• Listen

  What it means

  “Penny to penny, and you’ll have a hen.” Small savings add up to something worthwhile. Consistent thrift, however modest, eventually yields a real reward.

  English equivalent

  Take care of the pennies and the pounds will take care of themselves.

  Vocabulary

  • grosz — grosz (small coin, penny)
  • kokosz — hen (archaic/dialectal)

  Grammar note

  'Grosz do grosza' — 'do' with the genitive expresses accumulation (adding one to another). 'Będzie kokosza' — future tense of 'być' with a nominative predicate.

  Cultural context

  The 'grosz' was the smallest Polish coin. 'Kokosz' (hen) represents a modest but tangible asset in a peasant economy.

  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!