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  What it means

  Literally “the sooner the better.” Means as quickly as possible, without delay — right away, immediately. A slightly old-fashioned but still common expression.

  Vocabulary

  • czym — the (instrumental, in comparative constructions)
  • prędzej — sooner / faster (comparative of 'prędko')

  Grammar note

  An archaic comparative construction — 'czym prędzej' mirrors the Latin 'quam primum'. The instrumental 'czym' here functions like 'the' in English comparatives.

  Intermediate

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