzes in the reed) is a well-known Polish tongue-twister.

Thanks to the poem, the town of Szczebrzeszyn is widely known in Poland. A monument to the beetle was erected there in 2002 and a yearly sculpture festival has been held there ever since.

Chrząszcz was translated into English by Walter Whipple as Cricket.

See also