Nie taki diabeł straszny, jak go malują
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What it means
Literally “the devil is not as frightening as he is painted.” Means something dreaded is not as bad as it seems — “his bark is worse than his bite.”
Vocabulary
- diabeł — devil
- straszny — frightening / scary
- malować — to paint
Grammar note
'Jak go malują' — 'jak' means 'as', 'go' is accusative of 'on' (him), 'malują' is third-person plural (they paint him).
Cultural context
Poland's Catholic heritage makes devil-related idioms especially vivid and common in everyday speech.
Intermediate
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