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  What it means

  “He who buys what he doesn’t need will later have no money to buy bread.” Wasteful spending on unnecessary things leads to poverty and inability to afford the basics.

  English equivalent

  Buy what you don't need and you'll sell what you do.

  Vocabulary

  • kupować — to buy
  • potrzeba — need, necessity
  • potem — later, afterwards
  • chleb — bread

  Grammar note

  'Czego mu nie trzeba' — 'czego' is genitive of 'co', used in a negated impersonal construction. 'Za co kupić' means 'with what to buy' (instrumental/genitive of means).

  Cultural context

  A practical folk warning about financial prudence, especially relevant in times of scarcity.

  Intermediate

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