Talk:List of Polish proverbs

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Does this article belong in an English Wikipedia ?
Wouldn't it better to place it on the national one ?
--Kpjas

People from other countries are writing their proverbs here, so we also should. --Taw

But in Polish ? so few people understand Polish...--Kpjas
So what you'll say about page Chinese proverbs :). I think they should be word-by-word-translated into English, but Polish version should be left for error checking and correction purposes. --Taw
OK,OK.--Kpjas

I noticed an error in one of the Polish proverbs. It appears on the web site like this: "Jak Bog Kubie tak Kuba Bogu" (As God treats Jake, Jake will treat God accordingly). It SHOULD read: "Jak Kuba Bogu, tak Bog Kubie." (As Jake is to God, so God will treat Jake accordingly). This may seem like a small modification, but it actually changes the meaning substantially. TGW

I don't know how to spell it properly, but what about "Nyed lapsa Kielbasa" (not for the dog is the sausage) ? -- hike395 23:57, 1 Sep 2003 (UTC)

Nie dla psa kiełbasa, nie dla kota spyrka.


TB@intellact.com Trafiła kosa na kamień (scythe hit the rock)

Na pochyłe drzewo wszyskie kozy skaczą (on sloping tree evry goat jump)


Gdyby kózka nie skakała toby nóżki nie złamała

Raz kozie smierc! The goat dies but once!

Related to Slavic Khazar war?

Co piórem zapisane toporem nie wyrąbierz. (what quill wrote even a battle axe can't chop off)

Czajka gdzie masz jajaka w perzu na tależu.

(onomatopeic Valinus Valinus sound. Taki czajka (ptak) wydaje dzwiek [ono ma to pojet']. Stare powiedzenie z Mazowsza.

Obchodzi mnie to jak zeszłoroczny śnieg. (czyżby pozostałość po+lodowcowa?) (It is important to me like snow from last year)

Przepadł jak kamień w wodę.

Zapadł się jak pod ziemię.

Dzban wode nosił póki mu ucho nie pękło. (jug cared water until ear/lug broke down) broken ear related to language split?

Dziesiąta woda pokisielu. (tenth water after puding, genealogy related)

Oliwa sprawiedliwa zawsze na wierzch wypływa. (oil righteous always come to the top)

(w wielu językach to występuje ale w polskim się rymuje :)

[edit] ==

stub

Darowanemu koniowi w zęby się nie zagląda

Literally: Don't look at the teeth of a horse that you got as a present Moral: Appreciate what you have Note: Looking at horse's teeth is one of the way to determine the age of a horse, and, therefore, its value.

??? niepewne. Koń do stajni lepiej ciągnie (zna drogę)

Kto pyta nie błądzi Literally: who ask ~~stray Moral: You can achieve almost anything by asking for help from others

Znalazo sie jajko madrzejsze od kury.

Co było pierwsze kura czy jajko?

Literally: Eggs cannot teach a hen. Moral: Do not give advise to someone more experienced than you


Jeszcze jeden grzybek w barszczu

Kto sieje wiatr zbiera burze (Perun old Polish thunder and war good) Who sows wind will harvest a thunder. burza <>bura. Bura mean scolding. W polskich slowach to "międzynarodowe" przysłowie ma mniej przenośną wymowę. Może tu utworzone?

Co masz zrobic jutro zrob dzisiaj, co masz zjesc dzisiaj zjedz jutro.

Nauka i praca ludzie sie bogaca.

Mało nas do pieczenia chleba.

Gdzie drwa rabia wiory leca.

Nie ma dymu bez ognia.

Co masz w glowie, nikt ci nie zabierze.

Kto pod kim dolki kopie sam w nie wpada Who digs a trap for others ends up in it himself

Wszysko dobre co sie dobrze konczy All's well that ends well.

Gosc w dom, Bog w dom. Gosc w progi, dom blogi.

Obiecanki cacanki a glupiemu radosc.

Prawdziwych przyjaciol poznaje sie w biedzie.

Co sie nie najadles to sie nie nalizesz. What you didn't get (as guest) dont beeg (lizac beeg)

nie ma rzeczy niemozliwych

bialy kruk (white raven) a rare thing, *does not* corespond with chinese poverb pinyin: tian1 xia4 wu1 ya1 yi2 yang4 hei1) Literally: All crows in the world are black. Meanings: There are several possible interpretations: A natural interpretation: Some rules, like those natural forces of the Universe, are unbendable, regardless how much you may want it to change. A stereotypical interpretation: something or someone (bad) is no different from all the others (e.g., All government officials are corrupt, all lawyers are snakes, etc.).

I co powiesz że deszcz pada?

Taki ze jak mu w twarz napluc to powie ze deszcz pada.

=== Więcej more Jaka mac, taka nac Like mother, like daughter

Literally, nac means the foliage of vegetables, obviously used to rhyme with mac, which is an archaic form of matka, mother. A closer translation would be "Like root, like plant" Co bardziej dokuczy, to rychlej nauczy What hurts most, teaches soonest

Serce nie sluga, nie zna co to pany; nie da przemoca zakuc sie w kajdany The heart is not a servant, it does not know a master; It will not let itself be chained by force

Gdzie diabel nie zdola, babe posle Where the devil can't manage, he'll send a woman

Na wilka ze szwagrem, na niedzwiedzia z bratem Hunt the wolf with a brother-in-law, the bear with a brother

Raz kozie smierc! The goat dies but once! An expression of bravado, or true courage, used in answer to friends who warn one against a dangerous undertaking ... and probably said often as the Poles attacked German Panzer tanks while on horseback. Comment: And in which battle had Polish cavalry supposedly charged at German tanks? I guess the battles you refer to hapened only in the minds of German and British propagandists. German propaganda produced a movie showing GERMAN cavalry (they didn't even bother to put on Polish cavalry helmets and wore their German helmets) faking a charge and milling about German tanks--this was to better sell the war to the German public. British propagated this fantasy to justify the betrial of the Poles, supposedly their allies. The German propaganda movie was shown on BBC even in the '80, to illustrate how inefficient Polish military was--therefore not worthy of help.

Srod serdecznych przyjaciol psy zajaca zjadly Amidst cordial friends the dogs ate the hare "God protect me from my friends, I can take care of my enemies". The Greeks said it "Be on guard against thy friends". Trafila kosa na kamien The scythe hit a stone

The sense of this proverb is that someone has met their match Utopic kogos w lyzce wody To drown someone in a spoonful of water. The epitome of malice and meanness - hating someone so much that one would drown him in a spoonful of water. Co bylo a nie jest, nie pisze sie w rejestr What was and is not should not be entered into the register

Do not hold one's past against the; let by-gones be by-gones Za darmo, boli gardlo For free, the throat hurts

No one does anything for nothing - favors must be paid for Gdzie dwoch sie bije, tam trzeci korzysta Where two fight, a third profits

Kto nie ma zbroje, niech omija boje Who lacks armament should avoid argument

Co kraj to obyczaj Other countries, other customs Used as an expression of tolerance Z duzej chmury, maly deszcz From a big cloud, small rain Much ado about nothing

Co ma wisiec, nie utonie What is to hang will not drown

Sooner or later things are righted or that nothing is lost by waiting Pieniadz dobry sluga lecz zly przewodnik Money is a good servant but a poor guide

Kto boso chodzi nikomu nie szkodzi Who walks barefoot hurts no one

Kazdy dudek ma swoj czubek Every fool has his crest

Used to express the belief that everyone, even the humblest, has something to be proud of and that it is only natural and proper for them to have a sense of their own worth Nie ten majster kto zaczal ale ten kto skonczyl He is not the master who started, but he who finished


Skapy dwa razy traci The miser loses twice

Przelewac z pustego w prozne To pour from empty to void

Budowac zamki na lodzie To build castles on ice

Nie pchaj rzeki, sama plynie Don't push a river, it flows by itself

Potrzebany jak dziura w moscie As necessary as a hole in a bridge

Madrej glowie dosc dwie slowie To a wise head two words are sufficient

Lepiej z madrym przegrac, niz z glupim wygrac Better to lose to a wise man than to win with a fool

Correction: Lepiej z madrym zgubic, niz z glupim znalezc Better to lose in a wise company, than to find in a fool's company

Nikt nie wie co kogo boli No one knows what hurts another

Slowo wylata wroblem, a powraca wolem The word flies out a sparrow and comes back an ox

Used to show how gossip grows larger Robic z igly widly To make a pitchfork out of a needle

Glodnemu chleb na mysli The hungry man thinks of bread

Used when someone makes freudian slip, or keeps returning to a subject thus revealing what is on his mind

Wiatrem podszyty Lined with wind A wind bag, braggart, liar, unreliable person

Im dalej w las, tem gesciej drzew The farther into the woods, the thicker the trees

Involvement deepens as we proceed Deszcz ranny, placz panny, nie dlugo trwaja Morning rain, as maiden's tears, last not long

Nowy Rok jaki, caly rok taki As the New Year, so the whole year

Na Nowy Rok przybywa dnia na zajeczy skok On New Year's the day grows longer by a hare's leap

Boj sie w styczniu wiosny, bo marzec zazdrosny Beware of spring in January, for March is jealous

Na Gromnice niedzwiedz bude swoja poprawia albo tez rozrzuca On Gromniczna (Imbolc) the bear either mends his lair or knocks it down

The role of the groundhog is connection with February 2nd is unknown in Poland. In it place, as in Germany and France, is the bear

W marcu jak w garncu In March as in a kettle A little of everything - churning and turning

Marzec to figlarzec March is a trickster

Marzec zielony, niedobre plony Green March, poor harvest

Kwiecien, plecien, wciaz przeplata, troche zimny, troche lata April weaves a dappled pleat, a little cold, a little heat