• Listen

  What it means

  Literally “whoever is alive.” Means everyone, all and sundry — used to describe a situation where absolutely everyone is involved or rushing somewhere.

  Vocabulary

  • kto — who / whoever
  • żyw — alive (archaic short form of 'żywy')

  Grammar note

  'Żyw' is an archaic short-form adjective surviving only in fixed phrases. The full modern form would be 'żywy'.

  Cultural context

  Often used in the phrase 'rzucił się kto żyw' (everyone who was alive rushed) — capturing a scene of general commotion.

  Intermediate

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