Chrząszcz

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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.

Monument to the poem's hero

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 reed
And Szczebrzeszyn is famous for it.

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

Listen to those lines pronounced in Polish (help·info)

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.