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  What it means

  “January tends to be mild when October is snowy and cold.” A folk weather proverb linking autumn conditions to the following winter — a cold October supposedly predicts a gentler January.

  Vocabulary

  • styczeń — January
  • bywać — to tend to be, to happen to be
  • łagodny — mild, gentle
  • październik — October
  • śnieżny — snowy
  • chłodny — cold, chilly

  Grammar note

  'Bywa' is the habitual present of 'być', implying a recurring tendency rather than a fixed fact.

  Cultural context

  Part of a rich tradition of Polish folk meteorology linking calendar saints' days and seasonal observations to weather predictions.

  Intermediate

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