What is the difference between piorun and błyskawica?
I know that from my Polish dictionary they both mean lightning. What contexts are these words used in?

Question

What is the difference between piorun and błyskawica?
I know that from my Polish dictionary they both mean lightning.  What contexts are these words used in?

Answer

Piorun = Thunder + lightning
Błyskawica = lightning

Answer

They may both be translated as "lightning", but don't mean exactly the same. Piorun is a general term for an electrical discharge in the atmosphere, błyskawica refers only to piorun's visual effect.

So talking about an accident we might say "Zenka trafił piorun", but "Zenka trafiła błyskawica" would sound somewhat odd. On the other hand, when watching a thunderstorm, we'd rather say "patrz, jakie błyskawice" than "patrz, jakie pioruny."