• Listen

  What it means

  Literally “uncle traded an axe for a stick.” Describes a bad trade — exchanging something valuable for something worthless. Used when someone has clearly come out worse from a swap or deal.

  Vocabulary

  • zamienić — to trade / to exchange (perfective)
  • stryjek — uncle (paternal, diminutive)
  • siekierka — hatchet / small axe
  • kijek — little stick / twig

  Grammar note

  'Siekierkę' and 'kijek' are both accusative — direct objects of 'zamienił'. 'Na + accusative' expresses what was received in exchange.

  Intermediate

Noticed a typo, a wrong translation, or anything that doesn't look right? We'd love to fix it — just let us know via the contact page. Thank you!