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  What it means

  Literally “the pot was calling the kettle [black],” this idiom is the direct Polish equivalent of the English “the pot calling the kettle black.” It is used when someone criticises another person for a fault they themselves possess. The hypocrisy is the point — both the pot and the kettle are blackened from fire, so neither has the right to reproach the other. Poles use it to call out hypocrisy or double standards.

  Vocabulary

  • przyganiać — to reproach, to scold, to criticise (imperfective)
  • przyganiał — was reproaching (past imperfective, masculine)
  • kocioł — cauldron, large pot
  • garnek — pot, cooking pot
  • garnkowi — to the pot (dative of 'garnek')

  Grammar note

  'Przyganiał' is the masculine past tense of 'przyganiać'. 'Kocioł' is in the nominative (subject). 'Garnkowi' is the dative of 'garnek', used as the indirect object of 'przyganiać' (to reproach someone — komuś, dative). Note: the full traditional form is 'Przyganiał kocioł garnkowi, a sam smoli' (and yet he himself is sooty), though the shorter version is more common today.

  Cultural context

  This is a formal-to-neutral idiom with a classical feel, often used in political commentary, journalism, and formal debates to point out hypocrisy. It is immediately understood by all Polish speakers and maps directly to the English 'the pot calling the kettle black'. The variant with 'a sam smoli' (and he himself is sooty) is the more complete traditional form.

  Intermediate

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