• Listen

  What it means

  Literally “whoever is first, (that one is) better.” This proverb-like idiom means “first come, first served” — the person who acts first gets the advantage or the prize. It encourages speed and decisiveness and is used to explain why someone is moving quickly or to justify why a latecomer missed out.

  Vocabulary

  • kto — who, whoever
  • pierwszy — first (masculine nominative)
  • ten — that one, the one (demonstrative pronoun)
  • lepszy — better (comparative of 'dobry')

  Grammar note

  This is a correlative structure: 'kto… ten…' (whoever… that one…). It's a classic Polish pattern used in proverbs and set phrases: 'kto pierwszy, ten lepszy'; 'kto pyta, ten błądzi' (he who asks, gets lost). 'Pierwszy' and 'lepszy' are both masculine nominative, agreeing with the implicit masculine referent 'ten'.

  Cultural context

  Used across all social contexts and ages — you'll hear it at a bus stop, in a queue, in the workplace, and in children's games. It normalizes competition and quick action. Equivalent to the English 'first come, first served' or 'the early bird catches the worm,' though more focused on competitive priority than on early rising.

  Beginner

Noticed a typo, a wrong translation, or anything that doesn't look right? We'd love to fix it — just let us know via the contact page. Thank you!