• Listen

  What it means

  Literally “to have blood on one’s hands,” this idiom is identical in meaning to its English counterpart. It signifies that someone is responsible for a death, a crime, or a great tragedy. It is a very serious and dramatic accusation used in historical, political, or true-crime contexts.

  Vocabulary

  • krew — blood
  • ręka — hand / arm
  • wina — guilt / fault
  • śmierć — death

  Grammar note

  'Na rękach' is the locative plural of 'ręka.' Note that 'ręka' is one of the few Polish nouns that retains some old dual-number patterns, though in this case, the standard plural locative ending '-ach' is used.

  Cultural context

  This phrase is universal and carries the same moral weight in Poland as it does globally, often appearing in literature and film to describe the burden of guilt.

  Intermediate

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