• Listen

  What it means

  Literally “to take on colours,” this idiom describes something or someone coming alive, gaining vibrancy, or improving noticeably. The literal sense applies to a pale person who regains a healthy flush after illness or time in the sun. Figuratively, it means a situation, project, or relationship is developing positively and becoming more interesting. A Pole might say “projekt zaczął nabierać kolorów” to mean the project was finally picking up and looking promising.

  Vocabulary

  • nabierać — to take on, to acquire (imperfective)
  • kolorów — colours (genitive plural of 'kolor')

  Grammar note

  The verb 'nabierać' is imperfective, emphasizing the ongoing process of gaining colour. It governs the genitive case — 'nabierać kolorów' (to take on colours), following the pattern used with verbs of acquiring. The perfective counterpart 'nabrać kolorów' describes the completed change.

  Cultural context

  This is a warm, slightly optimistic expression used in everyday and journalistic Polish. It often appears in contexts of recovery (health, relationships, economy) or when describing something that was once dull but is now gaining momentum. There is no single English idiom; 'to come alive,' 'to brighten up,' or 'to pick up' capture the meaning well.

  Intermediate

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!