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  What it means

  Literally “to go to the account,” this idiom means that something is attributed to someone’s credit or blame — it ‘goes to their account.’ It is used to say that a result, success, failure, or action is credited or charged to a particular person or group: “Ten sukces idzie na konto całego zespołu” (This success goes to the credit of the whole team). It can be used for positive or negative attributions, though it most often appears with positive outcomes.

  Vocabulary

  • iść — to go (imperfective verb; here: to be attributed)
  • na — to, onto (preposition governing accusative)
  • konto — account (bank account; also: credit, attribution)

  Grammar note

  'Na konto' uses the preposition 'na' with the accusative case of 'konto' (a neuter noun: accusative = nominative for neuter). The phrase functions as a directional adverbial: something 'goes onto the account of' someone — 'na konto kogoś,' where 'kogoś' is in the genitive (possession).

  Cultural context

  The metaphor draws on banking — achievements and failures are deposited to your personal ledger. It is neutral in register and commonly used in sports journalism ('ten gol idzie na konto Lewandowskiego'), business reporting, and everyday speech. It is occasionally ironic when attributing blame rather than credit.

  Intermediate

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