• Listen

  What it means

  “On Saint Matthias’s Day, ice foretells a long cold spell; but if the water already flows in a stream, winter won’t last much longer.” Tied to February 24th (St. Matthias), this proverb offers two opposite forecasts depending on whether ice or flowing water is seen.

  Vocabulary

  • lody — ice (plural of lód)
  • wróżą — foretell, augur (third person plural)
  • chłody — cold spells (plural of chłód)
  • struga — stream, rivulet
  • niedługo — not long, soon

  Grammar note

  'Wróżą' is the third person plural of 'wróżyć' (to foretell). 'Długie chłody' uses the accusative after 'wróżą'.

  Cultural context

  St. Matthias's Day (February 24) was a key weather-forecasting date in Polish folk tradition, sitting near the end of winter.

  Intermediate

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!