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  What it means

  Work guards against poverty: whoever does not sow will reap nothing. Diligence protects you from want; if you put in no effort, you can expect no reward.

  English equivalent

  You reap what you sow.

  Vocabulary

  • ubóstwo — poverty
  • strzec — to guard, to protect
  • siać — to sow
  • zbierać — to reap, to gather

  Grammar note

  'Od ubóstwa' uses the genitive after the preposition 'od'. 'Kto nie sieje' is a conditional relative clause meaning 'whoever does not sow'.

  Cultural context

  The agricultural imagery of sowing and reaping reflects the rural roots of Polish proverbial wisdom.

  Intermediate

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