"Co to był za hałas?"
Translation:What was that noise?
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473
No comment here yet. I agree with AlexLivins that "What noise was that" should be acceptable.
Jellei is right. You can also use this phrase talking about present:
Co za mecz! Co za dzień! = What a match! What a day! (note the lack of jest or to in this case)
This phrase is quite universal. Similarily to English, you can say Co za mecz! referring to the match you've watched before, you are watching right now, or you heard about it and you think it's going to be awesome. In fact it's the best way to translate that What a...! phrase.
'Hałas' has a strong negative connotation, which is not conveyed by 'sound'. A better translation would even be 'racket'.
'Noise' covers it at least partially.
And 'noise' and 'sound' are definitely not fully interchangeable:
"My neighbours were having a party last night. I couldn't sleep because of the sound noise."
1845
The Mets are down one run in the bottom of the 9th inning. Bases loaded. The best Met's slugger comes to the plate and the announcer shouts. "Let's here some noise!"
1845
I confess, I was just having some fun with my previous comment. I know you have a good sense of humor and I just couldn't resist.