Fortuna kołem się toczy
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What it means
Literally “fortune turns like a wheel.” It means luck changes in cycles: what rises must fall, and it can reverse. Today’s winner may be tomorrow’s loser. It is close to the saying “the wheel of fortune turns.”
Vocabulary
- fortuna — fortune, luck
- koło — wheel, circle
- toczyć się — to roll, to turn
Grammar note
'Kołem' is the instrumental singular of 'koło'. Here, in this phrase, it describes the manner in which fortune moves, turning like a wheel.
Cultural context
The image of Fortuna's wheel is ancient and appears in many European cultures. In Polish, it is still a living idiom, not only a literary reference.
Intermediate
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