• Listen

  What it means

  “Whoever scatters pennies will waste away little by little.” Careless spending leads to gradual ruin. Small extravagances add up.

  English equivalent

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

  Vocabulary

  • rozrzucać — to scatter, to squander
  • grosz — penny, small coin (grosz)
  • marnieć / zmarnieć — to waste away, to come to nothing
  • potrosze — little by little, gradually

  Grammar note

  'Potrosze' is an adverb meaning 'gradually, bit by bit'. 'Grosze' is the accusative plural of 'grosz'.

  Cultural context

  The 'grosz' was the smallest Polish coin; the proverb warns against dismissing small sums as insignificant.

  Intermediate

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