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  What it means

  Literally “to guard one’s own nose,” this idiom means to mind your own business or to keep your nose in your own affairs. It is used to tell someone — directly or indirectly — to stop interfering in matters that do not concern them. Poles use it in moments of irritation, or humorously, when someone is being nosy or overstepping into another person’s life. It can be said directly to someone (“pilnuj własnego nosa!”) as a sharp rebuke.

  Vocabulary

  • pilnować — to guard, to watch over, to mind
  • własnego — one's own (genitive of 'własny')
  • nosa — nose (genitive of 'nos')
  • nos — nose; also: intuition (in other idioms)

  Grammar note

  'Pilnować' is an imperfective verb that governs the genitive case — what you are guarding appears in the genitive. Both 'własnego' (own, genitive masculine) and 'nosa' (nose, genitive) follow this rule. The imperative 'pilnuj własnego nosa!' is a very common way to deliver the rebuke directly.

  Cultural context

  This is an informal, colloquial idiom with a slightly blunt or brusque tone — not vulgar, but clearly assertive. It is the Polish equivalent of English 'mind your own business' or 'keep your nose out of it.' The 'nose' metaphor for prying into others' affairs appears across many European languages, suggesting shared cultural roots in the image of sticking one's nose where it does not belong.

  Beginner

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