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  What it means

  Literally “suffer, body, since you wanted it.” Means you brought this on yourself — you made your bed, now lie in it. Used when someone suffers the consequences of their own choices.

  Vocabulary

  • cierpieć — to suffer
  • ciało — body
  • chcieć — to want

  Grammar note

  'Cierp' is the imperative of 'cierpieć.' 'Kiedyś chciało' — 'kiedyś' here means 'since you once wanted it' (archaic/dialectal use). 'Ciało' is both subject and addressee.

  Cultural context

  A folk saying with a slightly fatalistic, unsympathetic tone. Used to dismiss complaints from someone who made a bad choice willingly.

  Intermediate

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