• Listen

  What it means

  Literally “wonders and garlands.” An exclamation expressing amazement, disbelief, or ironic wonder — “well I never!”, “would you believe it!”, or sarcastically “oh, how wonderful.”

  Vocabulary

  • cuda — wonders / miracles (plural of 'cud')
  • wianki — little garlands / wreaths (diminutive plural)

  Grammar note

  A fixed exclamatory phrase. The two nouns are juxtaposed without a verb — the structure itself conveys the exclamation.

  Cultural context

  The diminutive 'wianki' adds a folksy, slightly ironic flavour. Often used sarcastically.

  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!