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  What it means

  “When January doesn’t bring cold, March and April will chill you.” A mild January means the cold is only postponed — it will arrive in spring instead, making March and April unexpectedly harsh.

  Vocabulary

  • styczeń — January
  • zimno — cold
  • chodzić — to walk, to go (here: to come with)
  • wychłodzić — to chill, to make cold
  • kwiecień — April

  Grammar note

  'Z zimnem nie chodzi' — 'z zimnem' is the instrumental, meaning 'does not come with cold'. 'Wychłodzi' is the perfective future.

  Cultural context

  This proverb reflects the folk belief that seasonal cold must come eventually — a warm January simply delays it to spring, disrupting the agricultural calendar.

  Intermediate

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