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  What it means

  Literally “when a person hurries, the devil rejoices.” Means that rushing leads to mistakes and bad outcomes — haste makes waste. A warning to slow down and do things properly.

  Vocabulary

  • spieszyć się — to hurry, to rush
  • diabeł — devil
  • cieszyć się — to be glad, to rejoice

  Grammar note

  Both clauses use reflexive verbs with 'się'. The structure 'gdy... to...' is a classic conditional/temporal pattern in Polish proverbs.

  Cultural context

  One of the most commonly quoted Polish sayings — you'll hear it any time someone makes a mistake while rushing.

  Beginner

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