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  What it means

  “Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth.” When you receive something for free, you shouldn’t criticise or scrutinise it — be grateful for what you get.

  Vocabulary

  • darowany — gifted, given as a gift
  • koń — horse
  • patrzeć w zęby — to look at the teeth

  Grammar note

  'Darowanemu koniowi' is dative — 'one doesn't look at the teeth of a gifted horse.' 'Nie patrzy się' is an impersonal reflexive construction.

  Cultural context

  Checking a horse's teeth reveals its age and health — doing so with a gift implies ingratitude. The same idiom exists in most European languages.

  Intermediate

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