• Listen

  What it means

  “Hurry slowly.” More haste, less speed — rushing leads to mistakes, so it is better to work steadily and carefully.

  English equivalent

  More haste, less speed. / Festina lente.

  Vocabulary

  • śpieszyć się — to hurry
  • powoli — slowly

  Grammar note

  'Śpiesz się' is the imperative of 'śpieszyć się'. The oxymoron of 'hurry' + 'slowly' is the rhetorical point.

  Cultural context

  The Polish rendering of the Latin 'festina lente', popularised across Europe. Used to caution against impatience.

  Beginner

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!