• Listen

  What it means

  “On Saint Thomas’s Day, day wrestles with night — soon there will be less night and more day.” Tied to December 21st (St. Thomas, old calendar), this proverb marks the winter solstice: the longest night, after which days begin to lengthen.

  Vocabulary

  • sili się — wrestles, struggles (reflexive)
  • mniej — less
  • więcej — more
  • po chwili — after a moment, soon

  Grammar note

  'Sili się' is the reflexive form of 'silić' (to strain, wrestle). 'Mniej nocy, więcej dnia' use the genitive of measure.

  Cultural context

  In the old Julian calendar, St. Thomas's Day (December 21) coincided with the winter solstice, making it a natural marker for the turning of the year.

  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!