• Listen

  What it means

  Work done with enthusiasm turns straw into gold. Willingness and eagerness transform even the humblest materials or tasks into something valuable.

  English equivalent

  A willing hand makes light work.

  Vocabulary

  • ochota — willingness, eagerness, enthusiasm
  • przerabiać — to transform, to convert, to rework
  • słoma — straw
  • złoto — gold

  Grammar note

  'Z ochotą' is an instrumental phrase meaning 'with enthusiasm'. 'Słomę' is the accusative of 'słoma'; 'w złoto' uses the accusative after 'w' to indicate transformation.

  Cultural context

  The image of turning straw into gold echoes fairy-tale motifs (like Rumpelstiltskin), giving the proverb a vivid, imaginative quality.

  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!