Jak Pan Bóg chce ukarać, to rozum odbiera
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What it means
Literally “when God wants to punish someone, He takes away their reason.” Means that foolish behaviour is itself a form of divine punishment — those who act stupidly have already been punished by losing their wits.
Vocabulary
- ukarać — to punish (perfective)
- rozum — reason / mind / common sense
- odbierać — to take away (imperfective)
Grammar note
'Jak' here means 'when/if' in a conditional sense. 'Rozum odbiera' — takes away reason, with 'rozum' as the accusative object.
Cultural context
A deeply Polish saying blending Catholic fatalism with folk wisdom. Used when someone does something spectacularly foolish.
Intermediate
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