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  What it means

  Literally “to give into the bone,” this idiom means to take a hard toll on someone, to exhaust them, or to make something very difficult. It describes hardship that penetrates deeply — physical, emotional, or circumstantial. Example: “Ta zima dała nam wszystkim w kość” — “This winter really took its toll on all of us.” It can be used for weather, hard work, illness, or a demanding person.

  Vocabulary

  • dać — to give (perfective; imperfective: dawać)
  • w — into (preposition governing accusative)
  • kość — bone (accusative singular: kość)

  Grammar note

  The preposition w here governs the accusative case, expressing penetration or impact — dać w kość carries the image of hardship cutting through to the bone. The perfective dać is used for completed, felt impact; the imperfective dawać w kość refers to ongoing hardship. The subject is typically a situation or force, not a person.

  Cultural context

  This is a vivid, widely used colloquial idiom with no strong regional markings. It is neutral to informal in register and appears in spoken Polish, journalism, and informal writing. The English equivalents include 'to take a toll,' 'to be grueling,' or 'to wear someone down.'

  Intermediate

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