• Listen

  What it means

  Literally “what is meant to hang won’t drown.” Means fate is fate — if you’re destined for one end, you won’t meet another. Used darkly or humorously about someone who keeps escaping danger.

  Vocabulary

  • wisieć — to hang
  • utonąć — to drown

  Grammar note

  'Co ma wisieć' — 'co' as relative pronoun, 'ma' + infinitive expresses destiny/obligation. 'Nie utonie' is perfective future negative.

  Cultural context

  A fatalistic proverb with a gallows-humor edge — the implication being that the person is destined for the gallows, so drowning won't get them.

  Intermediate

Noticed a typo, a wrong translation, or anything that doesn't look right? We'd love to fix it — just let us know via the contact page. Thank you!