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  What it means

  “Whoever has been burned by something hot blows on cold things too.” A bad experience makes people overly cautious even when there’s no real danger. Once bitten, twice shy.

  English equivalent

  Once bitten, twice shy. / A burnt child dreads the fire.

  Vocabulary

  • sparzyć się — to burn oneself, to scald oneself
  • gorący — hot
  • dmuchać — to blow
  • zimny — cold

  Grammar note

  'Na gorącym' — locative of 'gorący' used as a noun ('on the hot one'). 'Na zimne' — accusative after 'na' (direction/target of blowing).

  Cultural context

  A close variant of 'kto się na gorącym sparzył, ten na zimną wodę dmucha'; both forms are in common use.

  Intermediate

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