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  What it means

  Literally “a chase/race of thoughts,” this idiom describes a rapid, uncontrolled flood of thoughts rushing through one’s mind — often associated with anxiety, excitement, or insomnia. It captures the feeling of thoughts tumbling over each other without direction or rest. Example: “Nie mogłem zasnąć przez gonitwę myśli” — “I couldn’t fall asleep because of the racing thoughts.”

  Vocabulary

  • gonitwa — chase, race, pursuit (feminine noun)
  • myśl — thought (plural: myśli; genitive plural: myśli)

  Grammar note

  Gonitwa is a feminine noun from the verb gonić (to chase, to pursue). The phrase uses the genitive of possession: gonitwa myśli — a chase of thoughts. Myśli is genitive plural of myśl (a soft-stem feminine noun with identical nominative and genitive plural). The phrase functions as a noun phrase and is commonly preceded by przez (because of) or mieć (to have).

  Cultural context

  This is a neutral, slightly literary expression used in both everyday speech and psychological or journalistic contexts. It has become particularly common in discussions of anxiety, insomnia, and mental health. The English equivalents are 'racing thoughts,' 'a whirlwind of thoughts,' or 'thoughts running wild.' It is not regionally marked.

  Intermediate

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