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  What it means

  What Jaś doesn’t learn, Jan won’t be able to do — a variant emphasising that childhood is the critical window for learning.

  English equivalent

  You can't teach an old dog new tricks.

  Vocabulary

  • Jaś — Johnny, little Jan (diminutive)
  • nauczyć się — to learn, to master
  • Jan — John (adult form)
  • umieć — to know how to

  Grammar note

  Genitive of negation: 'czego się nie nauczy'. Variant without the second 'tego'.

  Intermediate

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