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  What it means

  Literally “Not my circus, not my monkeys.” A popular Polish idiom meaning “not my problem / not my responsibility.” Used when someone wants to stay out of someone else’s drama or mess.

  Vocabulary

  • cyrk — circus
  • małpy — monkeys (plural)
  • mój / moje — my (masc / neut)

  Grammar note

  Demonstrates negation with 'nie' and genitive case after negation — 'mój cyrk' (nominative) becomes implied but 'nie mój cyrk' functions as a full negative construction.

  Cultural context

  This phrase has spread far beyond Poland and is now used in English too, but it originates from Polish.

  Intermediate

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