• Listen

  What it means

  Literally “to look through the fingers.” This is very similar to “przymknąć oko.” It describes a situation where someone sees what is happening (like a minor transgression) but chooses to “filter” it out by symbolically looking through their fingers, effectively ignoring the behavior.

  Vocabulary

  • patrzeć — to look / watch
  • palce — fingers
  • ignorować — to ignore

  Grammar note

  The preposition 'przez' (through) takes the accusative case ('palce').

  Cultural context

  While similar to "przymknąć oko," this phrase often implies a more continuous or habitual state of leniency toward someone's recurring faults.

  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!