Proverbs and proverbial expressions

Lipiec 8, 2017 Agata Pruszyńska

Proverbs are often used in everyday conversations and life without them would be boring and monotonous. In English, as in Polish, we’ve got many different proverbs. Some of them have the same meaning. We use proverbs to give advice, warning or to comment on a particular situation. They’re very precise and easy to remember. Proverbs enrich the ways of expressing ourselves. Some of them can be understood literally, others have metaphorical meaning. There are many proverbs, so today we present and illustrate only ten most common. We also try to explain their meaning.

 

 

 

A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush ?? 

(Lepszy wróbel w garści niż gołąb na dachu ??)

It’s better to be pleased with what we have than reject it in the hope of getting something better.

 

 

 

 

 

 

All roads lead to Rome ?? 

(Wszystkie drogi prowadzą do Rzymu ??)

There are many different ways of reaching the same goal.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

All that glitters is not gold ?? 

(Nie wszystko złoto co się świeci ??)

It’s easy to be wrong when we judge somebody or something by its pleasing appearance.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Better late than never ?? 

(Lepiej późno niż wcale ??)

It’s better to do something late than not to do it at all.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cross the stream where it is shallowest 

You should find the easiest way to solve problems or do things. The simplest ways are always better.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Don’t put all your eggs in one basket

(Postawić wszystko na jedną kartę ??)

It’s risky to invest all our money in one thing. In that case you can easily lose everything.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Every dog has its day ?? 

(Każdy ma w życiu swoje pięć minut ??)

Every person will succeed or have good fortune one day.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Half a loaf is better than none ?? 

(Lepszy rydz niż nic ??)

We should be grateful for what we have and enjoy it, even if we hoped to get more.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It’s no use crying over spilt milk ?? 

(Nie ma co płakać nad rozlanym mlekiem ??)

When something has already happened, we can’t change it and we shouldn’t make ourselves unhappy about it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Learn to walk before you run ?? 

(Naucz się chodzić zanim zaczniesz biegać ??)

We have to learn things gradually as we can’t learn everything at once.

 

 

 

If you’re interested in learning more new words, use this category link – Angielski słówka