{"id":6805,"date":"2016-11-23T02:22:26","date_gmt":"2016-11-23T02:22:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/polish\/?p=6805"},"modified":"2016-11-23T02:22:26","modified_gmt":"2016-11-23T02:22:26","slug":"polish-proverbs-which-one-is-your-favorite","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/polish\/polish-proverbs-which-one-is-your-favorite\/","title":{"rendered":"Polish proverbs, which one is your favorite?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Despite being a modern country in every sense of the word Poland still retains very many of the vestiges of traditionalism (\u015blady tradycjonalizmu<\/strong>). It’s very catholic, particularly in the older generations, and still in touch with the great Eastern European, soft-spot for superstition. It should come as no surprise then, that a very many so called ‘old wives tales’ ) (babskie gadanie<\/strong>), idioms and proverbs originate from this area of the world.<\/p>\n

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But traditional as they are, proverbs are proverbs because they have that eloquent ability to summarise the truth of a matter in just a few words, or a single sentence; at least, they did once, for somebody, somewhere.<\/p>\n

Here are few interesting Polish proverbs:<\/p>\n

“Sw\u00f3j ci\u0105gnie do swojego”<\/strong>, meaning “same kinds attract”. This one’s a little odd, as in English the closest, and indeed a common saying is that ‘opposites attract’, which is much more in-line with the other Polish proverb\u00a0Kto si\u0119 czubi, ten si\u0119 lubi<\/strong>, meaning ‘those who argue, like each other’.<\/p>\n

\n“W zdrowym ciele, zdrowy duch”<\/strong>\u00a0, meaning literally “healthy soul, healthy body”. It’s pretty similar to the English ‘healthy mind, healthy body’.<\/p>\n

“Potrzeba jest matk\u0105 wynalazk\u00f3w”<\/strong>, means \u2018necessity is the mother of invention\u2019, and alludes to the fact that when people need something, the push to produce it is driven by greater tenacity and determination.<\/p>\n

\n“R\u0119ka r\u0119k\u0119 myje”<\/strong>, meaning literally ‘one hand washes the other’, and has the English proverbial equivalent ‘you scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours’.<\/p>\n

\n“Co nagle, to po diable”<\/strong>\u00a0– “the devil dictates when you hurry”.<\/p>\n

\n“\u0141adnemu we wszystkim \u0142adnie”<\/strong>, is a lovely sentiment, meaning ‘someone pretty looks pretty in everything’.<\/p>\n

\n“Komu pora, temu czas”<\/strong> , is a rather sinister reminder of the inevitability of death, meaning ‘when it’s your time to go, you must go’.<\/p>\n

“Jak ci\u0119 widz\u0105, tak ci\u0119 pisz\u0105”<\/strong> –\u00a0How they see you, that’s how they perceive you<\/p>\n

“Gdyby k\u00f3zka nie skaka\u0142a, to by n\u00f3\u017cki nie z\u0142ama\u0142a”<\/strong> –\u00a0If the goat didn’t jump, she wouldn’t have broken her leg<\/p>\n

“Co kraj to obyczaj”<\/strong> –\u00a0Each country has it’s own tradition<\/p>\n

“Co cia\u0142o lubi, to dusz\u0119 zgubi”<\/strong> \u00a0–\u00a0What likes the body will loose the soul<\/p>\n

“Komu pora, temu czas”<\/strong> –\u00a0When it’s your time, you have to go<\/p>\n

“Nie chwal dnia przed zachodem slo\u0144ca”<\/strong> \u00a0–\u00a0Don’t praise the day before sunset<\/p>\n

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“Wsz\u0119dzie dobrze, ale w domu najlepiej”<\/strong> \u00a0–\u00a0Everywhere’s fine, but the best at home<\/p>\n

“Bez pracy nie ma ko\u0142aczy”<\/strong> –\u00a0Without work there will be no supper<\/p>\n

“Gdzie diabe\u0142 nie mo\u017ce, tam bab\u0119 po\u015ble”<\/strong> –\u00a0Where devil cannot go, he will send a woman<\/p>\n

“Gdzie dw\u00f3ch sie bije, tam trzeci korzysta”<\/strong>\u00a0Where two are fighting, a third one wins<\/p>\n