• Listen

  What it means

  “Without work there is no matzo.” A rhyming variant of the classic ‘bez pracy nie ma kołaczy’, substituting ‘maca’ (matzo) for ‘kołacze’. The meaning is identical: effort is the only path to reward. The rhyme makes it catchy and memorable.

  English equivalent

  No pain, no gain.

  Vocabulary

  • praca — work, labour
  • maca — matzo (unleavened flatbread); here used as a rhyming stand-in for any reward

  Grammar note

  'Bez pracy' — genitive of 'praca'. 'Macy' — genitive of 'maca' after 'nie ma'. The rhyme 'pracy / macy' drives the proverb's appeal.

  Cultural context

  This variant plays on the phonetic similarity between 'kołaczy' and 'macy', and reflects the multicultural influences on Polish folk speech.

  Beginner

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!