Polish Sayings: Group 3

The theme for today's proverbs is ... KOTY! Cats! 

The Polish word kot was probably a borrowing from Latin cattus, as was English "cat." And given how mysterious cats can be, it is appropriate that the origins of Latin cattus are also mysterious; the word is perhaps Afroasiatic.

Here are the proverbs:

Mały kotek też drapie.
A small cat also scratches.
Notes: In other words: watch out! Just because a cat (or any other small thing, metaphorically speaking) may look harmless, it can still be dangerous. This is a doubly small cat in Polish, as kotek is the diminutive of kot.

Nie kupuj kota w worku.
Don't buy a cat in a sack.
Notes: Compare the English saying, "Don't buy a pig in a poke." The idea is that you should not buy anything sight unseen.

Nie wykręcaj kota ogonem.
Don't twist the cat's tail.
Notes: Literally, the Polish says, "Don't twist the cat by his tail." This is good advice literally when it comes to cats, and it also can refer metaphorically to any kind of situation where you are stirring up trouble for yourself. Just don't do it!

Nie głaskaj kota pod włos.
Don't stroke your cat's fur the wrong way.
Notes: So, if you are going to pet the cat, pet its fur the right way, not the wrong way, and so too metaphorically: if you want to be nice to somebody, then be nice; don't be annoying.

Kot śpiący myszy nie chwyta.
A sleeping cat catches no mice.
Notes: Cats do like to sleep, but if they are going to catch mice, they can't sleep all the time. Polish mysz and English "mouse" are linguistic cousins, both being from the Indo-European múh₂s.

Kot nie koło jednej dziury siada.
A cat doesn't sit around one hole.
Notes: The hole in question is a mouse hole! The idea is that you can put all your trust in just one possibility; you need to explore multiple possibilities, just as a cat keeps an eye on multiple mouse holes.

Myszy tańcują, gdy kota nie czują.
The mice dance when they don't sense the cat.
Notes: This one rhymes: tańcują-czują! Compare the rhyming English saying: "When the cat's away, the mice play."

Nie igraj, myszko, z kotką.
Little mouse, don't play with the cat!
Notes: The vocative myszko, from myszka, is the diminutive of mysz. There's also a fuller version of this saying that rhymes: Nie igraj, myszko, z kotką, choćby ci była i rodzoną ciotką, "Don't play with the cat, little mouse, even if she's also your auntie by birth." Usually kot is masculine, but there is a feminine form, kotka, as here, rhyming with ciotka.

Nie igraj, kotku, z niedźwiedziem.
Little cat, don't play with the bear.
Notes: I like how this pairs up nicely: if a mouse shouldn't mess with a cat, then by the same logic, a little cat shouldn't mess with a bear! Polish niedźwiedź was originally miedźwiedź, "honey-eater," from Proto-Slavic medvědь.

Rzuć jak chcesz kota, a on zawsze na cztery łapy spadnie.
Throw the cat as you like, and he always will land on four paws.
Notes: I suppose that wherever there are cats, there are sayings about how they land on their four feet. Metaphorically, this can refer to someone who is in a difficult situation but manages to "land on their feet" after all. You can read out this special feline ability at Wikipedia: Righting Reflex.

And here is today's audio (I'm not a native speaker, so this is TTS-generated):



Plus a LOLcat:

Latin Lesson #14: Qualis... talis...

The focus for today's lesson is a new formula: Qualis... talis...

The adjective qualis means "what sort of, what kind of," and it is the origin of the English word "quality." Qualis can be used to ask questions like this:

• Qualis pater? What kind of father? Bonus pater. A good father.
• Qualis filius? What kind of son? Bonus filius. A good son.

Because qualis is a third-declension adjective, it has the same ending for a masculine noun or a feminine noun:

• Qualis mater? What kind of mother? Bona mater. A good mother.
• Qualis filia? What kind of daughter? Bona filia. A good daughter.

Then there is the related adjective talis which means "such, so" as you will see in today's proverbs like this one:

• Qualis pater, talis filius. As (the) father (is), such (is his) son.

Compare the English saying, "Like father, like son."

All of today's sayings use this Qualis... talis... formula, and maybe it will inspire you to make up some of your Latin sayings using this formula like you did with the Ubi... ibi... formula back in Lesson 7.

So, here are today's proverbs:

1. Qualis avis, talis cantus.
As (the) bird (is), such (is its) song.
QUA-lis A-vis, TA-lis CAN-tus.

You've had the word avis before: Amicus verus rara avis.

Latin cantus, "song," is a noun from the verb cano, "sing." You can see this root in English words like "cantor" and "incantation."

This is literally true about birds; you can recognize a bird by its song. Metaphorically, it can refer to how a person speaks, where the way a person speaks reveals something about who they are.


2. Qualis avis, talis nidus.
As (the) bird (is), such (is its) nest.
QUA-lis A-vis, TA-lis NI-dus.

You've had the word nidus before: Parva avis, parvus nidus. That saying, in expresses the same idea as this one! You could also say Magna avis, magnus nidus, "Big bird, big nest."

That's what Qualis avis, talis nidus is all about: the bird and the nest match each other.


3. Qualis mater, talis et filia.
As (the) mother (is), so too (is her) daughter.
QUA-lis MA-ter, TA-lis ET FI-li-a.

Latin mater, "mother," comes from the same Indo-European root as English "mother." You can see a helpful list of Indo-European kinship terms at Wikipedia.

You can see the root of Latin filia, "daughter" and filius, "son" (see next proverb) in English words like "filial" and "affiliation."

The word et in Latin is usually a conjunction, "and," but in this case it is being used adverbially like English "too" or "also." You can also omit the et like this: Qualis mater, talis filia. It's just a stylistic option that adds a bit of emphasis to the conclusion.

Compare the English saying, "Like mother, like daughter."


4. Qualis pater, talis filius.
As (the) father (is), such (is his) son.
QUA-lis PA-ter, TA-lis FI-li-us.

Latin pater, "father," comes from the same Indo-European root as English "father," and you already learned a related Latin word, patria, as in: Patria mea totus mundus est. You can see this root in English words like "paternity" and "paternoster."

You could also use et in this proverb if you wanted to do that, just like in the previous example: Qualis pater, talis et filius. You could even say that this proverb formula is really: Qualis... talis (et)... (with the et in parentheses because it is optional).


5. Qualis herus, talis et canis.
As (the) master (is), so too (is his) dog.
QUA-lis HE-rus, TA-lis ET CA-nis.

Latin herus is yet another word that is often translated as "master" in English; specifically, it means the master of the house or, in this case, a dog's master. You might find it interesting to look at these three different Latin words in the wiktionary: herus, dominus, magister.

Latin canis, "dog," gives us English "canine."


Here's a recap:

1. Qualis avis, talis cantus.
2. Qualis avis, talis nidus.
3. Qualis mater, talis et filia.
4. Qualis pater, talis filius.
5. Qualis herus, talis et canis.

And here is today's audio:



Plus the LOLCats!

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Sunday: Catch-up Day 2

It's already Sunday again, so it's another catch-up day in case you missed any of the previous week's lessons. It can also be a day for reviewing. So, here is a list of the lessons so far and their sayings; you can see what you might have missed along with anything that could use a little more practice. Each lesson title is a link that will take you to that lesson:

13: And More Masculine Nouns

1. Carcer numquam pulcher.
2. Nemo magister natus.
3. Homo mundus minor.
4. Totus echinus asper.
5. Fumus, ergo ignis.

12: More Masculine Nouns

1. Risus optima medicina.
2. Fames optimus est coquus.
3. Fames est gladius acutissimus.
4. Habitus est altera natura.
5. Dominus illuminatio mea.

11: Masculine and Feminine Nouns

1. Ventus est vita mea. 
2. Amicus verus rara avis. 
3. Parva avis, parvus nidus. 
4. Ubi veritas, Deus ibi est. 
5. Patria mea totus mundus est.

10: Masculine nouns in -us

1. Praemonitus praemunitus.
2. Semel malus, semper malus.
3. Locus medius tutus est.
4. Ubi thesaurus, ibi oculus.
5. Et vocatus et non vocatus, deus est.

9: Feminine -us nouns

1. Parva domus, parva cura.
2. Parva domus, magna quies.
3. Legis manus longa.
4. Haec manus inimica tyrannis.
5. Ex glande ardua quercus.

For earlier lessons (0-8), see the previous catch-up day post.

And below you will find a random LOLcat; you can see a LOLcat at random each time the page reloads :-)

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Italian Sayings: Group 1

The theme for today's proverbs is the lovely Italian gerund: gerundio! Each of the proverbs below features a gerund: vivendo, "living," domandano, "asking" and so on.

Here are the proverbs:

Vivendo, s'impara.
One learns by living.
Notes: The English "one learns" impersonal always sounds so clunky compared to the Italian s'impara. Compare the English saying, "Live and learn."

Domandando, si va a Roma.
By asking questions, you can get to Rome.
Notes: Literally, you need to ask questions in order to make a long journey; metaphorically, you need to ask questions to accomplish any great accomplishment. I like the way that "Rome" here stands both for a destination and also for a great accomplishment. So, you people who are shy to ask questions or ask for help: don't be shy! That's how you get to Rome, or anywhere else.

Domandando, si va per tutto.
By asking questions, you can get anywhere.
Notes: This is a nice variation on the preceding saying. The phrase per tutto, "everywhere," is equivalent to the more commonly used dappertutto.

Burlando, si dice il vero.
By joking, one can speak the truth.
Notes: From Italian burla, joke, we get English "burlesque."

Non desiderando nulla, si possiede tutto.
By desiring nothing, one has everything.
Notes: Enjoy the Italian double negative: "by not desiring nothing." It's so emphatic! Double negatives are definitely allowed in Italian, unlike (formal) English.

È lavorando nella fucina, che si diventa fabbro.
It is by working in the forge that one becomes a blacksmith.
Notes: You could also state this more directly: Lavorando nella fucina, si diventa fabbro. The implication is that you gain your skills and learn your work not by reading books, not by going to school, but by doing the work, which means you need to go to the place where the work is done.

Insistendo sul lavoro, sotto il piombo, trovi l’oro.
By persisting in your work, beneath the lead you find gold.
Notes: Yes, English "plumber" is related to Italian piombo; they are both from Latin plumbum. The key is that you have to keep going to find the gold (i.e. reach your goal) by getting through all that lead (i.e. the tedious work that might be involved in the process).

Rimanendo uniti, stiamo in piedi; dividendoci, cadiamo.
By remaining united, we stand; by being divided, we fall.
Notes: Literally, "we are on our feet," stiamo in piedi.

L’allegria prolunga la vita, medicando qualunque ferita.
Happiness prolongs life, healing any wound.
Notes: A rhyming proverb! la vita ~ ferita.

Forte non è chi non piange mai, ma chi piangendo riesce a sfogarsi.
It is not he who never weeps who is strong but he who by weeping manages to find relief.
Notes: In more modern English slang, sfogarsi is "to vent." It can also have negative connotations, like "exploding" at somebody in an "outburst" of emotion, but here it is a positive thing, like getting something off your chest, letting your feelings out.

And here is today's audio (I'm not a native speaker, so this is TTS-generated):



Plus a LOLcat:

Polish Sayings: Group 2

The theme for today's proverbs is Polish chleb, "bread."

Here are the proverbs:

Trzeba chleba i nieba.

Bread is needed, and heaven.

Notes: The idea is that of course you need bread, but bread by itself is not enough; you need spiritual sustenance also. Compare the Biblical saying, "Man does not live by bread alone," Nie samym chlebem człowiek żyje.

Trzeba nieba i chleba.

Heaven is needed, and bread.

Notes: In this reversed version, the idea is that heaven is all well and good, but people need bread too! You can't do without bread; even saints need to eat, at least sometimes.

Dał Pan Bóg zęby, da i chleb.

The Lord God gave teeth; he will give bread also.

Notes: The idea is that God gives what you need, and also the tools required to make use of it. Literally that's the teeth you need to eat the bread, and metaphorically whatever tool you need to take advantage of God's bounty. The word i is being used adverbially here, not as a conjunction: he will also give bread.

Daj Boże chleb, a ja zęby znajdę.

God, give bread, and I'll find teeth.

Notes: This is a sort of anti-proverb in response to the traditional proverb about God, bread, and teeth. The ja is emphatic; it's not needed with znajdę, which is already marked as first-person, but it adds to the meaning of the proverb: I will manage about the teeth; you, God, don't need to worry about that!

Dano chleba, gdy zęby mu wypadły.

He was given bread when his teeth had fallen out.

Notes: This is yet another bread-teeth saying, and this is one is about a tragic or ironic coincidence. Just when someone managed to get bread (impersonal dano: they gave...), at that moment his teeth fell out. Notice the use of dative for body parts, mu. In English we "own" our body parts, but in many Indo-European languages, including Polish, the dative is used instead.

Dobry chleb, gdy kołacza nie masz.

Bread is good when you don't have cake.

Notes: Notice the implied jest, is: Dobry chleb (jest). The verb is often omitted, especially in proverbs, where conciseness is highly prized. There are many proverbs which play on the difference between simple, humble bread, chleb, as opposed to the sophisticated luxury of cake, kołacz. (I live in Texas, where Czech koláče, "kolache," are very popular!)

Kto chleba nie chce, nie wart i kołacza.

Who doesn't want bread isn't worthy of cake either.

Notes: This proverb again plays on the tension between chleb and kołacz, the idea now being that only somehow who appreciates the value of humble bread can deserve the luxury of cake. Notice again the adverbial use of i: nie wart i kołacza, "he isn't worthy of cake either."

Kto ma chleb, ten ma wszystko.

He who has bread has everything.

Notes: This is another proverb in praise of bread's simple pleasures: who needs cake? Bread is everything, wszystko.

Bez mąki chleba nie upieczesz.

Without flour you can't bake bread.

Notes: This is literally true, and it then applies metaphorically to any situation where you are missing the essential ingredient for a project, something so vital that you cannot succeed without it.

Chleb daje rogi, a głód nogi.

Bread gives horns, and hunger gives legs.

Notes: Compare the rogi-nogi sayings in yesterday's post. This one is a variant on Chleb ma rogi, nędza nogi, substituting the word głód for the more general nędza. The idea once again is that having bread (i.e. material success) leads to overconfidence and aggressiveness, while not having bread (i.e. poverty) compels people to use their legs (i.e. their dynamic abilities) to seek out and find what they need.

And here is today's audio (I'm not a native speaker, so this is TTS-generated):



Plus a LOLcat:

Latin Lesson #13: And more masculine nouns

The focus for today's lesson is more masculine nouns and adjectives. Some of them are those second-declension nouns and adjectives that end in -us, like natus, mundus, totus, echinus and fumus, and there are also some second-declension nouns and adjectives that endsin -er: magister, pulcher and asper. You'll learn more about that pattern later. 

The rest belong to the third declension with a variety of different endings: carcer, nemo, homo, minor, and ignis. Even though there is a variety of endings, there are some patterns there that you will start to recognize later on as you learn more and more of these third declension words.

So, here are today's proverbs:

1. Carcer numquam pulcher.
Prison (is) never pretty.
CAR-cer NUM-quam PUL-cher.

Latin carcer, "prison," gives us English "incarcerate."
Latin nunquam, "never" has the negative prefix ne-, ne-umquam, "not-ever." just like English "never."

Latin pulcher, "pretty, beautiful," gives us English "pulchritude."

The charm of this proverb is the rhyme: carcer-pulcher.

2. Nemo magister natus.
No one (is) born (a) master.
NE-mo ma-GIS-ter NA-tus.

Latin nemo also has the negating ne- prefix; it is ne-homo, not-person, i.e. "nobody." You might know this word from the name of Captain Nemo in 20,000 Leagues under the Sea.

Latin "magister" means "master, teacher, chief, leader" and literally it means "greater." This is the origin of the English word "master." The opposite of magister in Latin is minister, "lesser" (related to the word minus), which is the origin of the English word "minister."

Latin natus means "born," as in English "neonatal." It is related to Latin natura (see yesterday's lesson).

The idea here is that learning takes time: you're not born with learning; you have to work to acquire it.


3. Homo mundus minor.
(A) person (is a) world in miniature.
HO-mo MUN-dus MI-nor.

You've seen homo before: Homo bulla.

You've also seen mundus before: Patria mea totus mundus est.

The word minor means "lesser, smaller," as in the English word "minor." 

This saying expresses the idea that the nature of the cosmos and human nature are analogous: you can learn things about the cosmos from observing humans, and you can learn about humans from observing the cosmos. For more about this philosophy, see Wikipedia: Microcosm–macrocosm analogy.


4. Totus echinus asper.
(The) whole hedgehog (is) prickly.
TO-tus e-CHI-nus AS-per.

You've seen totus before in that same saying above: Patria mea totus mundus est.

Latin echinus, "hedgehog," is a borrowing from Greek; many Latin words with "ch" are Greek borrowings. You can see this root in the plant name "echinacea" because of its spiny center.

Latin asper means "rough," both literally, like a hedgehog's spines, but also metaphorically, as in a rough situation, as in English "asperity."

This saying refers to a situation where there is no safe approach, or to a person who is going to be irritable no matter what you say or do: no matter where you grab the hedgehog, it's going to be prickly.


5. Fumus, ergo ignis.
(Where there is) smoke, therefore fire.
FU-mus, ER-go IG-nis.

From Latin fumus, "smoke," we get English words like "fume" and "fumigate."

We use Latin ergo, "therefore," in English: "ergo." You may already know this famous Latin phrase: Cogito, ergo sum, "I think, therefore I am."

You can see Latin ignis, "fire," in the English words like "ignite" and "igniferous."


Here's a recap:

1. Carcer numquam pulcher.
2. Nemo magister natus.
3. Homo mundus minor.
4. Totus echinus asper.
5. Fumus, ergo ignis.

And here is today's audio:



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Lesson #12: More Masculine Nouns

The focus for today's lesson continues to be masculine nouns, and today there are some masculine nouns that belong to different declensions. It's not important for you to memorize which words belong to which declension, although that will be important later on. For now, just be aware that the masculine nouns do belong to different declension groups, just as the feminine nouns do.

You can always use the masculine nouns slideshow (also in blog sidebar) to keep track of these different groups because the slides are color-coded: most masculine nouns and adjectives belong to the second declension and have a blank slide background, while the third declension nouns and adjectives are marked with a blue background and the fourth declension is yellow.

And now, here are today's sayings:

1. Risus optima medicina.
Laughter (is the) best medicine.
RI-sus OP-ti-ma me-di-CI-na.

The noun risus is formed from the verb ridere, "to laugh." Although it ends in -us, this is actually a fourth declension noun. When you turn a Latin verb into a noun like this, it is often a masculine noun of the fourth declension ending in -us. You'll learn more about how that works later.

You've seen optim- before: Mediocritas optima est. 

Notice that the adjective optima is agreeing here with medicina, a feminine noun, not with risus, which is masculine. So, that helps you see how the sentence is structured: Risus || optima medicina, with risus as the subject and optima medicina as the predicate.

As you can tell, from Latin medicina we get English "medicine."

2. Fames optimus est coquus.
Hunger is (the) best cook.
FA-mes OP-ti-mus EST CO-quus.

The noun fames, "hunger," is a feminine noun of the third declension. From this Latin root we get English "famine" and "famished."

The noun coquus, "cook," is the origin of English "cook." In English, you cannot tell if "cook" is a noun or a verb, but in Latin, you can tell the difference: coquus is the person who cooks, while coquere is the verb "(to) cook."

In this saying, you see the form optimus because it is agreeing with coquus, a masculine noun. Notice also how the noun phrase wraps around the verb est: optimus...coquus. This wrap-around style is very typical of Latin, but it is impossible to imitate in English.

The idea here is that anything tastes good when you are hungry; compare the English saying, "Hunger is the best sauce."

3. Fames est gladius acutissimus.
Hunger is (the) sharpest sword.
FA-mes EST GLA-di-us a-cu-TIS-si-mus.

Latin gladius, "sword," gives us "gladiator" of course! And also "gladiolus."

The adjective acutissimus, "sharpest," is the superlative form of acutus, "sharp," which gives us English "acute." The Latin root is acus, "needle."

This is a powerful saying: yes, a sword can kill, and painfully, but hunger is even more painful and more deadly; hunger is the sharpest sword! 

Notice how the word order puts the emphasis on acutissimus rather than on gladius; the most emphatic words in any Latin sentence are the first word and the last.


4. Habitus est altera natura.
Habit is second nature.
HA-bi-tus EST AL-te-ra na-TU-ra.

Latin habitus is another one of those fourth declension verbal nouns, like risus above, and it has a wide range of meanings: "habit, way of life, values, disposition, character," etc. It is from the verb habere, "(to) have" and it is the origin of English "habit."

The adjective altera can mean "other," but in particular it can mean "second" (i.e. "the other (of two), as it does here. Compare the English phrase "second nature."

Latin natura, "nature," is another kind of verbal noun; it comes from the verb nasci, "be born," which has as its participle natus, "born." From this Latin root we also get English "neonatal," new-born. So, in Latin, natura is a generative idea: it is what is always being born, what is coming into being all around us and in us.


5. Dominus illuminatio mea.
The Lord (is) my light.
DO-mi-nus il-lu-mi-NA-ti-o ME-a.

Latin dominus means "lord, master" (as in master-and-slave), and it is also a standard way to refer to God in the Christian tradition, as in this saying. The root is dom- which you have already seen in domus, "home," the idea being that the dominus is the master of the house, the home owner. You can see this Latin root in English "dominate." And, yes, it is also the origin of Latin "domino."

Latin illuminatio gives us English "illumination." The root is lux, "light," and both lux and light share a common Indo-European origin: lewk-, meaning "white, bright, light."

This is the motto of Oxford University! Find out more at Wikipedia: Dominus illuminatio mea.


Here's a recap:

1. Risus optima medicina.
2. Fames optimus est coquus.
3. Fames est gladius acutissimus.
4. Habitus est altera natura.
5. Dominus illuminatio mea.

And here is today's audio:



Plus the LOLCats!

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